Alana and Matthew went to middle school and high school together. However, they never spoke a word to each other.

Yet, for some unknown reason, Matthew was invited to Alana's Bat Mitzvah. They danced the Cupid Shuffle together, Alana fell in love with Matthew's amazing dance moves, and the rest was history...

Just kidding.

Fast forward about 9 years after Alana's Bat Mitzvah... Alana and Matthew still hadn't spoken a word to each other.

Alana had just moved home from college. Matthew was stuck home without any teeth (a story for another time). And both found themselves swiping on a little known dating app called Tinder.

It just so happened that they both swiped right, finally said a few words to each other... AND FOR REAL NOW, the rest is history.

Once Matthew got his teeth fixed, he finally invited Alana over for their first date (almost 3 months later)!

She met him at his parent's lake house for a boat ride. Luckily, he wasn't an axe murderer nor like the guy that Monica dates from high school in the TV show Friends. (Both were very valid concerns of Alana's.)

For the first few years of dating, Alana and Matthew told everyone that they had ran into each other at a bar. But now they are very proud of their origin story.

2019 was a big year.

February of 2019, Matthew and Alana bought their very first house together in Berkley, MI.

In June of 2019, they brought home their puppy Wrigley, the sole reason for buying said house.

After surviving quarantine together, Alana building a business, and training a rambunctious Golden puppy, they decided to sell their Berkley home and bought Matthew's parent's lake house where they had their very first date.

Matthew planned a weekend trip to Pigeon Forge, TN. He and Alana went on a hike through the Smoky Mountains.

As soon as they started hiking, it immediately looked like it was going to rain.

Panicked, Matthew found a small waterfall on the trail and proposed within the first 30 minutes of the 4 hour hike. Luckily, the rain held up and they were able to enjoy the next 3 ½ hours discussing all the secrets Matthew had to keep while he was planning the engagement.

At the very end of the hike, there was an even larger waterfall. Because the hike was fairly secluded, they were the only 2 there. They sat on a rock, shared a snack, and took it all in before descending back to their car and celebrating the rest of the weekend.

Instead of heading straight home after a long drive back to Michigan, Matthew made a slight detour and headed to Alana's parent's house for an engagement party.

To both of their surprise, Matthew's family flew in from Florida for 24 hours and joined Alana's family in celebrating.