Our story began with a swipe right on Tinder and a first date at Mezcal Cantina in Worcester. Matt pulled up to Sylvia’s in his trusty old Jetta, rushing around the car to open her door. While Sylvia was charmed by the "gentlemanly" gesture, Matt was actually just hiding the fact that his passenger door was completely broken! The night continued with a few more hilarious missteps. After some light convincing from Sylvia, Matt took a leap of faith and ordered a margarita. Only to realize after the first sip that he absolutely hated it. Then came the main event: the nachos. When the appetizer menu came out, Matt had his heart set on the mountain of chips. Sylvia offered a fair warning that it was a massive amount of food, but Matt, ever confident in his appetite, insisted they could handle it. When the plate finally arrived, reality set in. The nachos were indeed a force to be reckoned with, and Matt spent the rest of the night gracefully admitting defeat, unable to finish the appetizer, let alone his dinner. It may not have been the most successful meal, but it was easily the best first date we ever had.

Just days after officially becoming a couple, Sylvia accepted a rotational career program that meant moving to a new corner of the country every nine months. Ever the planner, she strategically mapped out her route with one ultimate goal: working her way back home to Massachusetts. Rotation 1: Atlanta July marked the first move to Georgia, and Matt hopped in the driver's seat of Sylvia’s Honda CR-V for the ultimate road trip. The journey was memorable from the start: a quick stop in NYC featured a comedy show where Matt got thoroughly heckled by the comedian. Things got even hotter on day two when the CR-V's alternator failed, knocking out the A/C on a scorching July day. The next 14 hours of driving over two days became a high-stakes mission to keep Sylvia's bunny, Theo, from overheating. After a shipping-container Airbnb stay, a visit with a mutual friend, and a blissful reunion with modern air conditioning in Atlanta, they made it. The trusty CR-V sadly didn't survive much longer, making way for Sylvia’s legendary Prius. Nine months of long-distance flew by filled with monthly visits, virtual game nights, Sylvia taking up pottery, and the adoption of a second bunny, Lilly. Meanwhile, Matt was living with his future Co-Best Man, Noah, in a wonderfully drafty apartment on Lake Quinsigamond while doing a little rowing coaching at WPI. Rotation 2: Los Angeles Next up: Los Angeles. This time, Matt’s parents heroically volunteered to drive the new Prius across the country, while Matt and Sylvia braved the skies. They booked a flight on Spirit Airlines—the only carrier that allowed two rabbits in the cabin. Aside from a stressful flight with two furry co-pilots (and Matt’s parents unfortunately catching COVID right before dropping off the car in LA), the transition was a success. West Coast life was incredible, even if we had to ration our visits to save up vacation days for an epic trip to Sylvia's cousin's wedding in Belgium. Rotation 3: Heading Home to Massachusetts Nine months later, the final countdown was on. Learning from past adventures, we shipped the Prius on a trailer and flew the bunnies safely back to Sylvia's parents. While Sylvia packed up in LA, she deployed a remote real-estate task force—Matt and her brother, Pat—to tour local apartments. Thanks to their scouting, Sylvia found a perfect place in Arlington, officially ending the long-distance chapter and bringing us back to the same state!

Now that we were living in the same state again and had been together for 2 years, we decided it was time to move in together. Matt was driving back and forth between Harvard, Worcester, and Arlington. After a year of living with his parents to save money, we decided it was time to move in together. We were so excited to live together that he moved in two months early.

For Sylvia’s birthday, Matt planned what was supposed to be a flawless surprise. He told Sylvia they were headed to a casual dinner spot in Boston, but he secretly had reservations at Contessa, a stunning rooftop restaurant on Newbury Street. The grand plan? Take the T into the city, stroll through the Boston Common, and propose by the willow trees in the Public Garden while Jenny, Sylvia’s future Maid of Honor, hid in the bushes to capture the moment. Mother Nature, however, had other ideas. By the time we left our apartment, a torrential downpour had begun, and it only picked up intensity as we rode the T. Realizing the romantic garden walk was entirely rained out, Matt had to pivot on the fly. To make matters trickier, skipping the proposal walk meant we arrived on Newbury Street a full thirty minutes early for our "casual" dinner. Ducking out of the rain, Matt suggested we grab a drink at the bar in the hotel we were passing. Sylvia found the choice a bit random but went along with it. A few moments later, we found ourselves sitting awkwardly on a bench in the lobby with Matt looking incredibly frustrated. Finally, he looked at Sylvia, said "This isn't how I wanted things to go", dropped to one knee, and proposed! Jenny jumped out from around a corner to snap photos right before a polite hotel staff member hurried over to inform us that photography wasn't allowed in the lobby. The surprises weren't over yet. Matt finally revealed that we weren't leaving the building for dinner; our actual reservation was right upstairs at Contessa. We celebrated with champagne alongside Jenny and enjoyed the most wonderful dinner of our lives. P.S. A week later, we finally got our sunny stroll through the Public Garden to take the engagement photos we were originally supposed to have on a beautiful, rain-free afternoon.