How did you two meet?
Matt: "We met through mutual friends one night at a local bar in auburn while she was still in pharmacy school. I remembered my friend going over to talk with a girl he knew and Alexis was sitting at the same table. I decided why not and sat down here and strike up a conversation. I remember her being very beautiful and somewhat shy, but in a cute way. I'm a nervous talker, so it worked out perfectly. The night ended with us going to eat at a Waffle House where we chatted for several more hours till everything around us was closed. After that night I did not see her again for a couple weeks, but she had still been on my mind since that night. Luck was to have it that the next time I was out in Auburn I saw her at the same bar. I made it a point that I was going to 'run into her' at some point in the night. I finally got my opportunity and we hung around each other the rest of the night just talking and having a good time. After that night I knew that I wanted to keep seeing her, so I asked if she would like to go out on a date with me and luckily, she said yes. We hung out regularly while she was still at auburn and have been in a long-distance relationship ever since!"

Alexis: "I was with one of my best pharmacy friends and Matt was with his roommate and we ran into each other at Sky Bar in Auburn. Our two friends basically ditched us to hang out with each other, and Matt and I were left to hang out. Matt actually spent most of the night telling me about his girlfriend that he had just broken up with that week-- which we laugh about now and I wish I had listened a little closer, haha. We ended up going back to my friend's apartment for a little while to hang out and then I was going to take Matt back to his truck as the night was ending. As we were walking to my car he said he was hungry, and asked if I wanted to go to Waffle House. Looking back now I can not even believe I agreed to go because that was very out of character for me to go anywhere with someone I don't really know. We ended up having the best time at Waffle House and talked until about 3 in the morning. We didn't actually speak again until about two weeks later when we ran into each other again at Sky Bar and after that we spent most of my remaining time in Auburn together and have been dating long distance since then."

How and when did Matt propose?

Alexis: "Matt proposed on my family trip to Seacrest Beach, the same beaches where my parents got engaged. We were with most of my mom's side of the family, but only my parents knew it was going to happen. On the way down Matt suggested we go down to the beach one night and take a picture to update his background (it was a picture of us on the beach from a year before). Our second night there we had dinner at home and Matt and I were just hanging out waiting for dinner. I noticed it was around time for the sunset and I asked if he wanted to walk down to the beach to take that picture. He agreed and while down there we were just sitting watching the sunset and I was complaining about how sitting on my shoes was uncomfortable. He suggested we move, and when I got up he grabbed my hand and was down on one knee. It was very private and intimate with just us which made it that much more special. One of the owners of the houses along the beach saw it happen from her dinner table and was sweet enough to run out and snap a picture of us on the beach. It is one of my favorite pictures of us even though I was just wearing lounging clothes with no makeup on and nails that were about two weeks overdue for an appointment. It was also fun getting to surprise all of our family and friends with the engagement."

Matt: "Around May this year, Alexis and I had been dating for over two years at the time, and I was ready to ask her to marry me. We had discussed getting married several times, and she kept hinting that she wanted me to propose to her soon. Trying to be a little romantic and surprise her, I acted as it would be towards the end of the year before I would start looking for a ring. All the while I had thought it would be a perfect opportunity to do it at her family beach trip in July. I started doing my research on what she would want and the cost of it all because I wanted it to be perfect. Alexis’s aunt had a contact, from where they grew up, that worked in the diamond industry and helped me through this whole process. We finally landed on the perfect ring and all I had to do then was pick it up. After that the nervousness of how I was going to actually do it started to set in. I knew she wanted it to just be just us without all the distractions of others so we could be in the moment and what better way to do that than a sunset walk on the beach. On the way down to the beach with her family I kept trying to think of a way to get her out on a sunset walk without her figuring out what was about to happen. I had a background picture of us as the wallpaper on my phone and tried to spin it that at some point on the trip I wanted to get an updated picture of the two of us, and she liked the idea. I had my plan and was now just waiting for the day. One day while we were all sitting out on the beach the topic of what to eat that night had come up and we all decided that we wanted to be on the beach longer so we would just eat at the house instead of going out. After that conclusion, I thought it would be a perfect time for our 'walk on the beach for a new picture,' but before I could even get it out of my mouth Alexis asked if I wanted to go get our picture before dinner since we would have time while they were cooking. The opportunity could not have happened any better because it being her idea-- she would not have any clue what was coming. So that evening after getting all the sand and saltwater off us we headed back down to the beach. The whole walk back down I had my hand on the ring nervous that she was somehow going to see it or I was going to drop it. As we walked on the beach, we ran into her dad who was out treasure hunting with his metal detector, so we stopped by to chat with him for a minute. Knowing what my plan was, he kept looking down at my pocket to see if I had the ring which I thought was funny but was hoping Alexis did not notice. Luckily, Alexis did not pick up on it and then we were off down the beach for the sunset. We had to walk down the beach a good way before we found a spot not surrounded by people actually there for just a sunset picture. Once we found our spot, I suggested that we just sit for a few minutes to enjoy the view before taking a picture-- all the while waiting for my moment to get on a knee. She was sitting on her shoes and made the comment that it was a little uncomfortable so I suggested we go down closer to the water so we could have better sand to sit on, knowing this was my opportunity. As we stood, I grabbed her hand, got down on a knee and asked the love of my life to marry me. She was completely surprised and of course said, 'yes!' A lady that had seen what happened from her house had come down and offered to take our picture for us so I could finally update my wallpaper! After we took pictures, we Facetimed my parents to give them the news. I thought my mom was going to jump out of the phone and hug both of us because she was so excited! Soon after we got a text that dinner was ready, so we made our way back down to her dad who was still metal detecting. As we walked up I asked, 'Did you find anything special like a ring or anything' to which he responded 'sadly no,' but then Alexis chimed in saying, 'I did!' and showed him the ring. After all the hugs and excitement, we made our way back to the house to eat. On the walk back her dad convinced us not to tell anybody right away and see if anybody would notice first. Since my parents and her parents were the only ones that knew we figured it would be a fun way to let it unfold. Within 5 minutes after sitting down to eat, Alexis’s grandmother exclaimed, 'WHAT IS THAT ON YOUR FINGER!' and the house erupted with joy and excitement! Later we called all our close friends and family to give them the good news. It was one beach trip I will never forget."

What are some things you two enjoy doing together?

Matt: "We enjoy traveling and having new experiences that we can share together. Going to the movies is something we have always enjoyed doing together as well as a date night. As long as we get to eat some sort of Japanese steak house (cook in front of you) because that is both our second love! We also enjoy cuddling up on the couch and watching some type of crime show."

Alexis : "Our favorite thing to do together is go eat Chinese food, especially the cook in-front of you places, it is a staple of our relationship. We also enjoy going to the movies and spending days on the lake!"