We met at Johnny Matthews Hairdressing Training School. It was a sunny warm day in June, couple of friends and I were going to Coin Jam for after school refreshments and Matthew approached me, asked to join. We exchanged numbers, I'll never forget his flip phone and him telling me "I get charged per texts" I thought he was being silly, but he was serious. I loved that he was "old school". He said he'd text me after he finished up at the skate park. I really didn't think he was going to show up and I was wrong. I remember being so nervous for us to hang out. We hit it off with conversations about life, history, music and our goals. That evening turned into a Salem downtown adventure of bar hoping, skating, and climbing into old windows, where our first photo was captured. From that evening forward we hung out almost every day and continued school together. It felt like a high school romance, sitting next to each other in class, taking lunch breaks together and hanging after school. With the support for one another we graduated and continued our journey together. We never thought we would meet our soulmate in hair school. True love does exist.

Matthew surprised me, for our 2 year anniversary, by renting a beautiful airbnb that overlooked an elk sanctuary outside of Reedsport, OR. That evening we walked along Heceta beach, enjoying the waves crashing and the beautiful scenery that the Oregon Coast shares. I was writing our initials and "2 years" in the sand but little did I know that Matthew had other plans. When I turned around to show Matthew what I was drawing he was down on one knee, holding a black box, with the most beautiful ring, staring up at me. I was so surprised and I remember saying "Is this real? Is this really happening?" that's when Matthew asked "Will you marry me?" I immediately said "YES!!!". He slid the ring onto my finger and we shared a most beautiful kiss. We were, both, so happy and in love. In that moment, tears came to our eyes as we gazed upon one another and we took it all in. We felt true bliss.