We’re getting married!

Matt and I met on a dating app called OkCupid. To be able to talk to someone, you have to have swiped right. Despite what Matt says, he, in fact, reached out to me first after we were matched. We talked for a few days and fell hard for each other. It felt like we had known each other for years. We shared about our childhoods, our families and friends, and all the experiences that made us who we are. All of the pieces had fallen together, and we were ready to meet in person.

Matt planned our first date, which is why I am taking the reins on wedding planning! We met at a mall to get coffee at Starbucks. Little did we know that there was no Starbucks in the mall, so instead we drove down the road to a Starbucks to talk for a while. After that, we went to the pier and walked on the beach. The day before I had jokingly asked if he was going to ask me to be his girlfriend to which he replied: “why do the guys have to ask the questions all the time?” He then struck a deal, “if you ask me out, I’ll ask you to marry me.” I had brought along a puzzle for him to put together. Once completed it read “will you be my boyfriend?” He said yes and that started our journey as a couple!

A few dates in I told Matt of the possibility that I could be moving to Illinois in the near future. He said “where you go, I go.” So with that, we planned our move to Illinois from California. Moving cross country together was a great experience. We were able to see so many sights, and it gave us time to bond even more. Since we were both born and raised in San Diego, we became each other’s rocks. We had left everyone and everything we knew, and we were starting over somewhere unfamiliar. We both got jobs and we were able to save up for our first apartment. We did it! We have been happily living in our little home since October of 2016.

It was an ordinary night; we were in the kitchen cooking dinner with our country music playing. Chris Lane’s “Take Back Home Girl” came on, and at some point during the song, Matt disappeared. I was at the sink washing potatoes when I heard a god awful squeaking sound. I turn around and see Matt on one knee with a ring in his hand. He said some romantic things, but to be honest, I was still perplexed by the noise I had heard...and the fact that he just proposed! We cried and hugged and kept this secret between us to enjoy for a while. It didn’t take line before we spread the news like wildfire! *side note: in case you’re as boggled as I was, the noise was him pulling up the blinds to distract me - LOL!