Once upon a time in Dublin, Ohio, two teenagers grew up living two very distinct and separate, but also shared and parallel lives. Matthew counted down the hours of each school day until he could be out on the golf course, and spent every other moment swinging clubs in his parent's backyard or putting in his bedroom late at night. He would eventually lead the Jerome Boys' Golf Team to a state championship his senior year. Meanwhile, Meredith could be found on the sidelines of every football and lacrosse game, taping ankles and bandaging wounds, or otherwise across town and onstage playing cello in the Columbus Youth Symphony. In 2006, Matthew left home to study and play golf at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida, and a year later, Meredith graduated and packed her bags for Davidson College in North Carolina. Although they'd both spent their formative years in the same midwestern hometown, walking the same high school hallways, they still knew not of one another, and only fate would bring them together in Atlanta, Georgia, nearly 10 years later.

After a few years of playing professional golf, Matt settled down with a sales job in Atlanta. Meredith had lived in the city since 2011, and was working night shifts as a nurse practitioner in the ER at the infamous Grady Hospital downtown. She agreed to a blind date with Matt, who had been vetted by a mutual friend from their high school (thanks, Natalie!), in the summer of 2016 on one of her Friday nights off. Being the true old-fashioned gentleman that he is, Matt called Meredith on the phone, offering to pick her up for dinner at a local Mexican spot on the Westside. Meredith's first memory of Matt was seeing a tall, dark, handsome, and well-dressed man standing next to his car, waiting for her. "Hi, I'm Matt," he said. "Thank you, God" Meredith thought, and to this day still doesn't know what she did to deserve him.

Matt's first memory of Meredith was a stunning, fit, and elegant girl approaching him in her parking garage. Their chemistry sparked with a hug, and after hopping in the car, Matt asked Meredith what kind of music she wanted to listen to, to which she quickly replied: "Classic rock works for me.” At that moment, Meredith immediately differentiated herself from anyone else Matt had dated, and he was eager to see where this date would lead. In fact, they both knew there was serious potential brewing when they each decided to order a second round of tacos at the restaurant. (To this day, Meredith's favorite joke about Matt is that when she cooks dinner, she already cooks for a family of 4 -- just to feed Matt.)

Sure enough, Matt asked Meredith if she'd like to check out another spot down the street to play pool and Skee-Ball after dinner. He even cancelled a round of golf with his friends (which is basically unheard of for anyone who knows Matt) in favor of their second date. The rest is history.

Matt and Meredith spent the next two years of dating on completely opposite schedules and commuting between midtown and the 'burbs to see each other (which got really complicated when the main highway connecting Roswell to Atlanta burned down). They enjoyed their fair share of adventures together from midnight swimming with manta rays in Hawaii to drinking pisco sours at 10,000 feet in Chile, and from grunge music tours in Seattle to deep sea snorkeling in the Bahamas. Soon enough, Matt started to feel that he could not live without Meredith and wanted to ask her to be his wife. He searched long and hard for the right ring, asked for her mother and father's permission while on a vacation in South America, and before long it was time to ask Meredith herself. Although they had many trips planned together, Matt thought it was only appropriate to pop the question in New Hampshire with the help of Meredith's parents. A week in the Granite State was booked for July, and as it approached, Matt planned how he wanted to propose: go on a walk near sunset on Saturday, and get down on one knee.

Well, after arriving home from a long day of Saturday hiking (7+ miles in the White Mountains!), Matt asked Meredith to go on a walk before dinner. But she abruptly declined! "We just hiked 7 miles, Matt! I just want to change into my pajamas and sit on the porch." So... Matt retreated to the back porch and invited Meredith to join him when she was ready. Twenty minutes later she joined him with a glass of wine and he knew this was his best chance. Matt immediately got down on one knee, telling Meredith that she was the best thing that had ever happened to him and asking her if she would make him the luckiest man in the world by marrying him.

. . . Overwhelmed with joy, Meredith forgot she was supposed to say "yes" for about 30 seconds, and Matt had to ask for an answer before placing the ring on her finger. She of course did say yes, and they walked into the kitchen and shared the news with her parents and other family and friends near and far.

Matt and Meredith are looking forward to their honeymoon in Mauritius! They are spending 2019 building and moving into their first house together, which they looking forward to turning into a home as husband and wife. Matt will continue to work in sales at Carolina Handling, and Meredith in emergency medicine at Grady. They can't wait to celebrate with you on November 2, 2019, and then see where this life will take them as Mr. & Mrs. Stauch!