The couple: Kim Scardino, 55, grew up in Villanova, Pennsylvania. She is a lawyer at a tech company. Chris Ryan, 58, grew up in the Friendship Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C., and in Bethesda and graduated from Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda. He is the general counsel for Pansophic Learning, an education company. They live in Bethesda.
How they met: Both divorced, Kim and Chris matched on the dating app The League in June 2022, going on a first date to Lia’s restaurant in Chevy Chase for brunch. “We totally hit it off. The date was, like, two and a half hours,” Kim recalls. But after their second date, Kim—who had started a side hustle as a matchmaker and dating coach during the pandemic—got cold feet. “I sent him a text the next day and said, ‘You know, you’re great, but it’s just not going to work,’ ” she says. But 10 days later, she reached out again—this time, to offer him feedback as a dating coach as he pursued other relationships, suggesting he play up his accomplishments more during dates. “At the end of the call, he was like, ‘Can I get a reboot with you?’ ” Kim says. “My gut was like, ‘You need to give this guy a chance.’ ” She took her own advice, and less than a year later, they were engaged.
Chris says, “I think it goes to show, even though she’s a certified dating coach, you can’t coach yourself in anything.”
The proposal: “I knew we would get engaged, but I didn’t know when,” says Kim, who had told Chris she wanted the proposal to be unexpected. On Valentine’s Day in 2023, the couple celebrated at home, exchanging gifts and sitting by the fireplace. “Chris was like, ‘Well, there’s one more thing,’ and then he brought the ring out,” says Kim, who had not, in fact, seen the proposal coming. “She wanted to be surprised,” Chris says, “so I had to deliver.”
The ceremony: The couple tied the knot Sept. 30, 2023, in a 24-guest, family-only ceremony in a private room at Cafe Milano in Washington, D.C. They chose the venue for its intimate vibe, and as a tribute to their shared Italian heritage. Chris’ daughter, Claire, then 13, walked with him down the aisle, and an electric violinist played “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles as Kim walked down the aisle with her daughter, Olivia, then 19. Chris’ brother and Kim’s sister officiated the wedding together. “It just was like everything in life that you want,” the bride says.
And there was more merrymaking once it came time to say “I do.” Kim’s sister Meredith had arranged a surprise for Chris, who’s an avid collector of PEZ dispensers. “ ‘It’s time to add two more to the collection,’ ” Kim recalls her sister saying before she debuted two 3D-printed PEZ dispensers embossed with their names. The containers, which usually hold candy, were specially designed to hold the couple’s rings. The groom, for his part, was stunned: “I was looking at it going, ‘Wha- wha- what?’ ”
The food: Dinner was served at Cafe Milano, where guests had their choice of salad or burrata to start, cacio e pepe or rigatoni with a white veal ragu for a first course, and a branzino fillet or New York strip steak for the second course. Passed hors d’oeuvres came with napkins bearing a mash-up of the couple’s last names: the Rydinos. “Some people thought that was our new last name,” Kim says jokingly.
The dress: “I knew I didn’t want to wear white because it was a second marriage,” Kim says. She went to an evening gown trunk show at Carine’s Bridal Atelier in Washington, D.C., and picked out a cerulean Verdavainne gown with beaded embroidery on the bodice. “I just fell in love with that blue,” she says. To top it off, the dress company sent some extra material from the dress to make Chris’ tie, “so we matched,” says the groom.
The reception: After the ceremony and dinner, guests boarded a bus to the newlyweds’ friends’ house in Arlington for a dessert reception with about 100 guests, who cheered them inside with a streamer-filled welcome. Near the entrance was a globe for guests to sign with gold Sharpies, and the dessert tables were festooned with bouquets of orange dahlias, Playa Blanca roses and eucalyptus. On display too—of course—was a selection of couple-themed PEZ dispensers: Jim and Pam from The Office, Marge and Homer Simpson from The Simpsons and a classic bride-and-groom pair.
In the living room and underneath a tent outside, bars with a bevy of signature drinks awaited guests. Beverages included “Rydino” limoncello (homemade by the groom); a bourbon concoction called Marco’s Paper Plane; Claire’s Shirley Temple, named after Chris’ daughter; and Olivia’s margarita seltzer, in honor of Kim’s daughter. For dessert, a decadent array of mini treats, such as cappuccino tartlets, lemon olive oil cakes and chocolate-covered macaroons accompanied a three-tier almond wedding cake. The party favors were PEZ dispenser-shaped cookies, frosted to look like the newlyweds. The pair danced to Van Morrison’s “Someone Like You” before spending the rest of the night making their rounds with friends and family.
The honeymoon: In keeping with their unofficial wedding theme, the pair jetted off to Italy for their honeymoon shortly after the wedding. They spent 10 days exploring the areas their families are from: Sicily and Northern Italy. “We’ve always had this Italian bond, which is really fun,” says the bride.
Vendors: Cake, Fluffy Thoughts Cakes; ceremony music, Tiffany Rose Shanta of Bialek’s Music; dessert caterer, Relish Catering; dress, Carine’s Bridal Atelier; event planner, Teresa Antonucci of Rex & Regina Events; florist, Helen Olivia Flowers; hair, Laurent Chauvet of Salon ILO; linens and tent, Select Event Group; makeup, Jordan Lewis of JKW Beauty; PEZ cookies, Sugar LLC; photographer, Jessica Nazarova Photography; transportation, MJ Valet; venue, Cafe Milano.
This appears in the March/April 2025 issue of Bethesda Magazine.
