We were first introduced by our mutual friends Emily and Alex at Alex’s 21st birthday party. If you see them at the wedding, say thank you for us! Matthew called an Uber with a stop to drop Jenna off, and he loves to remind her that he didn’t get a Venmo or her number in return.

Four months later, we saw each other again at the 100 days until graduation dance. After many birds flew around the dance floor, we officially had each others’ attention. Matthew followed up via Facebook Messenger to ask Jenna out on a date. He kept the location a secret until he picked her up and shared two tickets to a paint and sip at Ironhand Winery (fun fact: Ironhand is attached to the reception venue).

We went on a few dates before the pandemic hit and the rest of the semester was canceled. Matthew returned to Atlanta, and Jenna stayed in South Bend to finish her thesis. We spent many hours on FaceTime to get to know each other. In May, Matthew drove back to move out and officially asked Jenna to be his girlfriend.

Jenna moved to Chicago, and Matthew started his LA job remote from Atlanta. During this time, we had many trips to visit each other and see the sights of both cities. These trips were inevitably extended due to Covid quarantines…though Matthew thinks it was just Jenna’s way of keeping him around longer. Our favorite activities included picnics by the lakefront, endless games of Uno, and sipping wine.

In the fall of 2021, Matthew started law school at the University of Georgia. Though distance continued to separate us, we traveled to many places and enjoyed law school dances together.

After 2.5 years of long distance, Jenna moved to Athens. We moved into a cute townhome and hung the paintings from our first date.

Matthew crafted a plan with the help of Jenna’s friend, Monica, to propose on their final trip of the summer. He staged a lakefront picnic with a carefully selected view of the Chicago skyline, got down on one knee, and delivered the speech of a lifetime involving numerous Taylor Swift references (of which Jenna remembers none of it). The rest is history!