We met downtown on the very top of a parking ramp. It is my personal opinion the parking ramps don’t get used enough for photos. They have beautiful fill light from the cement and I adore the mixture of visual lines, the cement ones as well as the painted one. I know I have my couple’s complete trust when they don’t question me at all and simply say, “See you there!”

Maddie & Matt are a sweet couple who had their first date back in February of 2014, having met a couple weeks before. “Matt first laid eyes on me when I was out for a friend’s birthday [in downtown Iowa City]. One of my friends started talking to one of his friends and she kept trying to set us up.” It wasn’t until later when both of their parties moved to another bar that she finally went over and sat next to him and started talking.

Their first date was 10 days later. “I was so impressed because Matt called me to set up our first date! In an era full of texting, this gesture was very meaningful to me. I was very nervous because I wasn’t sure if he would still like me, but I was hopeful because I knew we had so much in common,” she says.

“I could tell right away that she was different than anyone else I had ever met,” Matt recalls. “We never ran out of things to talk about and hit if off from the beginning. I always looked forward to seeing her next. I knew pretty quickly that she was the one and I even told a friend of mine that I was going to marry her. We shared a lot of the same interests and really never ran out of things to talk about or do. I’ve always thought the saying ‘when you know you know’ was true and I definitely knew with Maddie. We learned a lot from each other and every day was a new adventure. A lot of my friends could tell that she was the one for me too and they’d always pull me aside and tell me that. She truly makes me want to be a better person and make the most out of every day. I’m very excited for what the future holds.”

Maddie went to the west coast for a couple of months that summer and denied him twice to define their relationship before leaving. “I was nervous and all these feelings led to me not being sure I could commit to a new relationship, even though I didn’t want to let Matt get away. He asked me twice, one in March and one in May ‘what we were’. I would always try the best I could to explain my feelings. It was hard at times admitting all that to Matt, a guy I was interested in, in those early stages, but through all of that, I realized how truly caring, understanding, and genuine of a person he was (and is). [Over the course of the summer], I started to realize I would be stupid to ever let this one-of-a-kind man go. When I got back I told him I was ready to be officially together and he responded with, ‘Well good because I wasn’t about to ask you a third time!’ I have never questioned that decision since. Very soon after, I knew he was the one. I had never felt so respected, understood, valued, and cared for in my life. Matt’s caring personality continues to impress me daily.”

They started looking at rings the next April. “I was pretty sure he had made a purchase because we started getting “Wells Fargo Jewelry Advantage” bills in the mail. There were many times I thought it might happen, but then it didn’t. We had been living together for about six month come December. We were soon leaving for Maui with my family for Christmas and I thought, again, maybe that would be where he would do it. About a week before we left, Matt asked if I wanted to ‘go out to dinner on Wednesday to celebrate [early] Christmas.’ I thought that was interesting as we would be in Maui for Christmas, but said sure!

“I again thought maybe it would happen, but that Wednesday I got home and Matt was in his workout clothes on the couch watching TV. He got up right away, said he would shower, then we could go. Soon he came downstairs and I saw an advertisement for Neck Jewelers that we got in the mail. I playfully said, ‘Oh, here is a coupon! You should go use it!’ That ended up being the perfect lead in to what he was about to do!”

Matt fills in the back story: “I had all these ideas for some elaborate proposals and decided against them because they were just not really me or her. We were going to Hawaii on that Saturday and I worked Tuesday and Thursday and we had a work party that Friday night. I told her we should get a good dinner date in before we left so I made reservations and told her we should dress nice. We were about leave and then I said something along the lines of, ‘Just a second…'” And she turned around to find him on his knee proposing! (Matt says he was wearing his FitBit at the time that showed the graph of his heart rate. I think this is amazing and I wish every couple had a heart rate graph during their proposals!!)

Special thanks to Lindsey Coblentz for stepping in at the last hour to do Maddie’s makeup! Lindsey always does an amazing job and I was so glad Maddie was in good hands!

We had to stop and grab some photos outside the place where it all started!

Maddie & Matt, I’m so excited to celebrate your wedding day with you in a few more months! I can’t wait for you to start the next chapter together as husband and wife. Xo!