We met in February of 2018 on the dating website Plenty of Fish. We had both been online, looking for love, for years with no success until that fateful day when Matt asked Paige who her favorite ninja turtle was. If you are a guest from the bride's side, you'll know that first message was almost guaranteed a response. Conversation flowed naturally through online messages and our eventual first date. We lamented the struggles of online dating, compared our childhoods in Arizona, and discussed our trips to Japan, as we had both gone within the past year. Little did we know that we'd go there together just a few months later... and twice more after that.

We went on our third trip to Japan in November 2019. The circumstances surrounding Matt's impending proposal were all out in the open; he's not very good at keeping exciting news to himself. He wanted to propose in Japan. Matt's first trip to Japan had come at a turning point in his life: when he quit his job at Costco and decided to go back to school for video editing. Matt's second trip came at another turning point: a few months after meeting Paige, and the two of them tested their new relationship by traveling halfway around the world together. It made perfect sense to begin the next stage of his life, engagement, in Tokyo as well. But then Paige gave him one stipulation: she didn't want a public proposal. In a city with 9.2 million people, she wanted it to just be the two of them. Matt waited patiently all week for the perfect private moment, but there was no opportunity. It's nearly impossible to find somewhere quiet in a city like Tokyo. Matt's time was running out. He thought he'd have to propose at the hotel, right before we went home! But then, on November 7th, we spent the day at the Ueno Zoo. There was so much to see that we stayed almost until closing. It was then, when everyone else was shuffling towards the exit, that we found ourselves on a bridge in the middle of a lake filled with lotus leaves. Finally alone. It was the perfect time. Matt got down on his knee and asked Paige to be his wife. She said yes, and then they both went to Book Off.