How We Met
Matthew and I became next door neighbors when I moved to Dallas from my hometown of New Orleans in 2012. Even though he and his dog Max saw me the day I moved in, Matthew was too shy to say hello until a couple months later. After “bumping into each other” on our walks to and from the parking garage and after a few unintentionally lengthy conversations in the hallway, Matthew finally asked me out to meet some of his friends. I was dating someone else at the time, so we started out as just friends. After a few months of steady friendship, and his friends pointing out how good for each other we were, we finally started dating. We quickly became inseparable – traveling to Austin with his friends on weekend lake trips, visiting New Orleans for birthday weekends and holidays, going to Baylor games on Saturdays in the Fall and watching Saints games on Sundays, and lots of beer, 5k’s, BBQ and shooting ranges. We went on dating for 3 incredible years until he finally popped the question!
how they asked
Matthew had to go to Germany for 2 weeks for his Executive MBA program so my twin brother, JP, and I decided to meet him there for his second week. He had 3 free days without class and we had a jam-packed schedule including Neuschwanstein Castle, Salzburg, Austria and possibly France if we could squeeze it in. Unfortunately, the airline lost my luggage for almost the full three days, which prevented him from proposing at the famous Neuschwanstein Castle (he said he knew I wouldn’t want proposal pictures wearing the same clothes I’d been wearing for the past 2 days… Smart man). It all worked out for the best, though, and he ended up proposing in the small town of Hallstatt, Austria, in the middle of the Alps.
During our 3 days of traveling, unbeknownst to me, my brother was carrying the ring for Matthew so I wouldn’t find it in our shared bag. After numerous trains and a ferry, we finally made it to Hallstatt and Matthew was determined to make our way up to this viewing platform 3,000 feet above the town, overlooking the lake and the Alps surrounding the town. Once we made it up to the top, and after one smooth ring transfer, Matthew and I walked out onto the platform to take a picture together. My brother snapped one photo before Matthew turned to face me and took my hands in his. I instantly felt the ring box in his hands and immediately started crying. I couldn’t believe it was actually happening! I was so shocked that I only remember the first and last thing he said to me and I couldn’t even remember if I said yes. My amazingly talented brother captured the entire moment on film – It was perfect. I’m so happy I was able to share that moment with two of the most important men in my life – my two best friends.
