Her take: I guess it's fitting that we met in the Chemistry building... It was the second week of Freshman year at UofI, and we both were attending a student club meeting. As I walked in, I told myself I would sit upfront to meet people, but my nerves got the better of me and I kept walking towards the back. Luckily, I saw a nice looking guy in the back row and told myself that if I was going to sit in the back, I had to sit right next to him... and the rest is history.

Well, it wasn't quite that fast. After meeting at the student group we ran into each other a few more times. At some point spring semester we ran into each other in the undergraduate library and Matt asked me to grab coffee with him. Thus began nearly 2 years of "coffee dates," in which we'd meet up about every other week for coffee and catch up - often for hours on end - but we remained just friends. Junior year came around and so did I. We started dating that October. Over the course of the next seven (!!!) years we would travel to different countries, move to different cities, and experience the diverse life events of our 20's. We're so lucky to have each other and the many years of love so far.

His take: Chelsea mentioned wanting to be surprised by a proposal, which was unfortunate for me because Chelsea knows me so well that she can trivially predict my plans. I needed a plan that was simple and surprising. So, I began asking Chelsea to go on walks for several weeks leading up to the proposal, to habituate her to the practice. Then, on a random Thursday, I asked Chelsea to go on a walk as usual, but this time I had a ring in my pocket and my friend Alex waiting in the bushes with his camera gear ready to capture the moment. Chelsea and I walked along the lakefront from Belmont to Diversey Harbor. But, just before we got to the target spot overlooking the skyline, Chelsea suggested we sit down and take in the clouds! Alex was in sight, and I was losing my mind. At the risk of showing my hand, I said, no, and suggested sitting farther down. When we rounded the corner and were able to see the skyline, I pulled out the ring and got down on one knee to propose. I fumbled the ring onto Chelsea's right hand at first (despite my visualization exercises of putting the ring on the left hand), but, even so, she said yes!

We're so excited to celebrate our love and commitment, and would love for you to join us!