A tale of two cities
Steph was living in Manhattan. She had been living there for 8 years, but realized that although it had been great for dating, it was tough to settle down. As she was nearing 30, she decided to explore other options and had heard great things about dating in San Francisco. As luck would have it, one of her best friends/bridesmaid Berkley decided to plan a 30th birthday trip to San Francisco.
Ryan was living his life at the Golden Gate mansion, swiping right.
Fast forward to MLK weekend 2016. Barrett (Berkley’s sister / the matchmaker) let Steph know she “had someone” for her to meet in SF...Ryan Holtan. At the time, Steph didn’t think much of it, she felt San Francisco was “her oyster” and wanted to explore her options. At the same time, Barrett invited Ryan to stop by and hang out with her 8 women who were visiting from NYC. Prior to the trip, Ryan did some recon work via Instagram and Steph was one of his two targets (shout out to target #2, usher Holly Wentzel).
On Saturday of MLK weekend, it was raining in SF which “never happens” (lies residents tell their visitors). As a result, Barrett took her guests to Presidio Bowl for bowling and beers. Steph was annoyed and wanted to go out in the wild and explore the fruits SF had to offer. After the first game, Ryan walked in and not only was Steph happy to bowl but she immediately took back the oyster comment. The chemistry was evident for both Ryan and Steph and the target list went from 2 to 1. They hung out the remainder of the weekend and their love affair began. 11 months of long distance later, Steph moved to SF where they still reside. Ryan and Steph happily live in Hayes Valley with their three plants & Volvo (Phoebe, Bob, Olga, & Annika respectively).
The engagement…
The Matterhorn
Ryan and Steph were taking a trip to Europe in April. Steph was secretly hoping Ryan would propose and she was playing it cool when people asked her “is he going to propose on this trip?” However, when Steph was talking to Lizzie Holtan (future sister-in-law) a few weeks before the trip, Lizzie made a comment that “proposing was not on Ryan’s mind.” Lizzie was upset on Steph’s behalf and wanted to share what she heard. Please note, Lizzie does not have a good poker face, so her husband Alex (Ryan’s brother) had lied to her in order to prepare for the impending meeting of the blondes. Steph was crushed but was able to push it out of her mind (with the help of some besties) when she took off for a trip of a lifetime.
Upon landing in Switzerland, the first thing Steph thought of was “DIAMOND.” She needed to be tased - clearly her hopes were still very up. However, Ryan “man of steel” Holtan had no physical tells - no holding his bag tight, he put NOTHING in the safe, it was like any other day. Until he decided to book a ski lesson for them while they were skiing in Switzerland. Keep in mind, although they love to ski together they are very different levels. Steph was feeling sniffy…
7 hours into the ski lesson, Steph had given up hope. Steph was ready for a nap and started to be a little extra when Ryan insisted they do “one more run” in order take a great photo. THE MOMENT WAS HERE.
Cue to the Matterhorn: Ryan got down on one knee and asked for forever. The ski guide played the role of photographer. And nap time was no more. Instead, Steph screamed and then cried into her goggles, Ryan talked about his feelings, and we celebrated over champagne. They were going to become one. TORHEES FOREVER.
