Lauren and Ryan were possibly the most exciting couple we’ve ever met to finally be Mr and Mrs! That’s saying a lot doing this for 10 years!

Their story is so sweet we had to include it in this recap of their amazing wedding — scroll to the end to read both the Bride and Groom’s “side of the story” of how they met and fell in love!

A few things the couple told us were too sweet not to highlight right at the start:

WHY “By God's grace and in His perfect timing, we get to be married, spend every day of our lives getting to love Him, love each other, and getting to glorify Him together.”

WHERE Why did you choose Shiraz Garden? It is beautiful and so unique. Everyone we worked with and talked to was so kind and helpful.

ADVICE Get a wedding planner- Kara Weaver was so wonderful in every way! Booked, planned, and celebrated their big day at Shiraz Garden with 150 friends all in less than three months!

What moment are you most looking forward to on your wedding day? I am most looking forward to marrying the most incredible man I know and becoming his WIFE!! We are also looking forward to having so many of our people together in one place at the same time getting to celebrate how gracious of God is for creating marriage and bringing two sinners together.

April Ceremony - Sunset Vista with “The Window” as the backdrop looking over the Colorado River valley

Austin Wedding Reception at Shiraz Garden’s Formal Garden

The Most Stunning Golden Hour photo location in Texas — if you ask us, MOHANA OUTLOOK!

VENDOR DREAM TEAM

Planning (wonder woman) @weddingsbyweaver

Photos by Becca Matimba @bmatimbaphoto

Gown @readyorknot + HUM @glam_on_demand

Rentals @monarcheventsatx

The LOVE STORY OF LOVE STORIES from both the

Bride and Grooms side of the story!

“I AM GIDDY AS I WRITE THIS!!I first noticed Ryan Brinkman’s incredible servant’s heart as he consistently served our classmates, led the discipleship with the younger students down the road, served behind the scenes in the kitchen and picked up people’s dishes after meals. He was the first person to offer help to the cooks, other classmates, teachers, and staff at KI. I also could tell that he genuinely loved Jesus by the way he loved the other men at KI by asking questions, helping process hard emotions and teaching them how to share testimonies with the group. I've been reminded by some of my friends that I would say, “whoever gets to marry Ryan Brinkman is going to be the luckiest woman!” I remember one evening we were out celebrating a couple of friends’ birthdays and Ryan and I had the opportunity to talk about life and family and friends and share a little more of each others’ stories with each other... by a Ferris Wheel I might add! I remember leaving that evening and thinking, “Wow! Ryan asks incredible questions, clearly loves his family and has great friends and genuinely cared about what I had to say!” We both went to Israel together with some other classmates from KI that spring and then both worked at Kanakuk Kamps that following summer. We were friends, but didn’t have any romantic interest in each other. Fall of 2018, Ryan moved to Austin, TX to start a job at NI and I moved to Nebraska to start an accelerated nursing program that following year. That fall, we talked on the phone a couple of times: once, after Ryan got back from Lebanon and another time later to catch up briefly. The conversations were always brief because little did Ryan know, but I was sweating on the other end of the phone due to nervousness... LOL Fast forward to February of 2019- I sent a text, with the help of my mom, to Ryan about what I was reading in the Bible because Ryan and I had talked about how Wisdom was portrayed as a woman in the book of Proverbs, while at KI. He was so smooth and asked to talk on the phone that following week. They talked a few times before Ryan made his intentions clear- that he wanted to pursue me and why he wanted to pursue me. I was in shock ;)” BRIDES SIDE OF THE STORY!

“I quickly noticed Ms. Lauren Works at the island of K-Kauai, smack-dab in the middle of Las Vegas for Old People! Her beautiful, contagious smile was jaw-dropping! It was so evident that she cared deeply for others by the way her eye's radiated when she talked with someone, no matter their stature, tenure, popularity, age, social status or confidence. Lauren's inquisitive and merciful spirit made her stick out of the crowd as well! As many know, she loves to ask questions, both deep and fun! When I would describe her to my college friends, I'd say she was so interested in others, she asked questions so well and made people feel so cared for, she could make a wall talk for hours! Furthermore, I noticed that Lauren even kept this others-centered conversation and mindset going in the midst of hard work and manual labor! While many girls (& guys) would lackadaisically work, flirt with each other, or finish jobs early during our family work days at KI, I seemed to always find Lauren laughing, asking questions, working hard, or the last one to finish! I was so impressed! And it didn't stop there! Everyday Tuesday morning, Lauren made delicious, warm, fresh blueberry muffins for all of the men who woke-up early for accountability. I swear, those were the best blueberry muffins I've ever had. I made sure to thank her every Tuesday morning, and to this day she claims there was no secret ingredient! Then finally, Lauren's basketball skills were eye-opening at KI too! While I rarely played on the same team as her, I regularly wished we could play on the same team, as our skillsets seemed to compliment each other. With all of that said, I thought Lauren was WAY out of my league and had no interest in me while at KI. There were plenty of other eligible bachelors pursuing her at the time (Go figure!), so I decided to stay back. After one final Kamp summer together, in spite of my insecurities, I told Lauren that if she was ever in ATX, she should let me know. I'd love to catch up. Conveniently, while abroad on a mission trip, I received an encouraging prayer text from a Ms. Lauren Works! I thought she had texted all of our KI friends on the trip, but she actually singled me out. I was so ignorant. Nevertheless, I told her she'd love the trip too, because of all of the interactions with kiddos and families. In fact, I could tell her more about it when I got back state-side. Well, she took the bait & I got to give her a call on my drive home. After sharing for about 10 minutes, I started asking her questions about Kamp at K-2, her family, and the rest of her summer. To my surprise, she suddenly had to go and couldn't talk any longer...I was quite confused. But, I shrugged it off as she was not interested. I followed-up again later in the winter of 2018, inquiring about a specific prayer request she had shared with our class. Yet again, she didn't respond with much interest, as I perceived it. Then over New Years, she asked if I'd be in the Dallas area, because she was coming for a KI reunion. Unfortunately I wouldn't be, but I asked how long she'd be in town and if she'd be willing to get ice cream? Her response...crickets!...Nothing...Again, I chalked it up to her lack of interest in me. It wasn't until Feb. 2019 with the infamous Wisdom in Proverbs question that the spark caught! After a few longer conversations, and some input from her close friends, I gathered enough courage to ask her on a date! I drove 22 hours round trip to spend 20 hours with her in Branson, MO. When asked how the date went, from a scale of 1 to 10, I told my dad, 11! The rest is history! Lauren's perspective- We had a Bachelor/Bachelorette type, long-distance dating relationship for 2019- lots of destination dates! Our first date was in Branson, MO. We went to Denver to visit some friends, Dallas, Kansas, Nebraska, Austin, OKC, & even New York City! It was so much fun! The more time we spent together, the more we got to know each other and the more we liked each other. In late January of 2020, I moved down to Austin, TX and started a job as a nurse. YAY! We finally got to live in the same city! We are still learning what it looks to merge two lives, and two families. The Lord has been so kind and faithful throughout our relationship! He has provided amazing community here to help us process, help walk alongside us through engagement and continually point us to Jesus. It definitely hasn’t all been rainbows and butterflies (even though I like to think it is sometimes) ;). After Ryan sent me on an extravagant scavenger hunt around Austin, we got engaged at the top of Mt. Bonnell on April 25th, 2020! Exactly one year later we will get to become one, by God’s grace alone, on April, 25th 2021. The Lord’s hand has so clearly been in our whole relationship and looking back, we are both so grateful for the Lord’s sovereignty in His timing, and story that He is writing in our life. His grace was evident in how and when He brought us together. Today, we can truly say each other is God's sovereign, uniquely-designed, specifically-crafted, different, yet wonderful gift to me! He has taught us so much from the other and we look forward to the many journeys, heartaches, dreams-come-true, and adventures He has for us ahead! We pray that we continue to fight the drift towards isolation and pursue oneness in Christ & marriage! We are eager to impact the next generation of disciple-makers among the nations together, both inside the home & abroad! And, we are humbled to have a lifelong companion with whom to experience the joys and sorrows of life together, all the time pointing each other vertically, to our relationship with our King, Savior, and Lord...until death do us part! If you read this whole story, thank you! ;) More importantly though, thank you for being a part of our lives, caring for us as individuals and now as a couple. We are grateful for all of you and your friendship, support and love. We will be praying for all of you and love you all!” GROOM’S SIDE OF THE STORY