As told by Kaitlynn: It all started with a long, boring college orientation. I showed up excited for college as I began my journey through the Pastry Arts program. The boredom quickly set in as I realized that this was going to be a long talk about absolutely nothing good. In that moment, I decided that it was going to be a waste of time even showing up. But that's where Matthew would prove me wrong. I had seen him walk in earlier with his belt buckle and cowboy boots as I'm sure many of you are used to seeing him in. Pretty sure my first thoughts were somewhere along the lines of "What's this cowboy doing here?". Eventually the orientation switched gears and we ended up splitting into groups and finding new seats. Guess who came to sit next to me. Bingo. That cowboy. He noticed my flamingo earrings and somehow that evolved into a conversation that I became so lost in, we forgot to quiet down as the presentations began again. At last the orientation came to an end and Matthew asked for my Instagram. At that time I didn't have any social media, but not wanting to disappoint, I gave him my number. Of course, by the time we parted ways, his name escaped my mind but how could I forget the cowboy get up? This is how I, along with many friends and family members, came to know him only as Cowboy for several months. As Told By Matthew: It all started at a boring orientation. I thought it was going to be a good opportunity to meet some new people in my upcoming flight class or even a cute girl. I was not disappointed when I saw a cute girl across the auditorium. But there was one problem... she was across the auditorium! When the orientation took a turn to split up into groups, I took advantage of the great opportunity. At this point I'm pretty sure I was supposed to be sitting with my respective course but today I was part of the pastry program. After stating conversation with this very kind wholesome girl, along with a year of getting her flowers, we are finally together.
As told by Kaitlynn: It was a chilly Sunday morning and Matthew and I were planning to go up to Mt. Rainier to see the snow and go for a walk. We walked all over the place while I was still in my heels from church. The entire time we were driving through the park, Matthew was intent on finding a specific spot on the map, which I thought was odd but you know, whatever. After miles of climbing through the snow, we made it to a look out point for a waterfall with a short walk. As we're descending I start to see roses stuck in the snow. At first I was surprised to see roses growing at that time of year, but then I realized that wasn't possible and that they were put there by someone. After a few more steps, I saw a TON of flowers and a blanket with sparkling cider in the snow. I looked at Matthew and went "Matthew, we shouldn't be here. It looks like someone else is doing something cute and I don't want to interrupt." Then, before my completely unsuspecting eyes, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Of course I said yes! And I don't know how he did it, but he managed to get the timing perfect for it to begin snowing as we overlooked the waterfalls we finally found. As told by Matthew: Well I thought I had everything planned perfectly... it was supposed to be a simple drive up to Longmire with our destination filled with flowers, and Daniel (the best man) ready to take pictures. On the way up the mountain I get a text from Danny to not go to Longmire but instead go to Bridal Falls. Little did I know that there were two Bridal Falls trails, one that was a couple miles long and the other maybe a couple hundred feet. After a mile in I realized I wasn't on the right trial and there were no flowers in sight nor was there any cell reception to text Daniel. Two miles of hiking through snow with heels and dress boots we're back to the car to drive a little bit up the road to find the right trail. I was so so happy to see those rose peddles. P.S. she said yes
Matthew, for a long time now, has had a dream about converting a bus into a tiny home. He mentioned this to me, and naturally I thought it was a crazy idea and something I would never want to do. But Matthew , being the persistent person he is, didnt give up. Eventually he convinced me that it was going to be great, and I do truly believe that now. We started planning our bus conversion in December last year. In January we bought a school bus for $5000 in Spokane. We've spent the time since then working on the bus nearly every night until midnight. Balancing school, wedding planning, running a business, and building a tiny home is exhausting lemme tell ya! I am super excited to see how this all unfolds and to start living in our completely custom tiny home with absolutely no debt to hold us back.