Matt and I met on Memorial Day Weekend in 2019 at Backstreet Pub in Beaufort North Carolina. His brother actually came up and kissed me on the cheek first before I walked after him to confront him asking "what was that?". It was then that I saw Matt and haven't stopped staring at him since. That night, probably trying to show off, he decided to jump into the tree which got us all promptly kicked out of the bar- classic! It was then that I knew that he was the one, I mean how could he NOT be? We traded numbers that night but I couldn't remember his name. So of course, I put him in as “Tree Jumper”. Since then he has always been my tree jumper in my contact list. Flash forward... In July of 2020 I decided to relocate and move to Beaufort for a change. I got a job in Carteret County Schools as a 5th grade teacher and moved down to Beaufort. We found a place together- just in time! And since then we have been laughing, sailing, swimming. kayaking, eating, singing, napping, biking, drinking, living, and loving, ever since.

Matt grew up in Beaufort. He grew up around boats, building boats, driving boats, and playing with boats since a kid. He is currently the first mate on the historical boat, the Cherokee. Before I moved down to Beaufort, Matt had been living on his sailboat- for a year! Clearly I was smitten for agreeing to come down to Beaufort every weekend and stay on a boat that didn't have a bathroom or shower. Come the summer of 2021, it was only fitting, and in Matt's DNA, to propose to me on his sailboat.After all of the time we had spent together in a small, confined space it was the perfect moment. During our times on the boat we had many heartfelt and honest conversations- how could you not? We had to "cross bridges" earlier (ie. pooping in a bucket while camping on the sailboat, yikes!). But it was perfect. We had spent more time on HIS boat than anywhere else together. We were close. We felt it, even as scary as it seemed. What seemed to be the cherry top was WHERE he proposed. Matt proposed to me when we were camping at Cape Lookout (no, I did not have to poop in a bucket here LOL). He wanted to do it at the top of the lighthouse, but due to COVID the lighthouse was closed. This worked for me! He ended up proposing to me on the boat, just Matt and me. Intimate. Natural. Personal. However, through all of this, what I find to be the most symbolic and romantic is the lighthouse. A lighthouse is a beacon, gives you hope, guides you to safety. Matt is MY beacon. My safe harbor, my guide. I felt this lighthouse was, and is, symbolic to our bright and promising future ahead. But that there may be rough times, and times of unknown, but through the struggles and rough waters there will always be a light leading you to safety, to love, and, but most importantly, strength. We are strong as individuals but we are stronger together.