Our story begins with a mastermind matchmaker: Matt’s sister, Amie. She happened to live next door to Gaby in Detroit, got to know her, and immediately thought, “Yep… this could work.” One introduction later, the two of us were spending hours on the phone, discovering we had way too much in common for this to be an accident. Cue the beginning of something special (and many very late nights).

After dating in Detroit, fate handed us sunshine. Gaby had survived what she calls “11 winters” in Michigan, a heroic feat worthy of a trophy, therapy, or both, when the opportunity came to move back to her hometown of Oakland, California. Matt happily packed his bags and traded snow boots for sunglasses. He has not complained once about missing winter, just as long as he gets his annual snowboard season.

Together, we’ve made traveling our love language. We have been fortunate to be able to enjoy tacos in Mexico City, tea in London, roasted lamb in New Zealand, hummus in Jordan, and pastries in Portugal: we’ve basically eaten our way across multiple continents. Every trip has given us memories, inside jokes, and at least one mildly questionable decision.

And somewhere among all those flights, food adventures, and passport stamps, Matt completed the ultimate relationship challenge: surviving a McKee family reunion. He walked in brave, walked out accepted--we consider it his official family initiation.

From a sister-engineered setup to cross-country moves, travel mishaps, and days filled with laughter, we couldn’t be more excited for our greatest adventure yet: marriage!