After what seemed like endless swiping on dating apps, Caroline and Matthew were extremely lucky to come across each other when finding the right match was beginning to seem impossible. Unfortunately, the timing was such that Caroline was leaving for a work trip right after connecting. Matthew thought it was a fake story that would lead to him never meeting her, so he was surprised when she kept texting him throughout the week and even sent pictures of Thai food in Seattle! Because of their crazy busy schedules, Caroline and Matthew's first date was on a rainy Monday in February. They immediately bonded over their shared love of hiking, wine, and good bourbon. Walking away in their separate directions after dinner, they both knew that even though this was a miserable rainy Monday, it was one of the best days of their lives.

One of the first things Matthew and Caroline bonded over was their love of hiking. They took their first weekend trip together to Shenandoah National Park over Memorial Day in 2024. Fast forward to June 2025...Matthew said he wanted to take a last-minute day trip down to Shenandoah. He said they were going to go on a waterfall hike that they had never been on before. When they pulled into the parking lot, Caroline thought it looked suspisiously like a hike they had done before, but Matthew said the woods and parking lots just look similar. While hiking, Caroline knows they've done this hike before but Matthew is still playing coy. When they get to the waterfall at the end, Matthew drops down on one knee and proposes at the end of the FIRST hike that the two ever went on together. He even had champagne hidden in his backpack, so they could cheers to their engagement under a waterfall!