The engagement:
Matt: We got engaged last summer when she was on a school trip, a Miami study abroad trip for about five weeks in Europe. She traveled all over Europe. She was in Spain and was going to head to Switzerland. I decided that, now is as good a time as any, so I bought a ring, without her having any clue. Then I bought a plane ticket and flew into Germany and took a train into Geneva. I traveled about 24 hours and arrived into the station about 20 minutes before her flight came in from Spain. And as she walked out, I was standing there leaning against this pole because I was shaking. I was so tired and nervous and I made it look cool, but I wasn’t at all. She had no idea that I was coming.
Natalie: I was completely surprised. Especially because he had told me that he couldn’t get time off work cause it was in his first few months at a new job. He had told me that he wanted to make it up to me by being my travel agent. Little did I know he was doing that so he would know exactly where I was so that he could plan his own travel arrangements over there. It was pretty sneaky. So I was floored. And then he proposed right away. I was already shocked that he was even there.
Matt: I held her and brought her to the side and then got down on one knee and asked her to marry me. I was kneeling down and she didn’t even let me stand up. She knelt down with me and we held each other on the floor of the airport.
Natalie: It was such an exciting moment. I’ll never forget it. And he always said he wanted to give me a good story. So I can tell all my friends about it. Because you know how girls are: It’s always fun to have a neat story to tell.
The photo shoot:
Matt: Our wedding was at 11:30, so we had to take some pictures before because we only had the church for a certain amount of time. So we saw each other before. Then it started to rain a little bit, but it was perfect. Overcast skies are best for pictures. The pictures turned out great and then the rain completely went away. The wedding was all sunshiney and beautiful.
I’ve never seen her so beautiful. And that’s hard to do with her because she’s a beautiful gal. It was one of those things where I couldn’t have imagined her looking more perfect that day.
Natalie: The black and white photos are fun, they capture a lot. The photographers were just awesome.
The wedding:
Matt: [Because I saw her for the photos] I was like, “I’ve already seen her, this is great. We’re more relaxed. I’m not going to cry.” Then she walks down the aisle and I lose it like a little baby — smiling, but the tears streaming down your face. It was a wonderful ceremony. A lot of great friends were a part of it, so it was very cool for the both of us.
The reception:
Natalie: His brother Mike had said “Natalie, I’m going to make Matt do something that is maybe going to embarrass him a little bit, but just play along with me.” And I was like, “Okay, Mike. I’ll play along with you.” So in his toast he said, “And, last but not least, Natalie had requested that Matt sing her a song here at the reception tonight.” So Matt was really put on the spot and totally unprepared. And so he took the microphone and like the great guy that he is, talks, thanks everyone for being there, and then sang to me. He sang “It’s Almost Like Being in Love,” which he’d been kind of humming all day.
