Perhaps they can’t be trusted to write their own vows but Amanda and Matt are the kind of couple I want around all the time. This isn’t about the pictures (though, yes, they’re both pretty damn hot) but just because they’re fun people and I feel that I could come up with some kind of tough mudder obstacle course to get them back for our engagement session. (I kid, I kid.)
I had a really great time sweating through the woods in Wissahickon Park near Valley Green Inn. This was a special place for them – when they were both in law school at Villanova and living in Roxborough this is the place they’d come to take a break from the stress.
But first back to how they met… They were both fond of studying in the same part of the library so they saw each other in there frequently. Matt was often eating goldfish or Dunkaroos and, in a move that appropriately dates back to kindergarten, Amanda poked fun at him for “eating like a toddler.” Thus began a beautiful, snarky relationship.
The proposal was actually a complete surprise to Amanda because of a snarky comment Matt had made to her father about marriage not being worth it (truth be told, Matt had already asked her father’s blessing). Hearing this, Amanda assumed she was relegated to a life of Buddha Christmas gifts from her boyfriend but no ring.
Hiking with a bottle of wine isn’t the worst idea I’ve ever heard. Doing it in heels, though…
Not long after this exchange, Amanda came home from work to their apartment completely decked out with candles, roses, and Matt on one knee. After a few minutes of sappy elation they caught a whiff of flames – in her excitement and shock, Amanda had dropped everything when she walked in the door and her lunch bag had landed on one of the candles.
They are both nerds workhorses with jobs that take up a ton of time plus a 3 year old Pit and Amanda teaching dance. With Matt’s gazelle-like saunter, I could see him taking on his own students.
That evening was a sweaty blast and I loved getting to know them better and seeing more of the park that is right in my back yard (how had I never found that waterfall before?! Oh right, because we had to hike through the Amazon to get to it.). I might have requested a selfie.
In just a few short months I’ll be back with them for their wedding at Hotel DuPont in Wilmington, DE. I’m expecting magic on the dancefloor. Or another safari. I’m game either way.
There’s nothing like real love. Nothing.
~ Shirley Temple
