I first met Matt in the fall of 2019. Like most people, it was through a dating app! We saw each other casually over the course of a few months. Eventually, Matt asked me out on a more formal date. I wasn’t quite ready to date at the time, so I sadly declined his offer. After a few more failed attempts of asking each other out, Matt again asked me out on a date with him and a group of friends. It was early 2020, and I was still a little hesitant on dating someone. I decided to go on the date anyways, and I am so thankful that I did! That was the first night that I really saw something in Matt – he made me laugh, smile, and I saw how his personality lit up a room. I decided that night that I wanted to continue to see him (and Cooper) on a more regular basis, and now here we are 3 years later planning our wedding!

I knew within the first few months of us officially dating that I wanted to marry Cody. I can still remember telling Tyler this and him saying "there's no rush, Matt" haha. I never had someone that made me feel so at ease and so at peace just being around them. We originally were planning to do a big trip to Thailand for Cody's 30th birthday in 2021, but with Covid, we decided to push it into the next year. I knew at this point that this would be the perfect opportunity to propose. Cody has always talked about how Thailand was one of his favorite places he had traveled to. He specifically mentioned an elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai that he seemed to have a special connection with. This is what gave me the idea of wanting to propose there. I knew that's where I wanted to do it, but I wasn't quite sure how, so I just decided to wing it. About halfway through the trek, we had lunch on top of this mountain with the most beautiful scenery and views I have ever seen. I thought this would be the perfect spot, so I grabbed the ring out of my backpack and put it in my pocket. I was going to wait until our small group started making their way back down the mountain and ask him to stay behind. Of course, Cody was the first person putting his shoes on and heading back down the mountain ahead of everyone, so onto plan B, which there was no plan at all, haha! We headed back down to meet up with the elephants to bathe them in the river, but they were running about 15 minutes behind. We were alone down by the water and it was just a surreal moment with all the scenery around us. I was behind him and asked him if he loved me, which he of course said yes. I then asked him if he loved me as much as a Cooperbear (what we call our dog), and he said yes. I then asked him if he knew what would make this moment so much better and I said, if you were my husband. He turned around and I was on one knee. The funny thing is, he thought I was joking and holding a piece of grass. When he finally realized I wasn't, he said YES! And here we are today.