Our first meeting is owed all to Matt's groomsman and close friend, Mr. Bradley Hodges! Firstly, Matt was not initially supposed to go out that night and it was a very last-minute decision spurred by Bradley. Secondly, he was so shy that he would not come up and talk to me! Bradley, who is an A+ wingman, came up to my friend and I and asked if their group could come over because his friend thought I was very beautiful. Flattered, I looked behind him to see a very handsome tall tattooed man in a blue polo. We both agreed, but as soon as their group started walking over Matt turned around and walked off very quickly saying "I have to run to the bathroom." To this day he swears he really did have to, but we all think he was just nervous! Hehe. He eventually came back and at the end of the night, he asked for my number.

*Wonder Bar holds a very special place in our hearts and we love to go back often as seen below!*

Our first date was very eventful! The day after we met Matt asked me on a date for the following weekend, BUT it got postponed just a bit because it turns out that I ended up getting Covid the night we met. He was very patient and persistent though and as soon as I got better he reminded me that I owed him that date! The night of our date he took me to this beautiful hotel rooftop which ended up closing soon after because it started pouring rain! We sat and talked for hours and hours until we had to go. When we walked to our cars we thought we had gotten locked out of the parking garage so we ran around the building in the rain trying to find an open door. After that, it came time to say goodbye and he was so nervous that he accidentally broke the zipper on his jacket while moving his hands around in the pockets. The look on his face was priceless and I was laughing so hard I was doubled over. I think we both knew we had found something very special.

Matt’s proposal was a complete surprise! For my 26th birthday, I told Matt that I wanted to go to the Cheesecake Factory (which he didn’t feel was “fancy” enough). On my birthday we did go there, but he said he wanted to take me to a more formal dinner to celebrate the occasion as well. He planned dinner for July 5th, which was a Wednesday, so I was running late coming from work and had no time to overthink! Once I got there we were shown to our booth which was tucked in the corner and hidden by a wall. I walked around the wall to see bouquets of roses and sunflowers as well as rose petals decorating the table with a small bag sitting front a center with a note. I started to read the note and noticed Matt reaching in the bag to grab something, I quickly knew that he was about to propose. He did and I said YES! Right after placing the ring on my finger, he let me know that he had one more surprise. From the back I saw that our amazing friends Sean, Brad, and Cassie were walking up!! It was so much fun to celebrate with our friends and soak in the moment. Halfway through dinner he also surprised me with his very sweet mom, who also happens to be an amazing photographer! She was able to take some photos for us so that we would have these to look back on. This will forever be an incredibly special day for the both of us!