Matthew | I was fresh off of transferring to Georgia Southern from North Georgia in the fall of 2015. I traded mountains for . . . the gnat line? Anyways, I had just moved my stuff into the house I was sharing in Statesboro. Not wanting me to eat alone my first night, roommate and now Best Groomsman Mitchell invited me to go eat dinner with some folks (what a guy) at Statesboro's best, Gnat's Landing. Okay I know I can be sarcastic but it's really good, y'all. Turns out it wasn't just a dinner, Emily can fill you in on that, but it was where we first met when I sat next to her for the dinner. For some still unknown reason she told me she was a German major and kept that charade going for a few weeks. It wasn't a 'love at first sight.' I thought she was cute and fun to talk to, but I was definitely pulling the 'not dating anyone for awhile' thing. Emily | In the summer of '15, the season was winding down and school would soon be the forefront of everyone's minds. I was so sad to be saying goodbye to my friend and trailer park neighbor, now Maid of Honor, Darby as she moved on from Statesboro for nursing school. As Darby's closest friends gathered at Gnat's Landing for dinner, a random guy that neither one of us had ever met showed up and basically crashed the whole dinner. Kidding, but he did come out of nowhere. We sat next to each other for dinner and, yes, I told him I was a German major when he asked, but I was joking and he just didn't get it so I kept it going for a while. Not my fault he didn't understand my advanced sense of humor. He was (and still is) a sweet, punny, and open person. Who wouldn't like a guy like that?

Matthew | A few weeks into the semester, I abandoned the not wanting to date thing. I had gotten to know Emily and decided to, as the kids say, 'shoot my shot.' We went to eat at Barberitos. I was confident, or maybe that was the nerves. 'Dating' hadn't been a thing I had done much at that point. After the dinner I was let down with a, "I've actually recently gotten out of a relationship and I'm not ready for anything." I kept my cool and decided to try this 'patience' thing people had talked about before. Through simply being friends, a few weeks later we naturally started hanging out more one-on-one. It honestly was pretty cool how it came about, but yet again, she had this other plan of being just friends. I remember that being on a Sunday night. That Friday, I was heading out on a weekend trip with my dad. I remember asking her to coffee that Friday morning before I left and basically laying it out like this: I understand and respect you wanting to be just friends, and I can do that. I'll respect that, but I feel like we can be so much more. I needed to get that out to her so I could have a good trip. Low and behold, something I said stuck with her, a couple more weeks later we started going on actual dates and asked her to label it as boyfriend and girlfriend at Sweetheart Circle on October 25th, 2015. The rest is history. Emily | After a few weeks of getting to know each other, Matthew asked me to hang out with him at the esteemed dining establishment, Barberitos. After that dinner, I told him I didn't really want to get into a relationship at the moment and that was that. As time went on, we started hanging out more, and he kept pursuing me with that darn thoughtfulness of his. He continued to woo me with coffee hangs and panda stickers. When he did ask me out on a real date, it was easy to say yes. And then, after a few dates, he asked me to be his girlfriend at SweetHeart Circle with concert tickets and a latte.

Matthew | Through some very strategic talks with Emily, I was able to narrow down the kind of proposal she would want. Few people, someone to take pictures, a gathering afterward, no sports stadiums/jumbotron proposals, and not at camp. The Ansley Park area of Atlanta is very special to me and my family as we went there every time we were in Atlanta when I was little. My parents had been there a lot and some of my dad's ashes are spread there. I had taken Emily before and she loved it. I knew this spot would be the perfect blend. I had planned for Emily's two best friends to come up for a 'girls trip,' made sure her family could make it up for a dinner, as well as mine. We tried to time it perfectly that I would be at the park waiting for Emily and she would seamlessly stumble upon me. She claims she knew. I think that's a sham, but they did see my car sooooo..... Emily | Yeah, I knew the whole time. My two Maids of Honor had come to visit for the weekend and there were a whole bunch of signs that this wasn't just another girls weekend. We immediately agreed on a weekend that magically worked for everyone, there was no question that they would stay with me, they were planning to wear dresses for our Saturday plans. I mean, so many signs. And I just had a feeling it was going to happen. We went into the city for brunch and Abigail had said we needed to run an errand with her to pick up something from someone at a park (another sign since I knew Ansley Park was a potential engagement location). We get to the area and my heart is beating so fast and I'm so nervous because I knew for sure at that point. Especially because we drove past Matthew's car twice before parking. I find my way to where he's waiting, we hug, he hands me a letter written just for the occasion, and gets down on one knee. He got right to it, popped the question and I said, "Duh!"

We are so excited about this wedding season! It's already been so much fun and filled with love. In case anyone is wondering what comes next for us after this wedding joy dies down, we thought we'd share some of our plans. Matthew is currently a Program Intern with the North Georgia Camp and Retreat Ministry with the Methodist Church learning all there is to know about camp and retreat ministry. Matthew moved to the cute mountain town of Dahlonega where he and Emily will live until August 2019. Emily is coming up on a year working for the John Maxwell Company in Duluth, Ga. Her role has endless opportunity to learn so many new skills and grow as a professional and person. After marrying Matthew in February, she will move up to Dahlonega with Matthew while continuing to work remotely with her team at the John Maxwell Co. After August, who knows! It'll be the best kind of adventure.