We are getting Married!

One word: Tinder. They both swiped right, had several phone conversations, and then met in person on the evening of December 12th. Matt asked Castle to join him at Walker's Pub in Downtown Athens. They got to know one another over a couple of their favorite drinks, for Matt is was dark beer and for Castle it was warm apple cider. After hours of talking and getting to know one another, Matt suggested they check out a local burger place called Clocked. They went there, sat at the old fashioned-style soda counter, and enjoyed amazing hamburgers. Seriously, if you're ever in Athens, you must check them out. We ended the night there, but the next day Matt invited Castle out again. This time to meet his best friends. Long story short, they had an amazing second date that lead to many, many more. =)

After a weekend at Castle's parents house, Matt and Castle were home relaxing and watching To All the Boys I've Loved Before; Always and Forever. During the movie, a couple got engaged in their living room. This spurred a conversation by Matt who asked Castle how he envisioned getting engaged: in an intimate setting with just the two of them or among a large group. Castle agreed with Matt that a more intimate setting would be best. The movie continued on for another 45 minutes, when Matt paused it and said he had something he wanted to ask Castle. He had thought about doing it multiple times during the weekend at Castle's parents house, but never could find the right moment. He looked right at Castle, and provided some loving remarks and asked Castle whether he would marry him. According to Matt, Castle took a long pause before responding. But the reason Castle paused was to check in to make sure this decision felt right. After processing his words and the moment, Castle looked into Matt's eyes and said yes!

Although Matt had already proposed on Valentine's Day the same year, Castle had always planned to surprise Matt with another engagement. After all, he wanted Matthew to have his own personal proposal moment too. In October, Castle and Matt had planned a trip to Seattle, Washington for Castle's cousins wedding. Castle had planned to propose to Matt in a cute city park while they were visiting the city. On the plane to Seattle, the conversation came up about Matt's dream proposal. He said that if he were going to get proposed to, he would want to be surrounded by his close friends. Castle immediately knew he would have to ditch his planned proposal, and come up with another idea. After thinking about it, he decided that he would throw a Christmas party that was close to the date of their first date and there he would surprise Matt with a proposal. That's exactly how it happened. Castle pretended to give a toast that celebrated their close friends, but quickly changed the topic to Matthew and their relationship. Castle finished his speech by asking Matthew to marry him. This time there was no pause, and Matthew immediately said yes!