Our Story
We became engaged in May 2008 and will be married on Sunday, June 7th 2009. We met online and hit it off immediately. Below is the "Our Story" page my fiance kindly wrote for our wedding website, which he did an excellent job on I must add.
I, Matt, the lucky groom have decided to tell the story of us, Matt & Amanda, from a first-person perspective, to describe how we came to meet, how we fell in love, and how I felt in the moments leading up to and including the proposal to the love of my life.
Our story, perhaps, is not the most conventional or traditional of those that have come to pass in this life, but I wouldn't trade a single second of it for anything. It all began with a sort of "what-the-heck" joking idea for the both of us, as we came across each other on the website Match.com. I know that I never created a profile on the site with the intention of actually getting anything out of it, but from the urging of my best friend (and the best man) James, I went ahead and created such a profile and took the 3-day free trial just for kicks.
It was only two days till I came across Amanda, and we got to talking. It started with just an innocent online conversation, all the basic fluff talk to discuss interests and the like. It was funny, that even over a computer I felt some sort of belly-deep fluttering about asking her to go to dinner with me in the coming weekend.
But, she said yes. And we met. Our first date was kind of this awkward meeting of two people who really liked each other, but weren't necessarily comfortable with the situation. It was new to the both of us. But by the end of the night, it couldn't have been any better. We connected quickly, immediately. It's all very cliche, but there's really no other way to describe it. Date one was over, but I felt like I wanted nothing more than to have another date, and another, and another.
And we did. We saw each other three more times in that first week alone, spending a majority of our time together. Every little thing about it felt so natural to me...I knew there was something special about this girl from the start.
Only a couple of months into our relationship, I couldn't ignore that I was already starting to see the future - the possibilities. I thought of what might and could be, and what I would make sure would come to be true. I fell in love with her so quickly, it was almost like having the entire ocean wash over me. I was overcome quickly and unavoidably with this emotion for her that I could not contain. I distinctly remember the first time that I told her I loved her...it was quiet and we were completely alone together, in this incredibly intimate moment that I could never hope to artificially recreate. It burst from me, almost like an accident - except that, it wasn't. It was everything I'd wanted to say and express to her exploding out of me in one simple phrase. And she fell into my arms, gripped me tightly, and I felt the tears on her cheeks as she told me that she loved me too.
She might not know it, but I knew right then that I would marry her. That our relationship was going to endure anything and everything. And as time passed, my confidence only cemented itself more and more. And we absolutely had our share of hardships. From losing everything material to clawing our way to what finally felt like a real, adult life with each other, to the little disagreements to the subtle improvements in every communication and knowledge of each other that we gained, we traveled down each and every road presented before us with strength, with resolve, and most importantly, together.
Our relationship, our engagement, our marriage are all based on one concept so interwoven with loving each other, that I know we could never fail: Teamwork. We constantly preach to each other doing each and everything as a team.
We got our own place together, with more than a million thanks to my cousin Gary and his wife Holly for the opportunity to rent out our very own wonderful house to get us started. We made it our own. We got cats - meaning more than what I can probably logically explain here.
So we grew and blossomed together, individuals becoming one strong entity. And when finally I knew that there was no way I could ever imagine even one small aspect of my life without her in it, and that I wanted to spend each and everyday of the rest of my life with her, I decided I would buy her a ring - her perfect ring - and propose to her.
She really never knew how much I was planning this and gathering all the little hints and information in order to make sure everything was perfect for her. Then the day came when I went to the jeweler to purchase her engagement ring. Each little thing she ever mentioned dreaming about in her ring, I made sure I found. I picked what I knew would be perfect and make her so happy. And it was this amazing process...I felt such a sense of pride, accomplishment, and simultaneous nervousness throughout the whole ordeal of buying the ring. It was the first time it truly began to set in how huge of a thing it was that I was doing and committing to...and I could not have been any happier or more at peace with my decision.
I formulated this big, perfect plan. We were going away for our 8 month anniversary, to spend a weekend just away from all the headaches of the world and be close to each other. I had the ring saved and hidden in the house, planning to sneak it to the hotel and wait for the perfect, intimate moment when we were alone. Which was the biggest aspect if what I wanted to get out of the proposal...I wanted so badly to surprise her and make her happy, and I also wanted very badly for her and I to be all alone and to be able to intimately enjoy and share the moment. No big, staged proposal with some grandiose display for all to see. Just her and I together.
As for the other tiny little aspect of the proposal - what to say - I had no idea at all. I couldn't think of how to word anything at all, couldn't figure out the proper body language. I just knew about the whole get-down-on-your-knee thing, but the rest I wanted to be from the heart and spontaneous.
It turned out, the proposal was far more spontaneous than even I had thought. I didn't make it to the romantic weekend away. I made the mistake of thinking that I could keep the ring around and close to me and still stand to wait to ask her. Not a chance!
We were at home spending a nice night together watching movies in the dark, and at the end of it all, shortly before bed, I became absolutely overcome in the inability to wait. I snuck off and pocketed the box with the ring in it and came back upstairs to where she was laying down. I looked at her for a moment, soaking in the beautiful girl that I was about to ask to become mine for all of eternity...
Absolutely overwhelmed with emotion of the whole moment, I dropped to my knee - shaking like a nervous boy on stage in front of thousands of people - and told her that I loved her with absolutely every inch of my soul and that I could never ever picture my life without her in it, that I couldn't live without her, that she made me the happiest man I could possibly be, and showed her the ring and asked her to be my wife.
She threw her arms around me and we both cried, hugged, kissed, and held each other for the longest time. I remember first placing the ring upon her finger and how just seeing it there...the diamond shining atop her knuckle...made me swell with love, pride, and happiness.
Our weekend away turned into an engagement celebration and it was perfect as could be, just as Amanda, my love, is to me.
I couldn't be any more excited about entering the next chapter of our lives together. I can only imagine how beautiful and amazing she will be in her dress on our wedding day...but I know this, I can't wait, and I'm only going to love her more and more with each passing day.
