We are delighted to share with you that we officially became Mr. and Mrs. Olson in Orlando, FL on December 24, 2024.

Around March 2022 I joined a Florida Outdoor Women's group. Most weekends were spent camping, backpacking, and paddling at different springs around Florida with other women who shared the same hobbies. Around that same time, I decided to buy myself a mountain bike and was confidently riding up to 8 miles a few times a week. Matt had just transitioned from his teaching career at Valencia College and went back into construction traveling around the Central Florida area. When I wasn't away on a weekend adventure, I was working as a traveling Radiology Tech for a private company and covering Central Florida where they would put me up in the Orlando area several times a month.

Our worlds aligned in April 2022 when our dating apps caught us within the right proximity. After getting to know each other, Matt was so excited to learn I had a bike as he enjoys mountain biking. On our first date, there was a paved trail he wanted to take me on and that day we rode 15 miles. Who knew good company could make you pedal farther than you thought possible. Matt made sure every date we went on was an unforgettable adventure.

Around our third date, we went to the beach with some of his friends the weekend after hurricane Ian and Nicole had gone through; the waves were strong and crashing hard on the shore. I was perfectly fine staying on the beach with my feet in the sand and yet Matt flashed his smile and convinced me going out on a raft was going to be an unforgettable adventure and a much more memorable day than sitting with my feet in the sand. He was not wrong about that. After paddling out and playing in the surf, we lost our raft to a massive round of waves. We struggled to get back to shore. Ask him to tell you the story, his eyes light up and he will tell you it was one of the most exhilarating days of his life. Matt will forever share this as the story of how he saved my life. We both laugh about it now, and only one of us has a touch of PTSD in deeper water. Things cooled down and for a short while we went our separate ways, but this was not the end of our story.

After some time passed, we picked back up where we left off and became inseparable. We were living 65 miles apart and rotating weekends at each other's places until we decided to start a new chapter. Many memories and miles later in February 2024, we bought our first home together in Sanford, FL. We spent most of the year working on house projects and clearing out our to-do list. By July, Matt had an extra item on his to-do list he had long been ready for, and he proposed. We both knew what we wanted and said I do's on December 24, 2024. No frills, no fuss, nothing fancy, just love. While we kept our ceremony intimate with just the two of us, we can't wait to gather with those we love to celebrate our new chapter. For our Illinois family, we will be visiting home in the near future. For our Florida family, we will be planning a gathering in the Summer/Fall of 2025 to celebrate, so stay tuned. We would like to thank you all for the support, encouragement, love and laughter you have contributed to our lives.

With Love, The Newlyweds.