Engagement | Pedestrian Bridge + Downtown Nashville

Matt and Abbey are two of the most caring, intentional, and hilarious people you could ever meet. I’m struggling right now to even find words to describe them, because they both just possess so many amazing qualities. And now, they’re getting MARRIED TO EACH OTHER, and the world truly won’t know what hit them.

These two have played such influential roles in my own life. I remember the first time I met Abbey — I had just joined Navs as a sophomore, and we were seated in Sarratt Cinema on Vanderbilt’s campus. She was my new bible study leader, and I vividly remember thinking that she was cool, hilarious, and fun and I KNEW I wanted to be her friend. Fast forward a couple of weeks, and after lots of constant “badgering,” I joined E-training, a program by the Navigators to dive deeper into your faith. When you join this program, you also get partnered with an older student, and lo and behold, I was paired with Abbey.

Abbey was patient and kind with me, and drew out my vulnerability on a deeper level. She knew when to push me harder and when to be gracious, and she knew how to best combat my fears and insecurities. She ended up mentoring and discipling me for my sophomore and junior years, before she graduated from Vanderbilt University.

I met Matt through Abbey, and he quickly became one of my favorite people. Besides being a freakin’ genius, Matt has the softest and kindest heart. He’s prayed over me in the midst of panic attacks and continually pushes me to the foot of the cross and Jesus’ wide arms. Realizing these two are marrying each other makes my heart SOAR.

I love these two so much. They’ve allowed me to truly see into their relationship and every part of it is a symbol of Christ’s love for the church — full of forgiveness and love. I’m their official third-wheel (yes, that’s a thing, and yes, I’m very proud of it) and I got to third-wheel them to a festival in the fall. They know how to bring other people into their relationship without it being weird and awkward, and I’m very thankful for that.

Check these photos out! I promise you they won’t disappoint.