It was the fall of 2003. Matthew was finishing up his last semester at Michigan State University, and Melissa had just recently transferred to Matthew's hometown of Grand Rapids to attend Cornerstone University and start her Junior year. Early that fall, Melissa's older brother, who was one of Matthew's best friends, had planned a group outing to Lake Michigan with a group of friends with some intentionality of introducing his sister to one of his best friends, Matthew. With a twinkle in his eye, Ricky paved the path for a developing friendship between Melissa and Matthew.

The friendship continued through email, and after a few weekends of hanging out, Matthew began to pursue Melissa for a dating relationship in January of 2004. Melissa and Matthew had both been through serious relationships before, but the decision to start dating each other had a feeling of forever to it. A year and four months later, on May 15, 2005, Matthew asked Melissa to be his wife. The two will be married on August 13, 2005.