She hadn't so much as seen his face, but still, she was nervous as she approached the garage where she knew she'd find him.

They were on his uncle's property, where she was renting the maid's quarters and he was installing car lifts. All she suspected was that he might be around her age and might have some skill in working with his hands – but this was more than enough to entice her to bake cookies from Funfetti cake mix to use as a means of introduction.

She was only 19 and couldn't have known that this stranger would become her first boyfriend, let alone – eight years down the road – her husband. Still, even in all of this not-knowing, something spoke to her about the significance of the moment they'd meet.

"You couldn't have been thinking that far ahead," he'd say to her years later, not believing it possible for marriage to have been even the tiniest inkling in her mind at the time.

But even if that assumption hadn't been at the forefront, Emily Kettler's memory tells her that somehow, with Ryan Springer, it was love before first sight. And in that spirit, she says: "I was thinking everything.”

It wasn’t long before confirmation came that the connection between them wasn’t all in her head. A couple of months after they met, around Christmas 2009, he took her aside during a birthday party for his aunt and asked out of the blue when she was going to give him her number. 

She was taken aback — not having had a guy express interest like this before — and very giddy. And although she’d never expected her first date would be with someone six-and-a-half years her senior, this didn’t keep her from accepting his invitation to a movie the next month. 

Neither remembers what show they saw that January 7, 2010, but they do recall that he drove a red Chevrolet Impala (because his truck was in the shop) and opened the door for her.

They remember, too, all they learned about each other in those early days — including that Ryan never ran on time. Emily came to learn that “Springer time” was typically 30 to 45 minutes behind schedule, and since they lived 45 minutes apart, this often meant she could expect him to leave his house in North Kansas City, Missouri, around the time he was supposed to arrive at hers in Martin City, Missouri.

On his part, Ryan learned Emily was very mature for her age, which made their dynamic work despite the fact they were in different life stages — with him in his mid-20s, working full-time and her still early in her college career. Also bridging the gap between them were their common interests in outdoor activities and working with their hands, as well as how much they both take after their dads in these skill sets.

After a year of dating, it was clear to them both that they’d found something with the potential to last. And when she turned 21 on May 18, 2011, he gave her a promise ring as well as a letter expressing how excited he was for them to spend the rest of their lives together.

Emily + Ryan

- two kindred spirits make a one-of-a-kind match -

By Erin Wisdom-Watson

"Anytime I have a question,
the first person I ask is her."

“I could tell from the way she looked at me, the way we connected, the way she was through any ups and downs — that’s who I wanted to go through anything with,” Ryan says.

Some practical aspects of their relationship became easier the next year, when he purchased a house in Martin City that Emily and her dad were in the process of flipping. The following year, in 2013, she bought a house of her own just two blocks away — and ever since, they’ve each been able to look out a window and see the other’s house.

Of course, it was obvious from a financial standpoint that they’d be better off sharing a home, but they intended to keep their separate living situations until after marriage — and it wasn’t until Emily graduated from college in 2015 that an engagement felt like a possibility, with them finally being in the same stage of life.

By mid-2016, Ryan had muscled up the courage to ask that all-important question (after first asking her dad’s permission to ask it). He’d had a ring for a couple of weeks and was waiting for the right opportunity, which came about that June 11, when Emily was dog-sitting at a house with a nice pond and invited him over to fish.

Really, this presented him with two opportunities: Not only to ask her to marry him in a picturesque setting but also to create a positive association for her when it came to him fishing, which wasn’t exactly her favorite thing. Plus, a tackle box seemed a pretty inventive means for concealing the ring box (not to mention an important visual cue in its own right).

“Now when she sees a tackle box in my hand, it’s not a bad sign; it’s a good sign,” he quips.

But initially, that day, it wasn’t a sign of anything other than his intent to fish — until he opened it and announced he had a new favorite lure.

“She saw the Zales box, and it was obvious,” Ryan says. “I don’t keep any fishing lures in a Zales box.”

It had actually been obvious he was up to something during the Chipotle dinner he’d brought her, prior to popping the question. But even seeing how antsy he was as they ate, Emily hadn’t suspected the true reason until that jewelry box was in front of her.

“Oh no you didn’t,” was her initial response — before she got around to “yes.”

She’d been so caught up in the moment she couldn’t remember after the fact exactly what he’d said, other than that it had been sweet and had included her full name (which she’d previously requested he use when he proposed, just so she’d know he knew it before agreeing to marry him). 

The most important thing, though (other than that after the proposal, Ryan caught his biggest bass ever) was that they were officially engaged. One of Emily’s first calls was to a friend, urgently requesting nail polish — because although this friend had been tasked with warning her pre-proposal to have her nails painted, Ryan had been so successful in surprising them both that there’d been no way to do the necessary polish-prep.

Within a few months, they’d set a wedding date of October 7, 2017. They’ll marry at the farm where she grew up — and certainly, they’ll have plenty to celebrate on that day they commit the rest of their lives to each other.

They’ll also have a lot to look forward to, and at the top of that list is the house they plan to build together, on enough land to raise cows. (Ryan does know the likely ramifications of this, though, from having seen Emily around the ones on her parents’ farm: “I can’t even get her attention when she’s out there playing with the cows. It’s like I’m not even there.”)

But if anyone makes it worth putting up with this kind of treatment, it’s her. Ryan notes that in addition to Emily’s maturity, he admires her willingness to try new things and to get her hands dirty, as well as her wide range of practical knowledge — which is all the more useful when they put their heads together to tackle something.

“Anytime I have a question, the first person I ask is her,” he notes. “It seems like we’re a lot more efficient, a lot more productive when we’re together.”

And as an added bonus: “Before her, I’d never met a girl in my life who could use a power drill. There’s nothing better than that.”

Emily likewise appreciates Ryan’s handiness and the fact that he’ll fix pretty much anything (or die trying). But she also has a soft spot for one of his less-practical assets.

“I like his dimples,” she says. “Even when he’s so mad at me, his dimples are right there.” 

He certainly has something to smile about when he thinks back to how she first introduced herself, with that batch of cookies he found so good despite not caring for desserts much in general. She couldn’t have known then, of course, what a lasting impression they’d make — but fortunately, it’s a sweet one.

“It’s like my favorite perfume on her,” Ryan says. “I’ll never forget the taste of those Funfetti cookies.”

"Anytime I have a question,
the first person I ask is her."