Thanks to some great friends getting married themselves (shout out to Vanessa and Trevor), we were able to meet briefly for the first time while Rachel was visiting Yankton for Vanessa's bachelorette party in June 2021. Vanessa had mentioned me (Rachel) to Matt a couple times before this and had said something to me about needing to meet Matt sometime while we were on the beach that day. By chance, we met later that evening, exchanged each other's contact information, started talking the next day, and never really stopped talking after that. We started making the drives between Yankton and Colome to get to know each other better and the rest, as the saying goes, is history! Matt proposed on Rachel's birthday, June 4, 2023. We had decided to go boating that Sunday evening when we returned to Yankton after spending the weekend in Colome with my family for their annual branding. While out on the river, we stopped at one of the river banks and Matt took this opportunity, right before sunset, to ask me to marry him. I, as you have probably assumed, eagerly said yes! Now another great chapter in our story together begins and we are so excited to share this day with our family and friends!