Our story began in 2016 in North Bay when we were introduce through a group of friends. Rachael was there studying to be a nurse and Mat was a plumbing apprentice. We got to know each other by hanging out with friends, going to bonfires, shooting guns in the pits and venturing onto the ice for fishing. Little did anyone know where this friendship would end up. After a few months, Mat finally got the courage to ask Rachael out.

Over the next few years we have taught each other a lot. Rachael has learned to hunt, fish and "go with the flow" and I have learned to cook, be patient and "make a plan"!

In 2023, Mat made a plan that he was going to ask Rachael to be his wife. He took her out fishing with their friends, Lauren and Tom, to capture the special moment. Mat's plan was to be down on one knee when Rachael caught a fish, unfortunately no fish where caught that weekend. Mat was anxious and stressed because in a few days he would be leaving for Nunavut for 3 weeks and he wanted to do it before he left. A day later Mat insisted that they go fishing on Lake Nipissing to see if they could "catch" a fish. Luck was clearly not on Mat's side as they were unable to access the lake in their usual spot, but thankfully Callander Bay wasn't far down the road. After fishing for a few hours with no bites, Mat was starting to worry it wouldn't happen yet again, but thankfully as he was thinking that Rach said, "I got one". Mat's plan to capture the proposal was to set his phone up on his snowmobile. He said ''I'll take a video and screen shot a picture of us with you holding your fish, because we never take pictures together". As Rachael held the fish up, Mat pulled out the ring, dropped down on one knee and asked the most important question of their life.

Home2 Suites by Hilton Huntsville

Deerhurst Resort