I met Matt in February of 2003 when he was a freshman and I was a sophomore in High School. We were in a play together and were paired up to help make a human tree for a scene. I had to stand there, center stage, with my legs apart so this kid could put his head between them to lift me up. So I was slightly embarrassed and our mutual friend at the time told him it was ok to drop me, and he laughed so much he almost did! Needless to say we became friends. Seven months later on September 14th, he asked me out. Our friends started calling us Memily (combination of Matt and Emily) and it has stuck with us. We graduated in 2005 and started going to Towson University in Baltimore, MD. We had to get a little apartment because Towson didn't have enough housing after 2 years of attending. To keep up with the bills, I had to work two jobs and didn't have time or money to keep up with school. We were stuck in a busy city with boring jobs and no light at the end of the tunnel.
Until one day we visited Matt's aunt and uncle in the Outer Banks. As a joke she suggested moving in next door so we could be neighbors (and mentioned how cheap it was to live down here). We were staying in a studio apartment that was $200 more expensive than a 2 bedroom house with a yard at the beach! It took us about 3 minutes to confirm the idea. We moved to the Outer Banks in April 2007.
On the eve of our 5th Anniversary, I was cleaning the house while Matt was at work. I was planning to (take a shower because I was cleaning the house so much) make a nice dinner and buy him a present when I got a phone call from Matt's aunt. She was freaking out saying she needed me to pick her up somewhere along the beach. With no gas in my car and my cell phone battery dying and me a total hot mess, I set out to find her. What I found instead made me really frustrated, but also happier than I'd ever felt. I found Matt, dressed way nicer than me, holding a bouquet of roses and a little teal box. I was a crazy mess, but we sat down on a dune facing the ocean, our backs to the setting sun, and I said 'yes'. We spent the next day, our 5th anniversary, engaged and I stared planning the wedding right away.
That next summer I worked anywhere from 10-14 hour days almost every single day, but we made enough to pay for everything by ourselves!
Saturday, September 12th 2009, two days away from being together for six years, we got married. It was the biggest blur of smiles, camera flashes, dancing and laughing. It was amazing and I'll never forget it.
Within the next year, we moved both of our moms down to the beach and moved ourselves into a much brighter, simpler home. Matt and I have been working at the same restaurant for almost 4 years. This works best for us because it closes for the off season (November to Mid-March) where we can go to MD to see our friends and some family and relax.
We've recently added a new member to our family! Our Jesse!
We couldn't be happier!