It was a cold and frosty evening, when Christine was outside, preparing to enter a party in Center City, Philadelphia. Inclement weather and an early arrival of a niece, suddenly postponed her girlfriends' yearly trip to Philadelphia for her birthday. Still ready to have some fun, she donned her leather jacket (fake), and headed out to a party hosted by a friend of a friend. While juggling a few bags, she was struggling trying to work the call box to get into the lobby. Out of nowhere, a strapping young gentleman approached, and with him, his friend Matt. This party, in which Matt also did not directly know the host, was not part of his original plans either. This night was the night of the annual Lemon Ball which was a recurring event for him, but he decided to skip this year. So he decided to go to this party with his friends John and Josh. Freshly nerded out in some glasses (jalapeño incident) and a collared shirt (perhaps unbuttoned all the way to the navel) he sensed he could apply his technological skills and get the group into the building. While in the elevator, they learned they were heading to the same party. As the elevator ascended, thus began the rise of the feeling of intrigue and butterflies, which would eventually blossom into love and friendship.

Uncharacteristically, Matt told Christine he had made dinner reservations for the Friday before their vacation. Due to plans to leave early the next day, Christine wasn't sure they should go out instead of using that time to pack for the trip. Matt, not wanting to show his cards, told her the decision was up to her. Despite some waffling, Matt nudged her in the direction of choosing dinner. They headed out to Audrey Claire, the site of their second date. There, they enjoyed a Mediterranean meal. Despite the location of the dinner, Matt's uncharacteristic evening planning, and a generous fellow diner offering Christine a mango Waterloo seltzer, she hadn't yet put together the pieces of the night. Matt could tell she was preoccupied with the preparations for the upcoming beach trip. As the wonderful dinner drew to a close, Christine offered to call for the Uber. Matt said, "Nah, let's go for a walk first." And that was then, he saw in her eyes, that she realized that this night was about to take a turn. Because in what world would Matt want to walk 2 miles at 10:30 at night, something had to be up his sleeve. They walked two blocks to the picturesque Addison Street (see photo below) and Matt got down on one knee.