First McKinney Baptist Church

Rehearsal

The Stix Icehouse

Rehearsal Lunch

From Miss to Mrs.

Welcome!

Wedding Ceremony

McKinney Flour Mill

Reception

Spring

Attire: Our wedding dress code will be Dressy Casual. Gentlemen, please wear dress pants or khakis with a button-down shirt or polo. Ladies, sundress, skirt, or dressy pants with a nice top would be lovely.

Our Wedding

"You seem fun! I love every detail of your profile. Oh! How I would be honored to have you as a friend and maybe more. I also went to school in New Orleans. Where did you attend? You are beautiful BTW." On a random Thursday morning, Matt sent a cheesy message, hoping to catch Jen's attention. She almost didn't respond, but he did mention her favorite city, New Orleans. Maybe she should take a peek at his profile. She laughed at his photos and noted several things they had in common - New Orleans, New York, broadway shows, travel, documentaries, being silly...let's see if he can carry his part of a conversation. A flurry of messages between them and so many more commonalities discovered. Matt knew his life was about to get complicated with a mission trip, a baseball quest, a new volunteer position at church - but he knew he wanted to meet Jen. About 24 hours after their first messages, Matt asked Jen out for dinner that night at Bob's Steakhouse. Jen was definitely intrigued with this man who not only could carry a conversation, but who also had so many things in common. It's almost as if someone had been stalking her...she needed to slow things down and make sure this was real and not love bombing. She told Matt she couldn't make that night work, but to give her some options the following week. They settled on the Friday night, but Jen forgot she had double booked herself with an event at church. The continued messaging through the weekend and eventually, Jen offered her number. Matt quickly asked if he could call her and they made plans for a phone date on Tuesday night, right after his Bible study. At 8:00 (and 3 seconds) Matt called from the parking lot - where he stayed for 2 hours because he wanted to give her his full attention. They talked about everything, including the fact that Bob's was pretty fancy for a first date. Matt promised to even things out by taking her to Waffle House on their second date. Two hours later they ended their call with plans to talk again soon. Wednesday night they picked up right where they left off - and Thursday night too! By Thursday, Jen realized that she had double booked herself and was trying to finagle a way to do both. She definitely did not want to reschedule again with Matt because she was very interested in meeting him, but she also did not want to miss her other event. As they talked that night, Jen asked why both reservations were at 8pm, was that Matt's normal dinner time? He said no, those were just the open reservation times. 5:00 was open too - they could go earlier if she wanted. Jen quickly responded "no, that won't work" in such a way that prompted Matt to ask why. And so, she shared her mistake at double booking herself. His response was simple and direct. "Well, I'll cancel the date I have for Saturday night and we can go then, that way you can go to your church event." Absolutely not, Jen was not going to ask him to cancel a date with another woman. He insisted - created a new reservation for the two of them on the spot. Jen was in shock and not quite sure what to think at this point. They kept talking for a while and Matt remembered that Jen didn't work on Fridays, and he wasn't working until late that Friday - "Hey, can I take you to breakfast tomorrow?" Jen was confused, "You mean instead of Bob's?" "Oh, no, we're definitely going to Bob's. I'd just like to take you to breakfast." Still confused, "Well, where?"Matt laughed, "Where else?" It hit Jen, and it was perfect. "Waffle House. Yes. Let's do it!" A little side note - Jen once went on an absolutely terrible date with a man who showed up in old, ratty, yardwork worthy gray sweatpants and a Super Mario Bros t-shirt. In talking through some of their worst date stories, she shared this with Matt and he promised to never wear sweatpants when he was on a date with her. The next morning, Matt was early - 30 minutes early. He wanted to make sure he was able to get a table. Jen, had warned Matt that she was typically late, no matter how hard she worked at it. His gracious response was, "It's ok. You're worth the wait." In this case - Jen was miraculously about 5 minutes early. She's still not even sure how that happened. When she walked in, and he was already there, she paused for just a moment, and then felt so completely at ease. The waitress whispered to her, "He's been waiting for you." Jen noticed Matt was nervous and asked him about it. He admitted it - and then immediately felt at ease. They told stories, laughed, held hands and let their terrible Waffle House food get cold because they were talking so much. About an hour into their date, Matt shared that he had a surprise for Jen. He had previously shared that he was terrible at pulling off a surprise so Jen was intrigued. What could he possibly mean? At that moment, he pulled at the snap buttons on his shirt and revealed a Donkey Kong t-shirt underneath. She full on, belly laughed for a good five minutes. The most perfect surprise. They spent another hour together and though neither one of them wanted the date to end, they did, with both looking forward to their second date.

He Swiped Right

Our Story

Photos

Erin Fry

Emma Johnson

Claire Diamond

Bryan Smith

Ciara Warren

Katie Bird

Carter Bird

Brody Fry

Wedding Party

Q + A

McKinney, Texas is about 30 miles north of Dallas and very easy to get to. Jen has lived in and around McKinney for the last 14 years and because she lives downtown, she and Matt have spent a lot of time exploring her neighborhood. We are excited to share some of our favorite spots with you.

Places to Stay

All of our wedding activities will occur in Downtown McKinney and you'll find any number of cute airbnbs to stay in close to all the fun. Check out "<a href="https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/50973738?check_in=2025-02-01&amp;check_out=2025-02-06&amp;guests=1&amp;adults=1&amp;s=67&amp;unique_share_id=d575b75e-4fc7-4a4e-ae2a-c1fd85d8f00d" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Treehouse</a>" on Airbnb

We have also reserved a block of rooms nearby at the <a href="https://www.hilton.com/en/book/reservation/rooms/?ctyhocn=DALMYHX&amp;arrivalDate=2025-05-30&amp;departureDate=2025-06-01&amp;groupCode=CHHJBW&amp;room1NumAdults=1&amp;cid=OM%2CWW%2CHILTONLINK%2CEN%2CDirectLink" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hampton Inn and Suites McKinney</a>. You can click on the link, call and ask for the Johnson/Berg Wedding or use the code SOW at <a href="Hampton.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hampton.com</a> to receive the discounted rates. Make sure to reserve your room no later than April 28th! Hampton Inn &amp; Suites McKinney2008 North Central ExpresswayMcKinney, TX 75069972-542-6622

Transportation

McKinney is very accessible from either DFW Airport (40 miles) or Dallas Love Field (35 miles).

If you don't have your own car, Uber and Lyft are pretty reliable in all of McKinney. Downtown McKinney is very walkable, although we expect it to be warm, and you may want the luxury of the air conditioning from a car. As you explore Downtown McKinney, there is also a trolley, (Street Car for our NOLA friends), but we wouldn't rely on it for the wedding day.

Travel and Accommodations

Coffee and Restaurants Nearby

<a href="https://collectivedowntown.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Collective Coffee</a>301 W Louisiana St Suite 200McKinney, TX 75069 <a href="https://www.loyoburger.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">LoYo Burger</a>216 W Virginia St STE 102McKinney, TX 75069A great burger! (Gluten Free Options Available) <a href="http://www.kojisushimckinney.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Koji Sushi</a>101 N McDonald StMcKinney, TX 75069(Gluten Free Options Available) <a href="https://localyocalbbqandgrill.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Local Yocal</a>350 E Louisiana St, Suite AMcKinney, TX 75069(Gluten Free Options Available) <a href="https://www.cadillacpizzapub.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Cadillac Pizza</a>112 S Kentucky StMcKinney, TX 75069(Gluten Free Options Available) <a href="https://www.chick-fil-a.com/locations/tx/hwy-380-75" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chick-Fil-A</a>2011 W University DrMckinney, TX 75071(Gluten Free Options Available) <a href="https://www.texasroadhouse.com/locations/183-mckinneytx?utm_source=listing&amp;utm_medium=search" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Texas Roadhouse</a>3101 S Central ExpyMcKinney, TX 75070(Gluten Free Options Available) <a href="https://locations.chipotle.com/tx/mckinney/2811-craig-dr?utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=yext&amp;utm_campaign=yext_listings" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chipotle</a>2811 Craig DrMcKinney, TX 75072

Jen & Matt

Jen & Matt

Photos

June 24, 2024

July 07, 2024

July 07, 2024

July 07, 2024

July 07, 2024

July 07, 2024

November 15, 2024