We’re getting hitched!

We met on the Bumble dating app right after Lauren graduated from UC Davis with her undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering. We had both had a string of dissatisfying dates and eventually decided to give each other a shot. We had our first date at Burgers and Brew in Davis, CA. We were immediately immersed in conversation about Lauren's research, Matthew's life in the Air Force, and the commonalities we share in values, goals, and our outlook for the future. At Burgers and Brew, Matthew embarrassed himself when the waiter asked how he wanted his burger cooked, a question not common in Louisiana. After pondering for a full minute, he decided on well done, because how else do you cook a burger safely? After Burgers and Brew, we went to a now closed pub called de Vere's where Lauren introduced Matthew to her favorite drink, the Tom Collins. Lauren quickly discovered that Matthew is slightly hard of hearing in loud environments, a now running joke in our relationship. At de Vere's, we sat on a small couch in the back where it was more quiet, and continued our conversation about Matthew's mannerisms being from the South and how being a gentleman is tricky in California, as some people are easily offended by simple acts of kindness. We ended the night by Matthew escorting Lauren to her car and to Lauren's embarrassment, her shoe catastrophically breaking, so we were now evenly embarrassed for the night. A perfect start to many more laughs and perfect date nights. This isn't really about how we met, but we love this story- After an awe-inspiring first and second date, we decided to go skydiving on our third date, which would be the second time skydiving for each of us. The skydive itself was relatively uneventful because we both had done it before and we were strapped to instructors. However, after our day's event, we began talking about each of our first times skydiving. We quickly realized that we had gone skydiving on the same weekend at the same location one year prior. Thinking "what the heck, we might as well look", we went to Susan's phone (Lauren's mom) and started looking through her photos of the day Lauren had gone skydiving one year prior. Weirdly enough, there Matthew was, in the background of one of the photos. Totally weird and a once in a lifetime coincidence, but it also definitively proves that Lauren has been stalking Matthew for a while. Since you're reading this, it looks like she has succeeded with the long con. We can't wait to see all of you at the wedding. It is going to be a great time full of laughs and memories. Travel safe!