Blair
Blair was always a simple gal. She liked to frolick in strawberry fields and pet wild goats while feeding their young and foraging for vittles. See, she grew up on a very small farm in Siberia where the dear and the antelope play.
No, that's not true. She doesn't even know what a strawberry field is. Are those a real thing? And Siberia? Geez, that's very far away. Blair grew up in Rochester New York, Daughter of the dashing Tracy Paladino* and Step-daughter of one hilarious chagrin-maker, Mr. David Paladino. She's a heavy reader, mostly because when she was bad as a kid her punishment would be no TV. We didn't have internet back then. We had to do stuff. So books it was! (Favorite: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein) She knows every word to the three big Disney movies: Little Mermaid, The Lion King and Cinderella. Never find yourself caught with one of those near you, she will sing every word, regardless if it is actually playing or not. As she grew she realized she had to move on to more serious fantasies so she quickly became fixated on theater, dance and music. This had nothing to do with what she did with her life, she somehow landed a couple of random collegiate degrees in Business and Sociology. Which is great if you're into keeping yourself on your toes. One of Blair's favorite things about her childhood and growing up with a kooky, wild family and equally life-loving friends is the complete honesty and truth and integrity that Buffalonians and Rochesterians approach life with. No matter what, you know what they think and where they stand. Sometimes it will make you raise an eyebrow and most of the time it will make you laugh with your whole heart. She hopes that is what Ryan loves about her, too.
Blair always had a true passion for being awesome. So she started krav maga when she was 26 and quickly became proficient and beating people up all over the place. And sometimes things would get really wild and she would practice Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as well.*Fun Fact: As Blair goes into her thirties she's really starting to get freaked out because she sees her mother in the mirror every morning. It's like "Freaky Friday," only real. Genetics. Pretty cool.
Ryan
Ryan was born in Lafayette, Louisiana, son of 'the woman with the perpetual twinkle in her eye,' Mrs. Pauline Sun Chee Fore and the ever-cheeky Mr. Vanon Sun Chee Fore.* Ryan knew from the time he was a little boy, talking to his grandpa about boats, that he wanted to make boats when he grew up. And characteristially that is precisely what he did. But he did not just decide to build boats. This was not enough for a go-getter like him. Along the way Ryan took a detour into Aerodynamics and Hydrodynamics before finishing his education with his most beloved-Naval Architecture. But, well, this still was not enough. He discovered a love for travel that was perhaps somehow tangentially linked to his days as a child going to school in Indonesia and stopping for indoneisan chicken wings during school breaks. Yes, there are Indonesian chicken wings and, no-We are looking at you Blair's Family-they are not Buffalo style. Although that would be awesome.
Onward!
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| He was very sad without Blair in his life |
And a robust education and love for travel still could not fill his hearts desire. Ryan also learned to snowboard, re-build motorcycles, play the guitar, bike and practice Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Does anybody know where he found time for all of this?
*Fun Fact: When we were writing this Blair had originally put that he was born in New Orleans because Ryan really likes Creole (keep an eye out for it to make an appearance at the wedding!). Fortunately, he laughed.
But let's not stop there. Things got really interesting when these two met...
How We Met
Blair was always a bit of a sneaky one. Before she was 3 she climbed up onto her brothers chair at his birthday party and dumped a cup full of ice cold water all over his head. We will never say she was wise or smart about it but she was sneaky nonetheless.She first noticed Ryan at a class in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (or BJJ, as we in the biz call it). He was being awarded a rank (or stripe) one evening and, as he stood up to receive it, she noticed his fantastic
Blair was nervous. So nervous, in fact, that she mostly forgot what to do.
Well, Kim went a step further that same evening and invited them both out after class for something to eat. At just about half past exactly the right time Kim excused herself and Blair, smitten as a baby kitten, pretended to be extremely interested in watching videos of front end loaders doing wheelies in empty parking lots on his phone (if you are not sure what this is, see here).
Unbeknownst to both of them, as they laughed over chocolate cake and loaders (sounds gross), both of their cars had been towed to the local garage. $400 collective dollars later and a taxi cab ride in the cold Blair and Ryan had finally come together.
And she hasn't gotten away from the front end loaders since.
But the story doesn't end there, folks. If you want to know how Ryan noticed Blair (because this encounter was not enough, apparently, he was pretty dense), read on....
Our other dear friend, Peter, decided to have a labor day party at his house that year. Somehow one of his irresponsible buddies (Blair) managed to allow the guest list to grow out of control and suddenly he was having a bash. At this point Blair knew she wanted Ryan to ask her out so she negotiated with an (entire) bottle of wine, waited the evening, and shamelessly decided that as he was on his way out she would physically commandeer his motorcycle and force him to ask her on a date.
And he reluctantly obliged.
