we’re getting married!

The couple met for the first time at a get together at Mathew's house in Durham for his birthday. At that time, Kayla had no idea that she was standing in her future husband's family home (she didn't even know whose home she was in). Leaving that night, she hugged Mathew and his mother Melissa good-bye as a thank you for having us over. After chatting for months afterward, Mathew would ask Kayla to be his girlfriend at the beginning of senior year in High School. Fast forward 8ish years later (wow, time flies) they are tying the knot!

Like most things in life, not everything happens the way you imagine it. This couldn't be any more true for our proposal story. Mathew had planned to propose on a cruise in the Caribbean surrounded by family while celebrating Kayla graduating from university and becoming a Registered Nurse. Instead, Coronavirus had other plans. On April 19, 2020, Mathew and Kayla took their dog Bailey to the beach at Matt's mother's house. They were in the middle of lockdown and unable to visit with any friends or family and decided on a get-away for the day. Riding down to the beach, Mathew had the ring tied to a string and tucked up under Bailey's collar. The plan was to walk on the beach and eventually Matt would get down on one knee. Bailey had other plans. After seeing the water, Bailey took a run into the river and after Kayla calling for her to come back, Bailey came out dripping wet with a ring dangling from her neck that Kayla quickly noticed. Matt scrambled to get down on one knee to ask Kayla to marry him. To them, their proposal was perfect and a reminder of how imperfectly perfect their life is.