In one word, Synchrodestiny! Having planned a 6 week trip to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, in true Matthew fashion, I made a spontaneous decision to head down to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A decision that would alter the course of my life forever. On the roof top bar of a hostel named 'Reggae Mansion' I first saw Mendolyn. I felt a level of attraction that was and still remains to surpass any similar feelings I have felt before. Plucking up the courage to go over and talk with her is one of my better decisions and even to this day fills me with pride. We spent the evening drinking vodka orange and dancing to whatever the DJ was playing, that evening altered our lives and led to this very special union.

Our story is incredible. Matthew and I traveled the world together and fell in love. We harvested olives in Italy and made it into olive oil, we hiked volcanoes, went paragliding in Colombia, hitch-hiked in Scotland, saw galaxies through telescopes in the Grand Canyon. We each spent times in each other’s countries and met friends and family. We lived a life of adventure and travel. We ultimately decided to part ways as being in a relationship where we had to travel to be with each other took its toll and we wanted different things at that time. Matthew and I got back into contact in August of 2022, and pretty instantly my feelings for Matthew returned. We saw each other in England in November of last year and for me, that was it, I knew I wanted to build a life with Matthew. He initially was a bit more hesitant, and rightfully so. We are now aligned with what we want for our future. We still love our adventures and travels, earlier this year we went skydiving and scuba diving in Mexico, but now we are looking forward to settling down and living in England together. We are excited for the next chapters of our story.

Although we had talked about marriage and and expressed a desire to share our lives with each other, I still felt massive emotions when the time came to make it official. Stood atop of Pen Y Fan, the highest mountain peak in South Wales, I patiently waited for the right time with a stunning view of the Welsh country side. My heart was racing, my hands were clammy, and I struggled for words, but keeping it simple and sweet, I asked Mendolyn to walk this magical earth with me as husband and wife.

Matthew and I decided, as we often do, to spontaneously do something unexpected and unconventional. How dare a country tell us we have to have a special visa to get married... we'll show them!!! We decided to elope and get married in Denmark! Thank goodness for Denmark for being one of the few countries where they don’t have this requirement. We got married outside the town hall in the small town of Store Heddinge under a beautiful tree. It was a beautiful, sunny day. The morning of the ceremony, we needed to find two witnesses for our ceremony. We asked two of the workers at the hostel where we stayed to be our witnesses, and they were free and agreed to be our witnesses. Then we went to the red cross charity shop and I bought a dress to wear, although Matthew would say it is more of a nightie than a dress. ;) The ceremony was short, sweet, and life changing. It was magical. However, we both felt the absence of our loved ones. Matthew and I chose not to exchange our personal vows during the ceremony because we want to exchange these sacred vows in front of family and friends as our witnesses.