How We Met
Matt and I met in early high school. I was introduced to him by one of my girlfriends, who at the time, was dating one of his friends. Back then we saw each other a few times a year – usually connecting at the tail end of summer vacation and promising to hang out before I went back to school. I always had a crush on him but it was never the right time to start a relationship. I actually knew that I was going to marry him very early on, but knew that life needed to play out a little bit first. Fast forward to college graduation – 2012. I had just moved home and Matt and I ended up at the same party (we have a lot of mutual friends). One of my girlfriends told me later that she knew, before I even got there, that I would be hanging out with him the whole time. Matt kissed me for the first time that night and we moved in together just a few months later!
how they asked
Matthew and I began looking at rings together about six months ago. I wanted the proposal to be a surprise, but preferred to be a part of picking out the ring. We met with Bob, the owner of Long’s Jewelers, a few times before finally deciding on what shape and style I liked: an oval diamond in an oval halo setting. I told Matt that my only request was that it be photographed – it didn’t matter to be if it was by our friends and families or a professional photographer.
Fast forward to the end of December. I received an email from Annmarie Swift, a Boston area wedding photographer that we have been lucky enough to shoot with a few other times. The email stated that she was in need of another winter session for her magazine and asked if Matt and I would be interested in doing the shoot with her. I am obsessed with her and her work so I asked Matt right away if we could do it. He told me he had to check his work schedule but thought it would be okay. I emailed Annmarie right back letting her know that we would LOVE to be models again.
Annmarie and I went back and forth a few times, discussing hair, makeup and of course, the perfect dress! This session was supposed to be a “formal anniversary” shoot, so we decided on a beautiful blush pink tulle gown with sequins embroidery. She even asked if we would bring our dog, Sam, and we discussed how cute a floral wreath for him would be.
January 23 came and I decided to go get my nails done that morning with a girlfriend of mine. We joked that maybe Matt would propose at the shoot. After doing my hair and makeup, Matthew and I made our way into the city and arrived at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston just before 3:00 PM. The conversation on the ride there consisted mostly of how Sam was going to react to being in the city, and how cold it was going to be in a backless dress. Matt never let on that he was nervous or anxious.
Once all of the people cleared the front steps of the MFA we shed our jackets and began shooting. When I say it was cold, I mean it was COLD. I didn’t mind though because I knew this was going to be another wonderful shoot with an amazing photographer, and Matt and I would have the photos to cherish forever.
After about 10 minutes of posing just the two of us and with Sam, Annmarie told Matt to step aside as she wanted to take a few full-length photos of my dress. She was on the steps and I was standing below her. She instructed me to keep looking at the column behind her and to not move.
A second or two later she told me to turn around and throw my arms around Matt.
My heart dropped as I turned around to see the love of my life, down on one knee, with the most beautiful ring in his hands.
As I stepped closer to him he said the sweetest words and asked me to marry him. I was completely surprised and overwhelmed with happiness that I actually had to ask Matt later that night if I said yes! (I did!) And now we have the most amazing photos of the best moment of our lives.
Little did I know, the whole shoot was Matt’s idea! He had emailed Annmarie, coordinated the day and even met up with her at the MFA a few days prior to go over the plan of action. But the surprises didn’t stop there…
After warming up in our cars and then shooting a few more photos, we headed back home. When I opened the door to our condo, I found red and pink rose petals on the floor leading into our bedroom, and more petals in the shape of a heart on the bed. Matt coordinated with his mom, who came in while we were gone to set the whole thing up. In the bedroom there were more roses, chocolates, champagne chilling on ice and a very special handmade piece – a wooden sign that read “Katie & Matt 01/23/2016”, that Matt had carved himself.
We had made dinner reservations earlier that week to celebrate Matt’s birthday, so we got changed and headed to the restaurant. When we arrived, we were led to the back where both of our families were sitting at a large round table to surprise us (well, me) – another one of Matt’s ideas! We had a delicious meal and got to show our families the photos from earlier that Annmarie had already edited and sent back to us.
I cannot even begin to explain the amount of happiness I felt that day, and continue to feel each day after, know how much time, thought and effort my wonderful fiancé (eee!) put into making the proposal such a magical moment. It was the greatest day of my life and I cannot wait to marry my best friend!
