Sarah Beth never really thought she would try online dating, but decided to join at the same time as her roommate just to check it out. Even after signing up, she still didn’t think she would actually use the account, especially in the midst of her busy clinical rotations at medical school. She ignored most of the messages for the first few weeks and considered deleting her account, but a friend encouraged her to hang in there and give it a real shot.

Just a few weeks later, she received a message from him and it instantly stood out from the rest. Amidst a slew of braggadocios messages flaunting their best attributes or sharing bad pick-up lines, Matthew’s message caught her attention. In his message, he shared his mission statement. His desire to love and serve God and others really resonated with her, and she could sense his genuine spirit in every sentence he wrote. Ironically, Sarah Beth had written her own mission statement a few months prior, and they connected as they shared their stories and desire to be committed to living a purposeful life.

I love that what first attracted Sarah Beth to Matthew was his strong faith and unwavering conviction… this bond that they share grew on a firm foundation from the start and it was only a matter of time before they knew they wanted to spend forever by each other’s sides.

It was on New Years Eve that they went for a hike at a beautiful park along the Delaware River. Towards the end of the walk at sunset, Sarah Beth turned to Matthew and asked him what his New Year’s resolution was going to be. He thought for a few minutes as they strolled hand in hand towards a bridge and park overlook. He responded in saying that his resolution was to start putting Sarah Beth above himself and start thinking about “them” rather than just “him.” He then smiled back at Sarah Beth proudly as he got down on one knee, and asked her to join him in an awesome adventure full of wild stores, wonderful friendships, the slow and mundane, and a life lived for God. She looked back at him and said “Yes!” with a radiant smile spread wide across her face.

Matthew + Sarah Beth, I’m so grateful to be your wedding photographer and can’t WAIT for June 7th! I’m so glad I don’t have to wait too long to see and photograph you two again. :) In the meantime, enjoy a few of my favorites from your engagement session! So much love to you guys! Xo