Sarah and Matt were both at Indiana University getting their Masters of Public Affairs and had one class together: Public Finance. Though they were supposed to be learning about revenue and expenses, they couldn't stop the furtive glances to each other. Just kidding. Matt held the door open for Sarah once because she was on crutches, but they really didn't talk. After a few short conversations in the atrium and at some bars, the power of online dating brought them together. They both swiped right, discovered they both love The West Wing, and a romance began. Since then, they were long distance with Sarah in Chicago and Matt still in Southern Indiana and then South Florida. Then Sarah moved to Florida. They just moved back to the Midwest to Chicago where they spend time with their dog Toby, drink craft beers, and eat a lot of takeout.

Matt's proposal game plan was almost derailed from that start when Toby Ziegler (Sarah and Matt's dog named after The West Wing character) sustained a playing-too-hard-again-at-doggy-day-care knee injury on Thursday before they were set to leave for a weekend down in Key Largo the next day. Lo and behold, it was a minor sprain and crisis was averted. So, on a sunny Saturday morning, Sarah and Matt went on a hike at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park: Sarah blissfully unaware of the plans ahead and Matt nervously shuffling along trying to hide the bulky ring box in his shorts pocket. They reached a clearing in the trail that opened up to a lovely, little orange grove - this was the spot. They meandered over to the shade of a nearby tree and Matt dropped to one knee and asked Sarah to marry him. Sarah said yes! Postscript: About an hour later, Sarah and Matt then went on a glass-bottom boat tour to see the coral reef. The employees at the visitor center warned them that the water was pretty choppy today, but they went ahead anyhow. How bad could it be? Matt spent approximately ninety percent of the tour sitting on the top deck of the glass-bottom boat (i.e., nowhere near the coral reef) staring at the horizon to keep from being sea sick. He was fine once they made it back to shore.