We got engaged on August 27th, 2018! A long engagement, indeed! Matthew enlisted the help of a friend of Kristen’s. He had her tell Kristen that she had two tickets to the Natural History museum and could no longer go. Kristen said "That sounds nice! Matt and I haven't been back since we went there for our first date." As they left the butterfly pavilion, Kristen suggested a stroll through the rose garden. Little did she know she was the fly inviting the spider into the web. They came across a beautiful picnic. She said "Well, someone has a good thing going on here.", not realizing that Hal and Cindy had snuck in and masterfully set the whole thing up for them. Suddenly, Matthew was on one knee with her grandmother's ring in hand. Kristen said "Yes!" somewhere between "Wait..what?" and "What's happening?"
Kristen and Matt met on a cold, cloudy, evening in October of 2013 in the parking lot of a party Kristen was leaving as Matt was just making his entrance. For reasons neither of them are quite clear on, perhaps a case of mistaken identity, their first conversation ensued. Matt was shocked and anxious that the beautiful woman, for some unbeknownst reason, was humoring his small talk. Kristen was charmed by this handsome fella and the fact that they were conversing and joking with ease. She left him there in the parking lot.
For the next few months they would run into each other at Halloween parties (Kristen as a shockingly accurate Chris Angel, Matt sporting an oversized paper mache eyeball) and "friend hikes" (you know, those strolls with friends as human buffers).
Sometime in December, Matt worked up the courage to ask Kristen on a date. Well, he hadn't specified "date" until he purchased their admission to the Natural History Museum in which he proclaimed "I'm slowly going to turn this into a date". Kristen was then confused, assuming it had been a date the entire time. They had a ball at the museum, and ramen after. Then Matt dropped Kristen off quite unceremoniously in a rush to get home to his toilet.
Christmas rolled around and both went their respective ways on the globe, Kristen to the east and Matt to the west. Would they ever see each other again?
New Years Eve. They haven't really spoken since their date and here they were having arrived separately at the last great UCB New Year's Party. They danced and danced and kissed and kissed. Hurray!!!
We moved in together after only 8 months of dating. That's crazy, it'll never work!
We adopted our darling son, Linus, soon thereafter.
Solvang, Ojai, Sonoma, Maui, Minneapolis, Portland, London, Maine, Boston, New York, New Orleans, Duluth, Seattle, Vegas, Edinburgh, Bruges. They love a trip and they travel well! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF OUR TINY APARTMENT!
May 16th, 2020 came and went without a hitch...pardon, without us getting hitched. No, we did not get zoom married or run off up the coast to get eloped. We dug our heels in, hoping that one day soon we'd all be together again to celebrate as a family and PARTY OUR FACES OFF!
That's not to say that we didn't have an absolutely fabulous time the day of our supposed wedding. Family, friends, neighbors alike made sure we felt loved, were well fed, and properly boozed. The phone calls, zooms, cakes, cocktails, flowers, and well wishes warmed our sullen little hearts. We may not have gotten married that day, but it's a time we will not soon forget. Thank you!
ps...this picture is of the first time we placed a mask upon our fragile faces. Clearly we didn't know what we were doing.
March 13, 2020 Matt and eleven of his dearest friends traveled from the far reaches of the Untied States into the arid desert of California. His bachelor party began just as the world stopped turning. They found themselves trapped on the outskirts of Joshua Tree, dumfounded, terrified, and ready to party? It was a confusing and confounding time for all, but they made due. They cooked for each other, huddled in a jacuzzi, turned bocce ball into a very dangerous game, and sang themselves into the new world.
The NEW Big Day 9. 25. 2021 JK!!! Do we need a NEW NEW big day section? 5. 14. 2022 please!