Brittany and Ryan’s story would not have happened if not for a chance meeting that almost didn’t happen — his return to a faraway town for a wedding led them together through a mutual friend and eventually to a love story.
Brittany was born in a small town in Pennsylvania, but the internet led her to a faraway city, and ultimately, to her true love. Without certain things happening, they never would have met, and their daughter wouldn’t be here. This uplifting and inspirational story will be sure to make you smile.
Amazing chances
Most love stories are stories of chance meetings — you were at the same nightclub, or your sister knew a guy that would be perfect for you, but you fell for his best friend. Some are even more extraordinary than that, with certain situations happening in a very small window involving great distances. Brittany and Ryan’s story is very much so a “right place at the right time” love story.
When Brittany was 18 years old, she made the move from Oley, Pennsylvania, to Savannah, Georgia. She met her good friend Chris online because of a website called BMEzine and its extension, IAM. “Events would be orchestrated and meetups would happen,” she explained. “Me and Chris met at the 2004 East Coast BBQ. To this day, we’re very close, although we don’t talk as frequently as we used to, I still consider him one of my best friends.”
He had a room available to rent, and convinced her to move down south. “I packed up my belongings in my tiny Ford Focus and headed down 95-S,” she remembered. “The first day in Savannah, I locked myself in my bedroom accidentally and no one answered their phones or woke up until after 2!”
Despite the not-so-great start, she soon felt at home in the Georgia city. And she did not know that soon, she’d meet the father of her child and a new partner in life.
All for a wedding
Ryan, who grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, had moved to Savannah to attend Savannah College of Art and Design. After graduation, he went back home to St. Louis, but a wedding brought him back to the southern city. Ryan’s friend invited him to his nuptials, so he was back in town for just that weekend. Brittany’s friend Chris was in a band with Ryan’s good friend Josh, which is where he was staying that weekend. Since Brittany was new in town, she tagged along to Josh’s house, and that’s where she met Ryan.
She was attracted to his unique appearance. “The unshowered, dirty, tattooed boy look he had going on at the time,” is how she explained it. “We didn’t talk that first night… we probably didn’t even talk the second time we met. When we did talk, though, we had a genuine connection.”
Ryan and Brittney hit it off so well he soon moved into her tiny apartment. He worked to save money to move back to St. Louis, and after he did, they made plans for her to follow. “Besides Savannah being my first experience outside of Oley, I had no real reason to stay there,” she shared. “We agreed that he would find a job, and when he did, I would move out there. I moved to St. Louis in March of 2009, four months after meeting Ryan.”
Serendipity
Brittany and Ryan are grateful for the chance meeting that led them to love, and even more so now that they have a daughter together. “Without IAM, I wouldn’t have met Chris, without Chris I wouldn’t have moved to Savannah, without Savannah I wouldn’t have met Ryan, and without Ryan we wouldn’t have Ella,” she said.
Ella was born June 12, 2012, at home and in the water. “I love her more than you think you can love something,” she told us. “She looks a whole lot like Ryan, but has my eyes. She loves our Boston terrier Tesla — and giving him kisses. She’s also really into the mailbox from Blue’s Clues and eating the socks off her feet.”
Brittany has someone else to thank for her life and family as it is today. “Just recently, the creator of the site BMEzine passed away — his name was Shannon Larratt,” she said. “Without his site, the cascade of freak encounters that had to take place for things to be the way they are today just wouldn’t have happened. So a personal thank you to him.”
More on true love
The I Do Survey: What do you think of marriage today?
Spring is for lovers: Where to have a spring fling
New survey shows house cleaning has positive romantic effects
Leave a Comment