We're Getting Married!

It was St. Patrick's Day and Michelle called her sister and family to meet in downtown Nashville to play music at an open mic in Printers Alley at The Fiddle and Steel Guitar Bar (now closed sadly). Located above The Fiddle and Steel Guitar Bar was The Limit, another club where Michelle and Melinda were booked to play the following weekend. So, after performing at the open mic, the girls decided to go check out The Limit, upstairs. When they walked in, there were three guys performing - a singer-songwriter from California, Matt (the drummer backing up the singer-songwriter), and Will, the man on keyboards, all playing to no audience. They were just wrapping their set when Michelle said, "Hey guys, want to stay and 'jam' together?" The singer-songwriter had better things to do, but the drummer (Matt) and the keys (Will) stayed behind and agreed. That night, both the sound guy and lighting guy miraculously agreed to stay for the unplanned jam session (magic in the air). Afterwards, Michelle said, "Hey guys, wanna be a band?" And, both Matt and Will agreed and the band "The Wild Orchids" was born. The band started practicing regularly at a Church in Smyrna, Tenn. It was after a few practices when Matt decided he was in hot pursuit of Michelle. She couldn't 'date' her drummer - it was not allowed and it wasn't good for the band :) Eventually, Matt persisted and then one night, Michelle said, "I'll go on a date with you, if you can win against me in Paper Rock Scissors. So, the game began and ultimately Michelle let Matt win! And, it's been 10 years since... About Printers Alley, - Culture Trip, https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/tennessee/articles/a-brief-history-of-printers-alley-nashville/

It was December in Savannah, GA and cold but pretty, because the city is full of greenery and gardens. Michelle had a feeling Matt was up to something when he asked to take her to one of her all-time favorite spots. Of course, she agreed to go with him. During the weekend, Matt arranged for dinner at The Olde Pink House (https://www.theoldepinkhouserestaurant.com/), and afterwards, he arranged for a carriage ride to take the two around the city, complete with blankets and hot chocolate. During the ride, they passed by Savannah's infamous Forsyth Park Fountain, and continued on (notably because another couple was getting engaged there while the pair passed by). During the carriage ride, the driver asked if the two wanted to do anything specific and that's when Michelle requested to tour the city and hear about all of the haunted ghost stories. After all, Savannah is known as one of the most haunted cities in America. The carriage driver shared all the knowledge that he had about haunted spots around the city and about the Daughters of the American Revolution. Not knowing the whole time that Matt had initially given the driver instructions on where to be and what to do (and none of that was in progress), Matt was basically sweating bullets because his plan at Forsyth and in the carriage ride was not going as expected. Continuing on, the driver eventually finished his ghost stories and pulled back up to the Bed & Breakfast, where the two were staying. At this point, Michelle wasn't so sure that an engagement was actually going to happen, and thought to herself...hmmm maybe this isn't going to happen after all. The two walked into the Bed & Breakfast, and Michelle laid her jacket down. As oblivious as she was, Matt exclaimed, "Wait! Didn't you see all the flowers and chocolate in the room? To which Michelle turned around and was shocked, Matt bent down on one knee and proposed right there in the Bed & Breakfast.