Even though we were both Architecture students at Northeastern, we first met while on the plane to Rome for our study abroad semester in 2008. Hope was up all night packing her bags the night before, so she slept through the entire flight. Thankfully, we lived next to each other in Rome and had plenty of time to build our friendship over the next four months. Hope remembers doing homework together in Matt’s kitchen when he showed her his collection of Phish live show recordings. He even said he traded cassette tapes with other fans across the country. Hope was barely old enough to know what cassette tapes were and thought it was a little bit crazy. Our friendship grew over the years as we shared late nights in studio, our love of music, weekend getaways, concerts, concerts and more concerts, McFaddens & Howl at the Moon happy hours, 5 road trips to Bonnaroo and of course, many late nights at Tavern Road. The timing was never right for us, until it was and Matt decided to make his move. We were drawn to each other, we were each other’s confidants and we always had a great time together no matter what we were doing. We built an amazing foundation of friendship that grew into a true partnership and immense love. When we were ready, everything aligned and as Hope’s grandmother Jill would say, “it was magical.”

Our love continued to blossom as we built our little life together and we eventually moved into our new home in Jamaica Plain. When Matt decided he was ready to marry Hope, he wanted to get permission from Hope’s parents. Naturally, he asked Laurie first, knowing that Hope and Laurie had a special relationship. When Matt asked Keith and Steve for permission, they both asked “Have you asked Laurie yet?” Everyone was happy to give their permission. Even though Hope doesn’t need permission to get married, she really appreciated Matt making the effort to involve her family. Matt told his mother Yvette about wanting to propose and she graciously offered her the diamond that his father Les had given her. She told him “You can’t just take that to Zales!” Matt agreed (and Hope was thankful for that) Matt knew just the person - a contemporary jewelry designer in the South End. They worked together to design a beautiful custom ring for Hope. Matt knew it would be hard to surprise Hope, so he devised a “simple yet elegant” plan. On a cold winter night in January of 2020, he asked Hope out to dinner at Ten Tables in Jamaica Plain. We had no reservation so Matt decided if there was a table available, it was meant to be. Thankfully there was a perfect little table open for us. (Talk about a sign!) This was one of the first places we went for a date, so it was really sentimental to be back here. After dinner, Matt suggested we walk home along JP Pond, which was very quiet and romantic. We went up to the boathouse where Matt finally bent the knee. Hope kept asking if he was serious - which he was! We were so excited and asked the next people who walked by to take our photo. It turned out to be two teenage boys, but nonetheless we took a selfie with them and went on our merry way. Now, here we are - 13 years, 38 Phish shows, 5 Bonnaroos, endless concerts, 1 endless pandemic, 1 home renovation, 1 puppy and infinite amounts of love later. It is time to celebrate!