It all started in graduate school at Drexel University, where we had a few classes together, would chat briefly the few times we’d pass each other in the hallways, but otherwise did not interact much over the first year. We always had breaks halfway through class when Matt always made it a point to chat with Bria and her Marketing friends, a group project together during Bria’s last term, and an ignored invite from Matt to Bria to join a small party he was hosting. But for most of our time at Drexel, neither of us could have predicted the future we were in store for together. That all changed on Friday March 8, 2019. Matt organised a night out with classmates to celebrate the time at Drexel coming to a close; he considered inviting Bria but after coming to the conclusion that she was not interested, he didn’t think to invite her. Luckily, a mutual friend, always determined to play matchmaker, invited Bria. We spent the whole night talking, barely spending any time with anyone else. As the larger group started moving to a club, Matt suggested they leave the rest of the group and go to a different bar that was having a Samba music night. Bria was in for multiple surprises that night - first, that this seemingly plain nice guy from New Jersey would have interest in Samba music; second, when he could actually dance to said Samba music; third, that she would want to continue getting to know “Matthew Shaw from class.” That night turned out to be the start of the relationship that has led to this celebration. Matt and Bria spent the next year enjoying dating and spending lots of time together in and around Philadelphia. That was until March 2020, when Bria moved back to Nassau and the long-distance phase of our relationship started. We spent the next 18 months keeping our love alive via daily FaceTime calls and the occasional trips to spend time together in Nassau or Philly. Getting fed up with the long distance but determined to keep the relationship alive, Matt found a new job that would allow him to spend a lot more time in the Bahamas. This would be the beginning of all of you wondering, “where on earth is Matt and Bria?” or “what are the next steps?”, which we still don’t have answers to, to be honest. On October 28th 2021, Bria met Matt on Love Beach for what she thought was going to be an afternoon spending time with friends on the beach. Instead, she showed up to Matt by himself with blankets, champagne flowers, and an inability to get any words out through his nervous but excited smile. Stumbling through his excitement, he got down on one knee and proposed! Overjoyed and excited, we got married less than 5 months later on March 18th 2022, in front of just our parents, Grammy Paula, (almost successfully surprising them) and cousin Jevon as officiant. We like to think of the last two years as a love story of choosing each other and the time has finally come to officially celebrate with our family and friends! We are so grateful for all the love, encouragement, and support you all have shared with us through our crazy journey thus far! We are beyond excited for a weekend of celebration in beautiful Nassau.