Matt was in Hilton Head with friends after celebrating Mike and Hilary’s wedding. Clare was at home in Cleveland minding her own business and carrying on as she normally would during the summer months. Clare’s friends were on a family vacation in Hilton Head the same week that Matt was there. One rainy day in Hilton Head (it ended up being Monday but Matt swore it was Wednesday for the longest time, the details are a bit hazy), Matt and his friends were hanging out at Tiki Hut having drinks and trying to wait out the rain. Johnny and Laura (Clare’s friend’s parents) were also having drinks at the Tiki Hut bar. Jess and Matt went up to the bar to order drinks and ended up casually talking to Johnny and Laura. They pieced together that they were all from the west side of Cleveland. Matt eventually walked away and Johnny, Laura, and Jess kept the conversation going. On Jess’ way out, she asked Johnny and Laura if they knew of a single girl back home for Matt, to which they replied, “YES! Our daughter’s friend, Clare!” Jess and Laura exchanged numbers and they went their separate ways. A week after being back home in Cleveland, Laura sent a picture of Clare and her number to Jess. Jess sent it along to Matt and Matt reached out to Clare. After texting back and forth for a week or so, we decided to meet for our first date at Western Reserve Distillery in Lakewood. We both think we knew after our first date that something special was happening and that we would be a part of each other’s lives for a long time to come. The rest is history and a love story for the ages began! Matt proposed to Clare in Hilton Head on July 13, 2024. It will always be a special place for us and will always bring back happy memories. We still can’t believe how perfectly everything had to align for us to meet which allowed us to get to where we are today. We cannot wait for all of the celebrations that are to come and we are so grateful to have all of you with us on our wedding day!