Janelle and Matthew
Oxford, England
Married March 24th, 2008
We emailed each other for a few months and really felt a close connection, so decided to start talking on the phone. But because he lives in Oxford, England and I live in Reno, Nevada, I think we were both a little hesitant at first. He is an archaeologist and asked me, semi-jokingly, if I wanted to spend Christmas with him in North Africa, where he was doing some field work. That was our first conversation on the phone. As someone who loves to travel, I said yes. I bought my ticket the next week and met him for the first time in the Cairo International Airport in Egypt. Although both of us were a bit nervous, it was completely natural, and we felt entirely at ease together, something that never would have happened if we hadn't gotten to know each other so well over email and phone first.
We spent Christmas together sailing down the Nile in Luxor, Egypt. I also went with him to an archaeology conference in Greece, and then we went back to his house in England for the New Year. After dinner and a show in London on New Year's Eve, he dropped to one knee with fireworks in the background and asked me to marry him. I am moving to Oxford in August and we are so excited about spending the rest of our lives together—I can't conceive of anyone more perfect. This worked out so much better than I could ever have imagined and I am telling everyone I know to sign up.
