"After we have surveyed, as far as possible, all the other creatures in the world, eventually God presents us with one who is special, one who strikes a deeper chord in us than anyone else was able to do. Although the person may be very unlike us in many important ways, still there is something inside us that recognizes the other as being bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh, akin to us on a level far deeper than personality. This is a blood tie, an affinity of the heart in every sense. It is as if we discover an actual kinship with the one we love, which the marriage ceremony serves only to make official. To be married is to have found in a total stranger a near and long-lost relative." Mike Mason |
How We Met
LANE : When I showed up for work that fateful October night at the Novel Cafe, I was told I had to train a new hire. When tall, lanky Ryan entered the cafe in a black hoodie, skateboard in hand, I never would have imagined I was laying eyes for the first time on the man I would share my life with. I spent the afternoon trying to train Ryan, only to realize fairly quickly that I had nothing to teach a guy who had already been a barrista at three coffee shops and managed two others.
RYAN: Funny how things change in memory. In hindsight, that night will always hold a special place in my heart, but at the time it was just another training shift, at yet another cafe. There was no love at first sight, no fireworks, or butterflies. We worked well together and fell into a natural rhythm, two hours later we were talking as old friends. Still by the end of the night I was sure friendship was the extent of our relationship. "Friends, good friends." I repeated to myself as I skated home.
LANE: In the beginning there was nothing more than friendship between Ryan and I, but it was always one of those 'soul mate' type of friendships. We just clicked in such a natural way, we were so comfortable around each other and it wasn't long before we were finishing each other's sentences and eating off each other's plates.
RYAN: It didn't take long before I started seeing Lane in a different light. She was everything I ever wanted in a partner, except she wasn't interested in me. So I found a best friend in her, I didn't want to risk what we had, in hopes there could be more. "However rare true love may be, it is less so than true friendship." - La Rochefoucauld
LANE: In April I went to spend a few months with my family in Kansas and I realized how much my feelings for Ryan had grown. I missed him so much, but he came to visit me a couple of times over those months. Finally during one of his visits he asked me to be his girlfriend.
RYAN: When Lane left I thought it was a good thing, distance often puts things in perspective, but it only became clear how much she meant to me. A few trips to Kansas later I knew in my heart that we were meant to be together. What better person to be with than your best friend?
In 2008 we married in a private ceremony on the beach in Malibu and held a reception at the same Novel Cafe where we met that October night 2 years earlier. We honeymooned for three weeks in Europe, touring England, France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy on a Mediterranean cruise.
RYAN: Funny how things change in memory. In hindsight, that night will always hold a special place in my heart, but at the time it was just another training shift, at yet another cafe. There was no love at first sight, no fireworks, or butterflies. We worked well together and fell into a natural rhythm, two hours later we were talking as old friends. Still by the end of the night I was sure friendship was the extent of our relationship. "Friends, good friends." I repeated to myself as I skated home.
LANE: In the beginning there was nothing more than friendship between Ryan and I, but it was always one of those 'soul mate' type of friendships. We just clicked in such a natural way, we were so comfortable around each other and it wasn't long before we were finishing each other's sentences and eating off each other's plates.
RYAN: It didn't take long before I started seeing Lane in a different light. She was everything I ever wanted in a partner, except she wasn't interested in me. So I found a best friend in her, I didn't want to risk what we had, in hopes there could be more. "However rare true love may be, it is less so than true friendship." - La Rochefoucauld
LANE: In April I went to spend a few months with my family in Kansas and I realized how much my feelings for Ryan had grown. I missed him so much, but he came to visit me a couple of times over those months. Finally during one of his visits he asked me to be his girlfriend.
RYAN: When Lane left I thought it was a good thing, distance often puts things in perspective, but it only became clear how much she meant to me. A few trips to Kansas later I knew in my heart that we were meant to be together. What better person to be with than your best friend?
In 2008 we married in a private ceremony on the beach in Malibu and held a reception at the same Novel Cafe where we met that October night 2 years earlier. We honeymooned for three weeks in Europe, touring England, France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy on a Mediterranean cruise.