We never thought July 19, 2023 would be a date of any significance. Matt was a veteran dater who was doing stand up to meet women where the closest he ever got to a romantic connection was when the bartender asked him out to the Philly Pride Parade. Meanwhile, Amanda-Rose was new to the dating scene seeking a tall, distinguished gentleman who dresses well and no shorter than 6'3". Somehow, through all of the 400 former college point guards in her Hinge inbox, she picked out the 5 foot 10 3/4 popcorn addict who loves his dogs too much, and in public, can’t even match his shirt with his PJs. We initially connected over Monty Python & the Holy Grail, a movie Matt enjoyed but hadn’t seen since grade school, while Amanda-Rose could quote and perform every scene and every character in its 1 hour and 29 minute entirety. Matt would later describe this incredible talent as, “the hottest thing he has ever seen”. As we continued to message though we did notice what could have been one fatal flaw. Matt is an enthusiastic texter who emphasizes excitement through emojis and exclamation points, while Amanda-Rose is an efficient texter who sees no need for such expression. So while Matt was often insecure about whether or not he was boring AR with her perceived mundane and unemotional responses, AR was confused why Matt was always yelling at her (!!) We decided to meet up for a first date anyway at Long Live Beerworks. Matt’s anxieties were immediately put at ease when Amanda-Rose met him a big smile, indicating that she was in fact not a robot. Amanda-Rose however was not so lucky when she discovered Matt actually has no volume control. Even still, she was enamored by his golden retriever energy, and he loved that she offered to split the check. But honestly AR was so witty and engaging, we had the best time sharing stories about our friends & families, connecting over our values and aspirations, and the fact that we could talk about anything and everything, no matter how ridiculous, was the biggest green flag! (Bites Knuckles emoji) Of the first 30 days we began dating, we were only in the same state for 10 of them. We saw each other every day we were home and FaceTimed every day we were away. We’ve been near inseparable ever since. Amanda-Rose was the 1st to initiate most of our milestones. AR was 1st to say she was ready to become exclusive, AR was 1st to tell Matt she loved him, and above all, AR was 1st to corrupt Matt's Instagram algorithm with relationship reels and capybaras. On the other hand, Matt was 1st to bet the rights to their first child’s name on a football game-which he has since retained the rights of back (So sad for Baby Chalupa Batman) It didn’t take long for us to know we wanted to get married to each other. After a year of dating Matt decided to get together with AR’s best friend Kaeli to plan the surprise engagement. With both our birthdays in October, Matt wanted to throw her off the scent by proposing the day before his birthday. The plan was Kaeli was going to “invite us” out to a nice lunch in Narragansett where we'd later go to the beach to pop the question. Unbeknownst to Matt however, AR had her own tricks up her sleeve. She surprised Matt at lunch with a chocolate layer cake from Greggs (his absolute favorite) to celebrate his birthday. Now this may sound sweet, thoughtful, an absolute masterclass of all that is stealth and love. But Matt took this personally. Like Amanda-Rose was going to be this day’s Grandmaster of Shock and Awe. It honestly just made that moment on the beach, pulling out the ring and watching Amanda-Rose jump up and down, nodding her head with absolute elation at a total loss for words, that much more spectacular and memorable for both of us to cherish forever. We couldn't be more excited to be joining each other’s lives November 9th, starting this journey together surrounded by the best friends and family, and are so blessed for you all to be a part of the best day of our life!