How They Met

As most of you know, Matt and Piper met while students at the Charleston School of Law.  Although they were in the same section and in nearly all the same classes, they didn’t know each other until after the first semester.  That’s no surprise as Piper always arrived early to class and sat in the front row, while Matt slipped into class at the last minute and sat in the back row.    

A special thanks has to go to Jeb Molony for bringing Matt and Piper together.  Were it not for Jeb, Matt likely would have continued his back row-sitting ways, instead of marrying the love of his life.  Matt and Piper first met in February 2009 when Piper told Jeb (whom she had come to know well in that first semester) that he should bring his quiet, blond friend that she had seen him with to her housewarming party.  Despite Piper’s father, Ron, explaining to Matt at the party—in great detail—how good one has to be to become a professional golfer, thereby crushing his dream, Matt managed to impress both her parents and finally introduced himself to Piper. Before the night was out, they were dancing together to Motown hits.

After meeting Piper that night, Matt stopped sitting in the back row of the class and they have been together ever since.  The rest, as they say, is history.

The Proposal

Matt always joked that he had to beat Piper in a ping-pong match before he could propose.  Realizing that that day would likely never come—after suffering an endless number of defeats at the hands of Piper’s flawless return game—Matt decided to pop the question during their vacation to Italy this past August.  

Matt asked Piper’s parents to help him plan the perfect proposal. And perfect it was. Matt proposed in Positano, the evening of their first full day of the trip. He knew it had to be early because he wasn’t sure how much longer he could hide the ring from Piper and was worried she would get suspicious if he started acting nervous.  

Unfortunately, Matt was so excited that he couldn’t sleep during the flight to Italy, so he was suffering the full effects of jetlag the day of the planned proposal. Everything was set to go and the ONLY person at the Le Sirenuse hotel who didn’t know of the planned proposal was Piper.  Although Matt spent most of the day in bed due to jetlag (forcing Melissa to stress drink!), nothing was going to keep him from proposing.

After dinner, Matt led Piper up the several flights of stairs to the balcony overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.  The photographer, Beano, who was hired to document the big moment, sneakily followed them up the stairs, attempting to stay hidden from Piper.    

Standing on the balcony with the sea below and a full moon above, Matt told Piper how much he loved her -- with a series of lines more romantic than those of Noah Calhoun.  He then got down on one knee and asked Piper to marry him.  That very same moment, Beano’s camera flashed and caught Piper by such surprise that she forgot to say yes.  Then it was nothing but pure shock and crying for what felt like an eternity to Matt. After asking her again, she said “of course!” But, Matt wanted his “yes,” so he asked again – third time’s a charm! After finally hearing that magical word, he slipped the ring on her finger and became the happiest man in the world.

They are excited to spend the rest of their lives together. Matt still hopes to beat Piper in a game of ping pong.