Ryan Ninness trusted in God and the number-crunching behind eHarmony to find his bride, Candice Dix. It worked better than cologne.
Meet. Ninness, a software engineer who also once hosted comedy radio on the West Coast, says, “Until this type of thing came around, the only science (to dating) was to go to the bar, and smell good and be aggressive. Those were basically the tools of the trade … I would rather have a computer tell me who’s compatible than ‘Cosmo.”‘
Encouraged by their parents, Ninness and Dix signed up in February 2004. Each completed the lengthy personality profile. Then the company’s patented system generated a short list of matches. Dix ranked first on Ninness’ list. Ninness ranked first on Dix’s.
Match. The site does not allow for a mate-shopping free-for-all, so Dix and Ninness followed site protocols, including the exchange of multiple-choice questions and later lists of relationships must-haves and must-not-haves. The process revealed a shared Christian faith. She liked that he had traveled widely as a missionary. Both felt strongly about family. Infidelity was out, along with lying. “You’re talking about a list of 25 awful things (to choose from),” Ninness says, “so you really have to go through and choose the five biggest ones.”
Somewhere toward the end of that process, they got to see photos of each other. Dix used her senior picture from high school. Ninness, ever the computer guy, shot one of himself with a webcam, with his underarms bared to reveal some of his many tattoos – in a pose his dad later dubbed, “Look, I have no pit stains!”
Dix noticed Ninness’ creative streak and took the tattoos in stride.
Their first date on March 13, 2004, lasted 10 hours. The romance hit the marriage track quickly, but Dix was still in school. “Education is extremely important to me,” Ninness says. “I did two engineering degrees in four years. And, it was huge for me that Candice finish her degree. Unfortunately, when two people meet, especially around the college years, there’s a tendency that one doesn’t finish, and that person lives with regret.”
Marry. So, as Dix’s college career progressed, in Ninness she found easy conversation and lots of laughter. “I was practically head over heels the first month,” Dix says. “Now, we’re into the two-year stage, and it still feels like that, right now.”
Ninness found in her the love and loyalty he wanted. “I trust Candice more than I’ve ever trusted anybody,” he says.
They married on a hot May afternoon in front of 165 friends and family. The Rev. Sean Dunn, a friend of the groom’s for 15 years, spoke of the miracle of marriage and how, united as one, the newlyweds would serve a higher purpose and be “better in this world together, than apart.” As he led them through the ritual, Dunn teased Ninness time and again, even joking, “I love bossing you around. It’s the only reason I took this gig.”
Please e-mail suggestions for future Vows columns with as much advance notice as possible to denverpostvows@wispertel.net, fax them to 303-279-4672 or mail them to Vows, The Denver Post, 1560 Broadway, Denver, CO 80202.
