Real People in Love: Katie & Matthew

This week's Real People in Love are the adorable Katie & Matthew from Life Experiences. A while ago Katie posted their love story and it warmed my heart, so when she contacted me about being a part of this series I couldn't have been happier.

How old are you & Matthew?

I'm 25, he's 28.

How long have you been together?

We've been together 3 years.

What are your occupations?

Matthew is a partner at Select Trees, where he does sales and marketing. He works very hard to get high quality tree to his clients and they do a lot of non-profit work as well. I have several occupations. Officially, I am a student athlete mentor at the University of Georgia. I also have a business with Thirty-One where I sell bags and totes and lots of other cute things. In April I will be launching an Etsy business to sell some of my photography prints and some notecards I make. Oh, and I will be in grad school this fall pursuing a master's of social work.

How did you meet?

We met unintentionally at a bar when I mistook Matthew for another guy I sort of knew. He was there with another girl, but was interested in me, so after I realized he was NOT my friend Travis, we continued talking, we really hit it off and became fast friends!

How did you get engaged?

I was back in Auburn (our college town) visiting my cousins and some friends. My cousin Abby and I were on our way to lunch when Abby took a detour and dropped me off at the arboretum instead where Matthew was waiting. (I didn't know he was in town, he was supposed to be 3 hours away in Athens-working!) He led me through garden paths and showed me notes he wrote to me of admiration, love & some bible verses which he had tied in the trees. Then we got to a little covered bridge where he had the ring hanging by a ribbon. He got down on one knee and proposed. Of course, I said yes! And then he took me to a picnic he had prepared with all of my favorite foods.

Tell us about your wedding day (not necessarily elements but feelings too):

We saw each other several hours before the ceremony and had quite a lot of time alone, which was sweet to have some private time alone before interacting with everyone else. It was so fun to experience the entire day together and it was a complete joy to celebrate our marriage and have all our family & friends in the same place all at once. We were also glad the big day was finally HERE and we were finally married. Everything we planned was exactly us. We both remember lots of laughter at our reception while everyone danced.

Define Love:

Love is anticipating the other person's needs and unselfishly making the other person's life better. It is emotion carried through by working together, serving each other, compromising, learning, growing, communicating and experiencing life together.

What is the toughest part of being in a committed relationship?

In a committed relationship you have to learn to put someone else's needs before your own. Also, you must recognize and accept the other person's faults and not try to change them but appreciate your differences.

What is the best part?

The very best part is having a partner to share life with on an intimate level.

What is the best day the two of you have had together?

We have had so many memories together including road trips to north Georgia to find wineries and random fall festivals. But truly, we strive to make every single day exciting, fun, and special by having "dates" all the time. We turn a night of cleaning into a fun event. We celebrate life's small victories together and make normal things, like a trip to the library, adventures.

What makes you different from other couples?

We are both idealists, which are less than 4% of the population, so that's kind of rare. (Based on David Keirsey's book "Please Understand Me 2" which is an adaptation of the Myers Briggs personality test. Personality tests and studies are one of our hobbies, so we can ramble about that for hours! Don't get us started!) In short- idealists really enjoy people and are pretty optimistic. If you're familiar with the Myers Briggs, I am an E/INFP and Matthew is an ENFJ.

What is your favorite thing to do together?

We love cooking a new recipe together and then watching a movie and snuggling! We've learned so much about being a team by cooking. We have also recently started running together.

Do you have a song?

This totally made us laugh! We are not the romantic "our song" kind of couple. I am a little queasy about romance. BUT, we talked and there are a few songs that remind us of fun times we've had: "Viva La Vida" (which I walked down the aisle to) and "I've Got a Feeling" (which we danced to a couple of times at our wedding reception).

What is the most essential element of making it?

#1-is the decision to stay committed no matter what. My dad gave us this advice, he and my mom have been married for 32 years. It's like Katie & Merrick said, the "d" word is not an option. The other things that are hugely important are being kind, encouraging, and building each other up. So simple, but true. And also, keep it FUN! Laugh together often.

What are your hopes for the future?

We eventually want to have kids-hopefully 5. We want to keep having fun. And we want to serve God together as a couple.

Anything else the world needs to know about love?

For us, this is the key to "love." 
"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: he sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 1 John 4:8-11

As always, if you'd like to participate in the Real People in Love series, just shoot me an email!