Mariah and Matt first met at the University of Mary Washington in 2016. They immediately had chemistry—literally! Matt first caught Mariah’s eye while walking into their organic chemistry lecture on campus in the late summer of central Virginia, a time marked by pervasive humidity and naïve excitement as the days of a new semester began to unfold. Matt, being the nerdy studious pre-med student that he was, sat front and center in the lecture hall. Mariah had other intentions. She strategically placed herself behind Matt and “annoyed” him until he finally got the hint and took her out on a date. The rest is history. As time went on, Matt and Mariah’s relationship continued to grow stronger. When they weren’t spending hundreds of hours on study dates together, they enjoyed attending concerts at the Kennedy Center and setting sail to explore the beaches of the Bahamas, the deserts of Texas, and the rainforests of Panama. Both graduated with honors from UMW and in 2019 Matt commissioned into the United States Navy as a Medical Officer and they both moved north to Washington DC. Here, Matt began the journey towards earning his Medical Doctorate degree while Mariah found her niche in driving forward new immunotherapies for chronic pediatric illnesses. After 4 years together and in the midst of an unprecedented global pandemic when they were trapped in a 600 sq foot apartment for eternity (or ahem…a few weeks), Matt finally popped the question. Thankfully she said yes! After the pending nuptials and honeymoon celebrations, Matt and Mariah plan to move to the Hampton Roads area as they both continue their postgraduate education: Matt as an Emergency Medicine resident physician and Mariah as a PhD candidate. We’re so excited for you to join us as we say “I do” in the place where it all began: Fredericksburg, Virginia in April of 2023! See you soon!