Here's the story of how the most incredible man I've ever met asked me to spend forever with him! Here we go....
Matt and I began our journey on the modern day fairytale-maker, Facebook. Actually, it started about three years ago when Matt's aunt and uncle started telling us about each other. Needless to say, neither of us gave it a second thought. No part of a long distance relationship sounded fun to either of us, that is, until last February when Matt sent me the first message over Facebook. We emailed back and forth for two months and had our first "phone date" on April 2, 2009. Finally, on May 25, we decided to meet in person in Denver, Colorado. His parents were on a family vacation in nearby Aspen and I had free flying benefits (one perk of having a flight attendant as a sister!) He drove a few hours to meet me, so we considered it our “meeting in the middle” spot. I can remember riding up the elevators at the airport, wondering and hoping that this person I had been talking to was as incredible in-person as he was on the phone! I got to the top of the elevator and saw tons of people eagerly awaiting their loved ones. Was I just
not seeing him?? I scanned the crowd, my heart beating out of my chest, and resorted to my cell phone. “Hello!” said the other line. “Do you see me?” I nervously asked. “Yep, turn to your right.” As I turned, I saw him leaning against a pillar. I secretly laughed to myself because I knew he had planned it out that the first time I saw him, he would be looking cool and suave leaned up against a pillar, like something out of an old movie. (Later in our relationship, I used this as a teasing point, which he wholeheartedly denied, but later admitted that it was true and he wanted to look “cool” for me! Haha so cute!) After that, we were off to a fun-filled day! He had five envelopes with my name on it, and periodically throughout the day, he would hand me one of the envelopes that would give us directions to our next location. I never knew where we were going until we arrived. Our first stop was to a coffee shop, followed by indoor skydiving, dinner at a delicious Mexican restaurant and the grand finale was a walk under the sea in an aquarium (he knew I LOVED Disney’s The Little Mermaid!). And so began our monthly trips to and from Salt Lake City and Oklahoma! Matt told me later that that trip was the deal maker for him, but even before we met in Colorado, I had an idea that this was the man I was going to marry!
Flash forward a few months to March 1, 2010. Matt had flown in to Salt Lake to perform a wedding for his cousin, Ryker, who was getting married that Friday. (Matt is a licensed pastor and works with teenagers in a military town called Lawton/Ft. Sill, Oklahoma.) Wednesday afternoon, Matt and my dad had gone out to lunch, where Matt had asked my dad's permission to marry me. (For the record, my dad said yes!) He was scheduled to preach at our youth group on Wednesday night (which he did, and was so awesome!!), and afterwards we were going to meet up with Ryker and Heather to make sure all things were in order for the wedding. They lived up at Daybreak. Before we left to go up there, his Aunt Rhonda had called to tell us that Ryker and Heather had had a big fight so they were taking a walk around the lake to cool down, and that's where we were going to meet up with them. (I later found out that the "fight" was just a cover story for what happened next!)
not seeing him?? I scanned the crowd, my heart beating out of my chest, and resorted to my cell phone. “Hello!” said the other line. “Do you see me?” I nervously asked. “Yep, turn to your right.” As I turned, I saw him leaning against a pillar. I secretly laughed to myself because I knew he had planned it out that the first time I saw him, he would be looking cool and suave leaned up against a pillar, like something out of an old movie. (Later in our relationship, I used this as a teasing point, which he wholeheartedly denied, but later admitted that it was true and he wanted to look “cool” for me! Haha so cute!) After that, we were off to a fun-filled day! He had five envelopes with my name on it, and periodically throughout the day, he would hand me one of the envelopes that would give us directions to our next location. I never knew where we were going until we arrived. Our first stop was to a coffee shop, followed by indoor skydiving, dinner at a delicious Mexican restaurant and the grand finale was a walk under the sea in an aquarium (he knew I LOVED Disney’s The Little Mermaid!). And so began our monthly trips to and from Salt Lake City and Oklahoma! Matt told me later that that trip was the deal maker for him, but even before we met in Colorado, I had an idea that this was the man I was going to marry!Flash forward a few months to March 1, 2010. Matt had flown in to Salt Lake to perform a wedding for his cousin, Ryker, who was getting married that Friday. (Matt is a licensed pastor and works with teenagers in a military town called Lawton/Ft. Sill, Oklahoma.) Wednesday afternoon, Matt and my dad had gone out to lunch, where Matt had asked my dad's permission to marry me. (For the record, my dad said yes!) He was scheduled to preach at our youth group on Wednesday night (which he did, and was so awesome!!), and afterwards we were going to meet up with Ryker and Heather to make sure all things were in order for the wedding. They lived up at Daybreak. Before we left to go up there, his Aunt Rhonda had called to tell us that Ryker and Heather had had a big fight so they were taking a walk around the lake to cool down, and that's where we were going to meet up with them. (I later found out that the "fight" was just a cover story for what happened next!)
Let me hurry and mention that Daybreak Lake was where we had our first kiss! It was July 2009, Matt had brought me up there to “set the mood.” I remember sitting on the dock, knowing he was going to kiss me and waiting for what seemed like forever for it to happen! There were ducks quacking underneath our dangling feet, and he kept telling me sweet things. I even remember him mentioning that the ducks were singing to me like I was Arial in the Little Mermaid. All I could think about was, “Oh please, just get it over with and kiss me!” Haha Matt is definitely the hopeless romantic in our relationship! And I love and appreciate every bit of him!
Anyway, back to the story: When we got up to the lake and got closer to "our" dock, I noticed there were candles lit up all around it. I just assumed it was something Daybreak had done, and didn't think any more of it. Well when we got up to the dock, I looked over and saw my best friend, Whitney, with a video camera. I looked over and there was a red velvet carpet rolled out with rose petals scattered all over it and candles all around the edges and floating in the water. He brought me to the middle of the carpet and said, "The candles represent the light that you've been in my life. There are 1,500 rose petals, one for every time that I think about you during the day. And this carpet represents the way I want to treat you for the rest of my life." Then, he got down on one knee and asked if I would marry him. Through my tears I managed to answer, YES!!! I wanted to soak in every bit of that moment. We stood there for awhile, and in between all the tears, kissing and hugs, we heard the flock of ducks that had been witnessing the whole thing take off flying! (In my mind, they were the same ducks who had been “singing” to me the night we had our first kiss!) The whole night was so perfect, and I felt like a princess! Every detail that went into it, right down to the fact that my best friend was there to record the whole thing, was absolutely perfect!!! I wouldn't have changed a thing! Even my ring was more than I could have asked for. He knew I had always wanted a different color stone in my ring, so he had two rubies put on the inside to represent the blood of Jesus. It was so special! We both know that it was God who brought us together, and it is God who's going to keep us together. Our relationship started out and is being sustained by Him. As long as we keep Him at the center, we know that even though difficult times may come, we have the God of the universe on our side! And all we can say is thank goodness for the love and grace of Jesus in our lives!! I not only get to marry the first man that I've ever loved, but I also get to marry my best friend and the one who challenges me the most to be a better person!! I couldn't be more ecstatic!!
So there is our prize-winning love story ladies and gentlemen!! I just found out that they posted part of the story on thebrideandgroom.com 's website! Here's a direct link if you want to see it:
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