Town Point Club

Rehearsal Dinner

The Ghent

Welcome Party

The Historic Post Office

Ceremony & Reception

Doors Open

Ceremony

Cocktail Hour

Dinner & Dancing

Fall

Our Wedding

OUR STORY

This story starts like a lot of great stories, during a party in the barely finished basement of a crappy house in Woodbridge Virginia. I had recently “graduated” college and was passing my days serving cheesecake to the people of NOVA while I attempted to find work that didn't require me to wear an apron. I was poor, single, but ultimately optimistic that good things were on their way. I just didn't know how soon.    The night in question started out business as usual. My buddy Jared was throwing a party and wanted me to come. So there in a smoky basement, while people struggled to talk over music, I acted as beer pong referee, trying my hardest to make people laugh, enjoying the energy of being in the mix.   When in walked Rayghan.    This is gonna sound mean but it’s true, she was clearly out of place. First off, she was gorgeous (no offense woodbridge) but second she clearly didn’t know anyone other than my coworker Amanda which is rare in an industry where everybody knows everybody. So I quickly asked Jared. “Who's that girl who just came with Amanda?” “I dunno.” He replied in his infinite, yet unhelpful wisdom.    “Is she single?” I asked. “I dunno.” he replied again. “Why don’t you go find out.”   So I did just that…well kinda. I made awkward small talk with Rayghan until I gave up and just decided to ask Amanda if she was in fact single, and to my relief she was. Now came the hard part, I had to actually talk to Rayghan, which was harder than you might think. For starters, and I’m sure this comes as a shock to most people but I’m painfully bad at talking to girls and secondly due to my previous awkward attempts at conversation, Rayghan thought I was making fun of her. So her attitude towards me was less than ideal. My reputation as a mischief maker was biting me in the ass.    But I continued on, and with the occasional pep talk from my Italian brother Mario (who was also in attendance) and reassurance from Amanda that I wasn't a complete douchebag, Rayghan and I spent the entire night talking. It wasn't until the night was coming to a close that I realized if I wanted to see her again I’d need to ask her out on a real date, she was going back to UVA soon and I doubted she was down to party with the Cheesecake Crew again anytime soon, and so I did. She accepted, gave me her phone number and I almost screwed the whole thing up again by waiting three days before texting her. I was still trying to play it cool, ya know?    Anyway, she forgave me and our first date went so well that we decided to go on a second one before she left for school. So I pulled out all the stops and took her to the Marine Corp museum near Quantico (She said she liked museums, sue me.) before embarking on a day-long trek through a series of random places I “planned” to take us which in reality were just locations I tacked on because I didn't want the date to end. But as weird as that was, it worked because we decided to continue dating long distance when she went back to Charlottesville.    That started an incredible three year span of exploring Charlottesville that we both look back on fondly. After Rayghan got her Masters degree we moved her back to Alexandria where we enjoyed finally living in the same city and spent our time hanging with friends and playing intramural sports (Rayghan’s Idea) while preparing to take the dive into med school.     We weren't sure where we were going but we knew we wanted to do it together, so when Rayghan got accepted into EVMS in Norfolk we packed our bags and headed to the 757. Since then we’ve gotten engaged, raised our furry boy Ronan, been there for each other through the hard times and made even more incredible memories with family and friends. Now we’re on to the next big chapter, marriage and residency!   That’s definitely the cliff notes version of our story but you get the idea. I’ll happily give a more in depth version in person when you come for the wedding, voices, pantomiming, the whole nine yards.    -Matt

Our Story

Photos

Movie connoisseur, lover of board games, and Matt's older brother. 

Chris Haskell

Influencer, guide through the clouds, and Matt's favorite story teller. Katie has been friends with Rayghan since high school. 

Katie Milam

Mixologist, Master Jedi, King of the Mountain, and Matt's hard partying guardian angel. 

Jared Dent

Cat Mom, amateur seamstress, and expert no pole skier. Rachel has been friends with Rayghan since high school. 

Rachel Coe

Irish blooded, Italian chef, reader of books and Matt's silent protector. 

Mario Genova

Dog lover, cider expert, and Rayghan's oldest friend. Amanda is the one who introduced the happy couple, so this is all thanks to her! 

Amanda Breed

Artist, linguist, eccentric world traveler, and Matt's oldest friend. 

Josh Boelsche 

Baseball enthusiast, Vine curator, foodie and Matt's voice of reason. Bekah is the little sister Rayghan always wanted! 

Rebekah Haskell

Unintentionally wise, rolodex of information and Matt's most sage advisor.

Isaiah Carter

Frequent flyer, Iowa Hawkeye, first cousin and Rayghan's de-facto big sister. 

Chelsea Downing-Larick

Champagne popper, fun loving Doctor, first cousin and Rayghan's de-facto big sister. 

Carrie Downing-Larick

Wedding Party

Q + A

Located right across the street from our ceremony and reception venue, The Landing at Hampton Marina offers a special room rate if you use the code HPO (Historic Post Office) when booking your room! *Also we've been told there is a possible discounted rate for government/military!

The Landing at Hampton Marina, Tapestry Collection by Hilton

Norfolk International Airport

Lodging & Travel

PLACES TO EAT

Breakfast and Brunch (Hampton)

Glazed Doughnuts

The Grey Goose

Pour Girls

LUNCH & DRINKS (HAMPTON)

This place has super good burgers if you're into that. Really good cocktails too. -Matt

Brown Chicken Brown Cow

One of my favorite breweries in Hampton Roads, very unique beers and even boozy soda!

Oozlefinch Beers & Blending

If you prefer Cider to Beer, this place is awesome!

Sly Clyde Ciderworks

LUNCH (NORFOLK)

We love this place for sandwiches, there are multiple locations throughout the Hampton Roads area.

TASTE

DRINKS (NORFOLK)

The Veil Brewing Co.

The Ghent • Self-Pour Gastropub • Roof Top Bar & Event Venue

DINNER (VA BEACH)

This place is a bit far from our wedding venue but this one of our all time favorite restaurant in the area!

The Porch on Long Creek

THINGS TO DO (HAMPTON ROADS AREA)

Matt's favorite store in Norfolk, great spot if you're looking for something to take home with you.

Rayghan & Matthew