Chantel Marie Maxwell and Matthew Michael Love

Date Engaged

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Where did you meet?

To start off as you all probably know, Matthew and I actually grew up together. Our parents were good friends growing up. I remember when I was younger going over to his parents' house for fourth of July or his family coming to our house for pool parties and always playing with his older sister Ashley. Matthew always wanted to tag along, but we didn't want him to! Ha Ha...As we grew older we saw less and less of each other because both families' lives got very busy. Ashley then started working for my mom in 2003, and she and I became really good friends again. I was always seeing Matthew around then. About two years later during his senior year Ashley was supposed to attend his senior prom with him but ended up not being able to since she was going to London for hair school. Ashley came to me and asked if I would go with him and of course I said yes! At the time I was dating someone, and I looked at him like a good friend and confided in him about things. Then our lives started going in different directions again. Ashley opened her own salon and we saw less and less of each other once again.

About two and a half years ago, his grandfather (Beep Beep) passed away, and my mother and I attended his viewing to pay our respects. I was so happy to see Matthew. We talked for a little while, catching up, and he asked if I wanted to go fishing with him and a friend of his that weekend, so I said yes! They ended up not going, but he called to see if I wanted to hangout, and I was SUPER excited. There was always something about Matthew. It's like I had always had a little crush on him and knew he always had one on me. We started hanging out a lot and going on dates. We went to Ashley's house one night with another couple because Matthew was house sitting. We shared our first kiss that night on the dock. We’ve been inseparable from that point on. His Beep Beep always asked Matthew when he was going to get a girlfriend and because of Beep Beep I will marry my best friend on November 5, 2011.

Most people say that they're marrying their best friend, but I truly am marrying my best friend and soulmate.

How did he propose?

Well, let's just start off by saying, I always told Matthew that my nails better be done and I better look nice for some pictures to be taken after we got engaged. With that being said, now for the proposal...

Last year around July, my mom and dad were talking about the four of us taking a short cruise to the Bahamas in September or November. I was super excited!! Thinking a proposal was coming, I automatically envisioned being proposed to on a beautiful beach there. The plans faded away as things came up. He had said one time before - we will be engaged before this coming Christmas. Thanksgiving came around, and if any of you know how Matthew works, you know right now he works every holiday. I was thinking - since my family is always in town for Thanksgiving, and we always have Thanksgiving lunch and dinner at my mom and dad's, that he would get off the boat and maybe surprise me then and do it that way...Christmas got closer and closer.

I didn't know there was anything going on. The giveaway should have been that my dad actually came into Savannah the Friday before, which he NEVER does, and he and Matthew ate at my favorite place, Outback, without inviting me!!

We went to his sister, Ashley's, salon Christmas party the night before it happened. I took my friend Allison who I hadn't seen in a while so needless to say, I had a blast that night, and Matthew was the responsible adult watching us. No one knew he was proposing the next day and that's why he wasn't letting loose and having fun because he was so nervous, or at least that's what I think! Well, the next day we went out to my parents house, and I wasn't feeling too hot. Matthew and my mom kept trying to get me to get off the couch and go do something. As you know it was right before Christmas and chilly outside. My dad just got a heater for his golf cart and Matthew and dad kept bugging me, "Let's go try it out!" I was thinking, I don't feel well, and what is the big deal, it's a freaking heater!! My mom came up too me and said, "Chantel, why don't you just go with them for a minute. It might make you feel better if you get up and move around." I got up and went in the garage where Matthew and dad were and told them I was ready to go.

Well, at this point they are trying to think of a reason to tell me dad's not going with us. If you know my dad, he always has to go if someone is going on a golf cart "adventure". About this time Mr. Billy pulls up. Boy did they get lucky!! Dad said he would just let us go and stay there and talk to Mr. Billy. On the way down there, Matthew said he wanted to give me an early Christmas present. I was thinking nothing of it. At this point I was thinking he was going to try and throw me off and propose after Christmas. We went down to the dock, walked out on it, and just sat there and talked for a little bit. Then he said he was going to give me something he had been working on, on the tugboat for a while as an early Christmas present. He pulled out a few folded pieces of notebook paper. He started reading this beautiful poem he had written me. I am still thinking nothing about a proposal, then at the end of the poem I thought he said, "And I hope one day she will be my wife". At this point he is on one knee, and I am speechless and fighting away tears as he is pulling a beautiful wooden box out of his coat. He opened it and asked me if I would marry him. With  a quick response, of course I said yes! So now looking back, the ending of the poem said, "And I hope she will be my wife". He caught me completely off guard and something you didn't know - our first kiss was on his sister's dock, so there was a theme there. I should have known!! I wouldn't change a thing that happened with my proposal. Yeah, I may not have looked my best or even had my nails done, but the point is Matthew loves me just as I am, and that's all that matters.

When is your wedding date?

November 5, 2011

Why did you pick the area you are getting married in?

We picked Savannah Georgia to be our wedding location because it is where we both grew up and most of our families are in the area.

Where do you reside now?

We both reside in Savannah Georgia

Anything interesting or out of the ordinary you are including in your wedding day?

Nothing to out of the ordinary the day of our wedding besides a huge Rock N Roll marathon bringing in about 18,000 people. Ha Ha. We will be having a little fun with that and maybe putting on some tennis shoes for some photos to always remember our Rock N Roll wedding day! All of our sites are historical and our rehearsal dinner is being held at the Pirates House!

Anything else you would like to add?

We will have a photo booth, which I am SUPER excited about. The bridesmaids have vibrant purple shoes and the groomsman will be wearing burnt orange socks (not that they know it yet) ;) Those are just a couple of little fun details. I would love to have our baby girl Piper (our weimaraner) included some how, even if it's just for a few pictures, but I am still trying to figure that out at the moment.

 

Congrats Chantel and Matthew—we are so honored that you chose us to be a part of your day. –The MGE Team