Full Disclosure...
This post is about Matthew & Maddy’s spectacular engagement, but it is also about what Matt & Maddy’s spectacular engagement taught me about grace, service, and compartmentalizing.
Also, this is my first blog post ever in my life. I’m telling you that I’m hoping to post once per month, so that there’s a better chance of me actually doing it (ya know... accountability and all).
So here we go!
I was having a bad day on December 31, 2019 when Matthew Dean messaged me.
I had not been in touch with Matthew Dean since we graduated high school together in June of 2016 – and while this was truly a pleasant surprise, I was having a terrible no good very bad day.
So when Matthew Dean messaged me, out of the blue, on December 31, 2019, asking if I was free by any chance that night, I was so tempted to just say nope, sorry – because I was having a no good very bad day (and quite frankly, I am not known for my flexibility even on a good day).
The next message I received from Matthew Dean flipped my day and my attitude right upside down and gave me a serious attitude check. Matthew was planning a secret proposal to his girlfriend, Maddy, that night at Peddlers Village, and he needed a hidden-camera style photographer to capture the moment.
Well. It didn’t change the circumstances of my terrible no good very bad day, but boy did it check my attitude and how I let those circumstances bleed into other areas of my life. Wow. Guilty.
As we’re working out the details, it is just so evident how in love Matthew is with Maddy and how perfect this night, in particular, is for him to propose. I recruited Olivia Eshleman (who we also graduated with) to video the proposal (because SHOOT I’ve never done this hidden camera style thing before, and it would be a truly terrible time for a camera malfunction. I was nervous, for a lot of reasons, I’m not going to lie).
This shoot scared the wits out of me professionally. The lighting and spontaneity of it all were way out of my comfort zone, but needless to say… this shoot turned into one of the greatest things ever. I am so humbled and immensely grateful to have been a part of your moment, you guys.
When we get in position and see Matthew & Maddy approaching, the joy is just radiating off of them. When Matthew drops down on one knee, the entirety of Peddlers Village paused in time – all of the crowds dissipated and it was only the two of them in the world. As we went through the rest of their engagement session, it was the sweetest and most encouraging thing in the world to see so many perfect strangers congratulating them and rallying around this most important and all-encompassing common ground of love.
Maddy, you are absolutely radiant (and also SUCH a trooper for powering through out there in the cold in that jumpsuit!!!) and it was such a pleasure to meet and work with you!
Matthew, I am so honored and thankful that you asked me to be a part of this special moment in your life.
Thank you for being so entirely willing to have this engagement session in public, in the dark, and in the FREEZING COLD – and thank you for also (totally inadvertently) stretching my attitude (… and my editing abilities).
Please congratulate these two on their engagement!!
Your love is so evident, and the life you build together is going to be so beautiful. Wishing you all the best on this new journey you embark on.
