“You can spend your whole life unknowingly walking past the person who will change it.”

Carissa and Ryan’s story began long before they knew it. Growing up in Canyon Lake, they attended the same elementary, middle, and high schools, shared many of the same friends, and even found themselves at some of the same family gatherings over the years. After high school, they unknowingly continued crossing paths. They attended some of the same parties and festivals and even traveled abroad at the same time. In late 2022, they finally realized they had found exactly what they had been looking for in each other.

Shortly after attending their officiant Zack’s wedding, Ryan and Carissa began their own long distance chapter together. They built their relationship between Arizona and California with the certainty that they had finally found home in one another. Their first date took place in Las Vegas, and from there, many long weekends were spent crossing state lines just to be together.

By early 2023, Carissa made the move to San Diego, just as she had promised Ryan on the very first night they reconnected. Since then, the two have built a beautiful life together in Ocean Beach, spending their afternoons and weekends soaking up the charm of their beach town. Together, they enjoy relaxing at the beach, skating around the bay, hiking along the coastline, and, of course, catching a beautiful sunset.

In 2024, Carissa and Ryan knew it was time to grow their little family and welcomed the perfect new addition, their Goldendoodle, Baxter. He is the happiest dog you will ever meet and enjoys... the exact same things as his parents.

After years of unknowingly finding their way back to one another, Ryan proposed to Carissa at Sunset Cliffs in September 2025. With Baxter by their side and their old & new friends gathered from near and far, it was the perfect celebration of everything that had brought them to that moment. Now, they are excited to celebrate the beginning of their next chapter with all of you.