Mackenzie and Matt's story began on May 21, 2021 when they met in Carlsbad, CA, the day after Matt got back from his first overseas deployment. They both got a wild hair and decided to go somewhere they had never been before, The Alley in Carlsbad, where Mackenzie saw Matt sitting at the bar and decided that she was going to get herself a free drink...

This led to their first date at Dini's by the Sea, and many more after, like Padre's games, camping, and seeing the Newport Beach Boat Parade where they finally made things official on December 19th, 2021! They couldn't get enough of each other, spending as much time together as they could, only broken up by Matt's training exercises and Mackenzie's many bachelorette parties.

They met each other's families, adopted a kitty together, and eventually moved in together in Carlsbad! These were a blissful and important few months, because in October of 2022 Matt had to deploy to Japan for 6 months. Thankfully Mackenzie was surrounded by the love and support of her friends and family, and they were finally reunited on April 3, 2022.

As if life hadn't already thrown enough curveballs at them, Matt received orders to move out to Oxford, Ohio shortly after he and Mackenzie were finally back together. They had come this far together and decided to jump in with both feet and make the move out to Ohio together.

Once out there, and after lots of trips back out to California for their friends' weddings, Matt and Mackenzie were settled in to their new, temporary home in Ohio. They adopted another kitty and started getting comfortable, which was perfect for what Matt had in store.

Matt, with the help of some of Mackenzie's best friends, planned for the surprise of a lifetime. Mackenzie was in California for 2 weeks to go to two different bachelorette parties. Matt bought a plane ticket for the morning of Tuesday, July 23rd while Mackenzie was gone. He flew to San Diego where she was least expecting it, and that night he got down on one knee. At a rooftop bar in the same town where they met and first lived together, Matt asked Mackenzie to spend the rest of her life with him. He asked her to marry him. And with the quietest, most breathless whisper of "...yes..." their future together was set.

We love you all and we can't wait to get married and celebrate with all our friends and family! March 28, 2025!!