Ryan and I met during our freshman year of college at TCU. We were both theatre majors, so we had lots of classes together, but we didn't really hit it off until one night after a football game when all of our friends went to grab slurpees at 7/11. I ventured outside of my normal cola flavor and tried some sort of sour candy flavor that I ended up hating. Ryan overheard me complaining about how disgusting it was, so he offered to share it with me so I wouldn't have to drink it alone. We ended up chatting and laughing the whole night about the gross slurpee and realized we actually had a very similar sense of humor. From then on, we were basically inseparable, hanging out every day, goofing off, and getting in trouble in class. One of our freshman-year professors even called us out in class one day and said, "Why don't you two just get married already?" because we couldn't stop whispering and giggling during the lecture. Little did that professor know that 8 years later, we would get married!

 

Our proposal story: Ryan proposed at the beachfront of the Grand Hyatt on the Island of Kauai. We have been to Kauai a few times, and the Grand Hyatt is our absolute favorite place to visit due to the beautiful property and lush vegetation. A couple of years ago, when we were there, we were walking around the grounds and saw a single candle-lit dining table set up on the beach surrounded by flower petals. We assumed someone was about to get engaged, and we thought it was the most romantic thing ever. I think we both knew right then and there that was our dream engagement, but it seemed so unobtainable at the time. Fast forward a couple of years later, Ryan and I are back in Hawaii, taking a sunset walk around the Grand Hyatt, and he gets down on one knee, proposes, and tells me we are doing the private dining experience we had dreamt of. We celebrated our engagement with a delicious wine-tasting dinner under the stars, and it was a night we will never forget.

 

Why Ken and Dana: Ken and Dana were recommended to us by some of our dear friends, Lance and Abby, who had actually gotten engaged about a year prior to us (check out their NYC MET proposal story!) They had nothing but amazing things to say about their experience with Ken & Dana Design, and Abby had shared their Instagram with me, so I saw how beautiful the rings truly were. I knew I wanted to customize my ring, so when I saw KDD had an entire section on their website dedicated to customizing your ring, I knew they were the jeweler for us. They made the entire customization process so fun and easy, and they were always there to answer our questions when we felt we needed clarity on specific details. And, not to brag, but I have gotten so many compliments on my ring (even from strangers), and it's all thanks to KDD :)