Matthew had brought up the idea of a ring before the couple had been together for a year. Asking Tori what kind of ring she would like, to which Tori had responded, “No diamonds, and fairy-esque. And when you see it, you have to be like ‘yes, this is THE ring’.” Matthew found the ring roughly 8 months before he had wanted to propose. The ring and the day were the only things that he knew at that time. The where and the how were constantly changing.

He had originally thought of taking Tori out to eat at an Italian restaurant, as her favorite dishes were often pasta, and then to see a movie, as their first date had been at the movies. However, Matt was not sure where the couple would be when this original planning was happening. For the day he picked was a Tuesday night, and they both would likely have work before the date, and work the next day. They also had only talked about moving in together, sending houses and apartments back and forth over text, but rarely touring places. Matthew was unsure if, after the proposal, they would be going home to an apartment or house they shared, or back to their own parents’ houses.

After Tori found their wonderful starter home in Skippack, which she purchased in the middle of August, Matt’s plans were in need of change as the couple decided that they would be eating out at restaurants less, as well as enjoying more movies at home.

The final draft of Matthew’s proposal plans had been in the works since they had moved in together.

When it came to getting blessings from Tori’s family, Matthew had shown and asked her mother before anyone else. Matthew had shown Tori’s mom the ring and asked for her blessing before Tori graduated from Widener in May of 2024. When it came to asking her father, Matthew was very nervous, and he did not gather the courage until mid- October. Matt finished getting his blessings when he asked Tori’s paternal grandparents about a month before his planned proposal. He asked for their blessing while he and Tori were helping them decorate their house for Christmas before the Thanksgiving madness. Both Victoria’s mom-mom and pop had welcomed Matt into the family with the news of the eventual proposal.

The weekend before Matt’s decided proposal day, Tori had been staying over with her friend Hailey. Matt very last minute, had asked Hailey to get Victoria’s nails done so they looked pretty when he proposed. Let it be noted that he did not give her enough time to plan, which Hailey will never let him forget, but he was incredibly grateful that she did manage to accomplish the task.

When it finally came to December 10th, the big day, Matt had decided to make her favorite dinner, homemade lasagna. He also chose that they would watch a set of movies that he knew she had enjoyed, the How to Train Your Dragon Trilogy. Matthew planned that when Tori arrived home from work on Tuesday, dinner would be set and ready at their coffee table by the time she walked in. And as soon as she was sat at their couch, the first movie would start. In addition to the planned dinner, he had an additional surprise for her, a matching set of night fury/ light fury pajamas for the couple to wear while watching. They ate their dinner and watched the first movie as if nothing too special was happening. Tori had just been thinking this was a nice little surprise to come home to after work, while Matthew was nervous the whole time.

When the second movie started, he began mentally preparing himself; it was almost time to pop the question. About three-quarters of the way through the movie, the main character’s parents reunite for the first time in 20 years. During this time in the movie, they begin singing to each other their wedding vows. The song was called “For the Dancing and the Dreaming.” When the song started, Matthew pulled Tori off the couch so they could dance together. Tori was living for every moment of it.

As the song ended with the words “and you will marry me,” Matthew got down on one knee and reached into his pocket to grab the ring box. However, as he was reaching into his pocket, trouble arose, as the ring was no longer there. He panicked and looked around for where it could be, not realizing the box had fallen out of his pocket while he and Tori were dancing in their living room. He quickly found the box under their coffee table and dove for it. He returned to the position of being on one knee, still shaken by the fact that he had to dive for the ring box. As he rushed to open the box and show Tori the ring, Matt didn't realize that he was now holding the ring box upside down. When he opened it, the rings, which had come in a set of three, had all fallen out into the lid of the box. He scrambled and grabbed the engagement ring and tried to compose himself. After a moment of sitting there catching his breath, Matthew finally choked out the words, “Will you marry me?” Forgetting whatever other words he had previously planned on saying. Tori, starting to tear up, said yes, and the pair shared their first hug and kiss as an engaged couple, after Matthew had slid the ring onto her finger.

The rest of the night was spent on phone calls where she showed her ring off to her entire family and all her friends. They did not get a chance to watch the third movie that night, as Tori had quite a large family of people to inform. By the time they were done with the text, phone calls, and video calls, it was past their typical bedtime. Don’t worry, they ended up watching the third and final movie in the How to Train Your Dragon Trilogy the next day.

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