These two and their summer engagement session in Plano should be on the cover of a magazine.

From the second we arrived at Arbor Hills for the shoot to the very last photo of the evening, Ashleigh and Matt had me SWOONING over how beautiful they were during their summer engagement session! I loved seeing these two joke around and laugh together during their engagement session despite the Texas heat. Honestly, I could say a lot but you just have to see for yourself how PERFECT this session was.

P.S. When Ashleigh first inquired about me shooting her wedding, her email was about a mile long. And it made me smile so big! The whole email was about how her and Matt met. It was basically like reading the best rom com ever. Instead of trying to sum that story up in my own words, I thought it would be fun to share the story exactly as Ashleigh told it. So if you’re interested in the love story of the century, scroll to the bottom of this blog post!

THE LOVE STORY

When I (Ashleigh) first moved to Dallas in 2015 I started looking for Crossfit gyms in the area. The gym I found was huge and a great opportunity to meet others my age. There was this one guy that was always lifting when I would come in during the evenings. I had no idea who he was, just that his name was Matt. He was very strong and I liked his tattoos. We never spoke, just exchanged looks across the gym.

About 6 months after I had joined the gym, I received a ‘poke’ on Facebook, followed by a friend request from Matt. I remember rolling my eyes thinking a poke was so corny, but then he followed up with a message. I don’t remember the exact details but I do remember something along the lines of… “Hi, my name is Matt. We haven’t actually met but I’d love to get to know you. Can I take you out for coffee?” 

I immediately screenshot his message and sent it to my mom with the question “WHAT DO I DO??”. Finally after much deliberation, I responded saying his offer was kind but unfortunately I was seeing someone and would have to decline. Matt responded that he understood, but he would still like to get to know me as friends. I never agreed to coffee, but I did give Matt my phone number and we began texting.

We knew right off the bat that we had a connection, there was no way to deny it. We would text, but still never spoke in person. Matt sent me a text one night that said he would definitely talk to me at the gym the next day. But when the time came, he chickened out. The man blushed, gave me a high-five and walked away so fast. I was confused, thinking this guy had interest in me, but then all he did was give me was a high-five.I obviously texted him after the gym that night to ask what was up with the weird encounter. He admitted that he didn’t know what to say and he was just too scared to talk to a cute girl. After that, we really only hung around each other at gym social gatherings and texted occasionally.

It wasn’t until early 2018 that I finally broke up with my previous boyfriend. As much as I want to say that I gave my heart space between breaking up with the ex-boyfriend and dating Matt, I couldn’t. 

Everything about me was just so drawn to Matt. He was unlike any man I’d had interest in before. Matt was never afraid to tell me how he felt. He would tell me all the qualities he loved about me, even qualities I didn’t think were so great about myself. He would tell me at least once a day that I was beautiful, even if it was right after a workout. Matt did so many little things to show me how much he cared, that I couldn’t help falling immediately in love with him.

To this day, Matt will tell you that he waited two years for me. He knew immediately that I was the one for him, but I had to figure out he was my one. I still kick myself for not giving him a chance sooner. BUT, now we have each other and we will be one in May 2021.