We technically met back in 2014, a quick hello at a music studio. Matt was there playing with his uncle’s band, and Taylor was just tagging along with her best friend. Nothing really came of it, just two people crossing paths before life moved on.

Years later, while Taylor was working with Matt’s uncle, she casually mentioned wanting to keep her initials if she ever got married. Lew, of course, jumped on that and said, “Well… I’ve got a nephew,” and with that, he decided he was going to play matchmaker.

He tried to get us together for a Christmas party, but it didn’t pan out. Then came New Year’s Eve. We both ended up at the same party, and Taylor spent most of the night doing her best to avoid Matt. But somehow, by the end of the night, we found ourselves outside under the stars, just talking. For hours. It felt natural, like we’d known each other longer than we had.

And sometime after midnight, with fireworks popping off in the distance, we shared our first kiss on the front porch.

Well… Matt remembers it. Taylor does not.

(She may have had a few too many drinks.)

We still laugh about it to this day, but that moment was the start of everything. A spark that led to late night drives, deep conversations, inside jokes, new adventures, and the life we’ve built together.

This centerpiece captures the quiet start of it all, the porch where it happened, the fireworks in the sky, the glow of a new year. A simple moment that neither of us saw coming, but changed everything.