Local Love: Matthew and Emma

July 9, 2021

THEIR LOVE STORY

Do you have time for me to throw it back to 2010? Matthew has been chasing me since the 10th grade. I’m not sure what I did in life to deserve his heart, but the man knew what he wanted, and I am forever thankful he did not give up. I threw every curve ball his way: other boyfriends, “I’m not ready, “I’m too busy,” “Now isn’t the right time,” “if it’s supposed to happen, it will.” I straight up told him he was going to stay in the friend zone. I was the WORST. Plain and simple. But something always pulled me back to Matthew. He felt safe, he felt like home, and eventually the friend zone line began to blur. He became my rock for all of life's moments, and he became who I wanted to share life’s moments with. I promised myself that 2020 would be the year I was more present, less pensive, the year I stopped convincing myself I was happy, and the year I reached for things that I otherwise would have told myself to hold back from. Matthew was one of those things. There isn’t a single person who knows me better than Matthew. From my 14 year old pop punk phase, my emotional rollercoaster of 16-18, my love/hate relationship with college and leaving our hometown, my struggle with anxiety and feeling like enough… all the way down to my desperate need to constantly be barefoot, my love for all things handwritten, and my secret desire to be the one who creates OPI nail polish colors.

So this time, I chased Matthew down. One weekend at Happy Valley changed absolutely everything, and four months later he was down on one knee in the same place we reconnected. We’ve defeated and defined every single cliche you see in your favorite rom-com, and this is just the beginning. We could not be happier to be where we are, and we are so thankful life had a plan for us.

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THEIR INSPIRATION

Can I just say that Pinterest and Instagram are SO helpful, but also SO intimidating? I immediately created a pinterest board, that board became 15 different sub-sections, and suddenly I was swirling in thousands of ideas that I knew my bank account could not keep up with. After a few days of wallowing, I realized I needed a change in perspective. Our wedding day is supposed to be about celebrating us, our love, and our journey together. So, naturally, this is where I started. Together, we found ways to highlight our relationship throughout the day. Guests were greeted with a playlist of songs that Matthew and I selected, Matt wore an arrow tie clip and I used an arrow charm around my bouquet. The charm came from a necklace Matthew gave me before his deployment. To us, the arrow represents our timeline.

Matthew and I skipped a first look, but we both wrote our own vows. Matt would tell you that he has waited for 10 years to see me walking down the aisle to him, and he wanted that traditional first look moment at our ceremony. All night long, guests stopped to hug Matthew and I and to share that our ceremony was so heartfelt.

I used my Cricut to secretly iron on a message from Matthew’s late uncle and late grandfather onto the back of his tie.Matthew serves in the military, we chose to forgo a typical favor, and we selected the “Purple Heart” as our signature drink. Our bartenders used purple heart beads to track how many guests ordered the signature drink throughout the night, and Matthew and I donated $1 to our local Veterans association for each drink ordered. We also selected “Greatest Love Story” by Lanco as our first dance. Matthew and I have shared so many moments with this song since our high school days. Every lyric resonates with our journey, and the room was teeming with guests who shared those moments with us.

My aunt passed away at the age of 15, and I have always been told I resemble her in so many ways. Our wedding anniversary is the same day as her birthday, July 9th.I included a single yellow rose inside my bouquet to commemorate my aunt. Yellow roses were her favorite flower, and Matthew had yellow roses delivered to my hotel room while getting ready on wedding morning. Lastly, Matt and his father completely restored his 1984 Harley Davidson Shovelhead as a way to spend time together before Matt was deployed in 2018. I was absolutely petrified to on the back of his bike for yeaaaaars. I avoided it all costs. Finally, Matt convinced me to go for a ride with him, and now, I am the one asking to take the bike out every weekend. I knew I wanted to incorporate Matt’s bike into our day, and our ceremony exit was the perfect plan. The photos?! So old Hollywood. So in love.

Aesthetically speaking, I strived to keep the color palette “light and airy.” I was immediately obsessed with several of designer Jenny Yoo’s muted blue, gray, green hues, and I coordinated the rest of our wedding around her bridesmaid dress palette we created.

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THEIR FAVORITE PART

Is it too cliche to say all of it? So many different moments of the day held a different value. Locking eyes with Matt as I entered the ceremony space, taking in Matt’s vows, hearing Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Shutt for the first time, I was a whole ball of emotions, haha.

Ashlee captured a photo of me with a Purple Heart in one hand and my other outreached upward in the middle of the dance floor. To me, I feel like a bride in this photo. I feel carefree, I feel loved, I feel free, I feel beautiful, I feel like Emma Shutt. Being on the dance floor, watching our family and friends welcome one another, was incredible. We had guests from all walks of our lives, and to see them embrace, celebrate, and act like we’ve all known each other for years made for the best time of our lives.

THEIR ADVICE

Schedule a private moment for just you and your new husband after your ceremony. Matt and I ended up stepping aside for a few minutes in the middle of our reception because my bustle needed to be adjusted, but we capitalized on the moment to just take the day in together. This was a happy accident for us, but I would suggest building in ten minutes for just the two of us before your guests enter the reception space or before you head to cocktail hour. Be present together. Don’t get lost in your timeline.

This piece of advice echoes the former, but I had a guest stop me in the middle of the dance floor during a great song. She squeezed me and told me to look around. See all of our guests having the best time, take in the music, look at the smiles floating across the room, take it in. At the end of the day, some of our planning is also to ensure that our guests have a great time. This moment allowed me to pause time. All our favorite people, in the same place, at the same time, celebrating our love. It’s surreal.