Late in January 2023 Matt and Haley matched on a dating app which was kind of strange since neither of us really like that kind of thing. It was also odd because Haley lived in Chester and Matt lived in Mathews and neither of us had our settings selected that far apart. We finally figured out we matched while Matt was passing through Richmond on his way to Mt. Jackson.

After a week of talking we went on our first date. We got to lunch at a Mexican restaurant, had ice cream, sat and talked for hours, got dinner, and went bowling later that night. At some point in the evening Matt asked Haley to be his girlfriend and she said “let’s see how the second date goes first.”

The next weekend was our second date. We wandered around Maymont park in Richmond for a long time. Talked about anything and everything, had lunch and dinner together again and at the end of the night Matt asked Haley to be his girlfriend and this time she said yes!

We have spent the last year in a long distance relationship only seeing each other on the weekends. We love taking long walks together, going to antique shops, sitting on the porch in the morning after breakfast, and of course getting ice cream.

Over the past year, we’ve experienced more losses and triumphs between new jobs, finishing school, moving and so much more. However, the best experience was when we decided to take a walk on the beach one afternoon in early March 2024 right after it had rained. Haley was looking for old glass bottles that are usually in the area and Matt was looking for arrowheads. Matt suggested that we walk down the dock. So Haley rinsed off her hands in the water from all the sand she was digging and we went down the dock. Matt was telling her all about the island that used to be where the sandbar is now and how it has changed. While Haley was looking at the ducks in the water well past the sand bar. When she turned around he was on one knee and proposed. It was just us. No cameras. No extra people. It was perfect. We got to soak in the moment just for us! After that, we called our families and some friends to share the news. One of Matt’s best friends Paul, who was on standby, came down to the dock to take a few pictures for us.