Our Love Story

Autumn 2014

Matt & Lanie meet for the first time at work.

Lanie and Matt inexplicably perform together (oboe and drums, respectively) onstage for a work conference. Sparks ensue.September 2014
Matt finds any excuse (e.g. shopping) to hang out with Lanie outside of work.November 2014
Lanie goes to France for the holidays and calls Matt almost every night!December 2014
By 2015, Lanie and Matt are "official." They spend Valentine's Day together for the first time.February 2015

Spring 2015

Matt and Lanie enjoy exploring DC together.

Matt treats Lanie to a Jukebox the Ghost concert, one of his favorite bands!March 2015
Matt prepares an epic BBQ for Lanie's birthday, including salsa made from scratch.May 2015
Matt and Lanie enjoy a stroll in Dumbarton Oaks, one of DC's nicest parks.May 2015

Summer 2015

Things are getting serious!!! Matt and Lanie continue to enjoy live music together, attending Firefly Music Festival for the first time. About a week after enjoying performances by Sylvan Esso, Glass Animals, The Kooks, Empire of the Sun, Spoon, Jungle, Paul McCartney, and many other memorable acts, Matt meets Lanie's family for the first time in California.

Spain and Portugal

By the end of 2015, Matt and Lanie have moved in together. Matt spends the holidays with the Ricketts in Spain and Portugal. Highlights include Porto, Lisbon, and Toledo!

Spring - Autumn 2016

Time is starting to fly by! Matt treats Lanie to another memorable birthday at a Maryland winery. Later that month, Matt's parents visit DC and enjoy taking photos of Matt and Lanie at the botanical gardens and at DC Brau brewery.

Over the summer, Matt and Lanie make the most of some time in California and Lake Tahoe for Jennifer & Dave's wedding before moving to Pittsburgh for Delanie's grad program at CMU.

Winter 2017

Matt's parents visit the Ricketts in Monterey to celebrate the holidays.

Summer - Fall 2017

Fall 2017 proves to be a busy time! Matt and Lanie attend Firefly for a second time before moving back to DC. Lanie finally does something for Matt's birthday, treating him to a cocktail at a local bar in Petworth. Matt's friend gets married, and so do Casey and Natalie!

November 2017

Matthew and Lanie settle back into life in DC together. They enjoy some fall foliage in Harpers Ferry and their first just-the-two-of-them Thanksgiving together.

Winter 2018

Lanie and Matt enjoy their first big vacation together in Maui, Hawaii! Highlights include a day trip to Lanai, snorkeling, enjoying the sunrise view atop Haleakala volcano before biking down, and attending Matt's friend's Luau wedding.

May 2018

Lanie and Matt buy a condo together.

Puerto Rico - June 2018

After going through the home-buying process, Matt and Lanie take a much needed vacation.

August 2018

Lanie and Matt enjoy Big Sur and Point Lobos.

Barcelona - September 2018

Matt and Lanie master the art of the "selfie."

Autumn - Winter 2018

Yvonne and Randy make the brave trip out to visit the East Coast for Thanksgiving, enjoying East Coast "wine," AKA mead and cider. Matt and Lanie spend the holidays with the Hecks in Hermosa Beach, where Robbi and Larry lived while they went to USC for grad school.

April 2019

Matt meets Lanie's roommates from college, Katie and Simone, in NYC. Simone snaps this gorgeous photo!

June 2019

What happens in St. Louis stays in St. Louis.

Summer - Fall 2019

Matt and Lanie go to Firefly music festival for a third year! This time, they can afford *VIP* tickets. Later that fall, they go to a Nats game and later their first Caps game, where the Nats team happened to be celebrating their World Series win!

October 2019

Lanie and Matt attend Snallygaster — a beer festival for DC folk who need to forget about the going-ons in the building behind them. A week later, Matt runs the Baltimoronathon — aptly named for morons who decide to run a 5k race as a warm up to a half marathon. Meanwhile, Lanie brunches with friends, takes a nap, and misses Matthew finishing his race. Matt decides he loves Lanie despite her flaws.

December 2019

Matt and Lanie visit Folktale Winery and tell Yvonne, Randy, and Larry that they're going to get engaged over dinner at Roy's! (More on this later...)

March 2020

Matt and Lanie adopt a puppy named Pepper. They decide this life they've been living is a pretty good one. It's about time to make it official, pandemic be damned.

The DC Engagement

Lanie and Matt planned on getting engaged in Germany in March, 2020. Obviously, that did not happen! After several months of quarantine, Matt and Lanie decide to forge a traditional engagement and just cut to the chase and get married. Matt surprises Lanie by proposing at their home in Washington DC with a special take-out dinner, playlist, and champagne. With the wedding a mere fifteen days away, it was a surprise to no one that Lanie said "Yes!"

The California Engagement

A couple of days after getting engaged, Matt and Lanie pack up and head to California to get married. The night before their wedding, right before their rehearsal dinner, they decide to capture the magic that was their short and sweet engagement at Carmel River State Beach.

The Rehearsal

After a short walk-through of the ceremony, the gang opened their gifts from the bride and groom.

The first gift was a very important "Save the Date" magnet just in case anyone forgot that the wedding was tomorrow.
Yvonne received the very on-the-nose gift of "Pandemic." Matt and Lanie love this collaborative board game because it means Lanie nevers loses!
Since DC isn't known for its wine, Lanie and Matt gifted everyone with some apple port from Capitol Cider House in DC.
Randy, Yvonne, and Larry surprised Matt and Lanie with a slideshow of photos from their childhoods. It was very sweet!

The Rehearsal Dinner

Matt's Dad Larry treats Lanie and Matt to a rehearsal dinner at the very restaurant where they told Larry, Randy, and Yvonne they wanted to get married nearly a year ago. Of course in 2020 the dinner had to be outside this time!

The Big Day

Folktale Winery

Matt and Lanie had made it a habit to visit Folktale and other wineries in Carmel Valley whenever they visited Randy and Yvonne in Monterey. The last time they visited in December of 2019, Matt mentioned that maybe they should get married there. Little did Lanie know Matt was dead serious. With Randy and Yvonne's help, they secured Folktale as a location for their wedding and made sure it was ready for their intimate celebration of love.

Sunrise at Folktale Winery, the day of Matt and Lanie's Wedding!
Custom wine-cork decor for the bride and groom, courtesy of Randy.
A sign in case any attendees forgot who was getting married that day.
Lanie and Matt had fun creating a guestbook, even if only for six guests!
Lanie and Matt brought one photo for every year they had been together.
Two bouquets atop barrels made for the perfect ceremony setting.

Getting Ready

The flowers arrive looking beautiful. The dress is hung up after making the long journey in the car all the way from DC!

The Rings

Matt and Lanie choose matching rose gold rings. Lanie's engagement ring is custom made from diamonds from her mom's high school graduation ring and her great-grandmother's engagement ring.

The First Look

Matt and Lanie see each other for the first time since getting ready!

Garland Ranch

Five minutes from Folktale Winery at Garland Ranch, Lanie and Matt exchange letters before the ceremony.

The Ceremony

Back at Folktale, Randy walks Lanie down the proverbial aisle to a string duo rendition of Debussy's "Claire de Lune."

"Giving Away" The Bride

Randy takes a moment with his daughter before Lanie takes Matt's hands.

Casey Officiates

Casey gets ordained to officiate Lanie and Matt's wedding and crushes it. Mom and Dad are proud.

Larry's Reading

Larry provides a remembrance of Robbi and a reading of "For A Dancer".

"I Do!"

Lanie and Matt write their own vows and share them with each other. Casey officiates the exchanging of rings.

The Exit

Evidently the newlyweds did not have far to walk. They pretended to exit before rejoining the group for family photos.

Family Photos

Mr. and Mrs. Heck snap some photos with their newly joined families! Matt, an only child, now has a brother and sister-in-law!

I want one with the Bride!

Did I mention one of my best friends and college roommates Simone happens to be an amazing photographer and offered to take all these amazing photos for us? (Except the one of her. She coached Matt through that one.)

It's Time for a Toast

Cocktail hour is filled with delicious sparkling rose, oysters, crudo, the most delicious artichoke tortellini, and lots of laughs! Simone somehow finds time to change into her "guest" attire in between gorgeous photos.

"One Last Photo Shoot"

There aren't enough photos yet, so Lanie and Matt take some more in the vineyards surrounding the villa.

Something Blue

As the sun sets, Lanie puts on her grandmother's blue jean jacket.

The Fake First Dance

Matt and Lanie share a private (well, private plus Simone) dance with the string duo before heading in for their real first dance.

The Real First Dance

Lanie and Matt return to the party and dance to SHAED's "You Got Me Like." SHAED is a DC-based indie pop trio that Lanie and Matt saw perform live at one of their favorite DC venues.

The Father-Daughter Dance

Randy and Lanie dance to "Delaney Talks To Statues" by Jimmy Buffett — a song played frequently in the Ricketts household.

Some Fatherly Advice

Randy endows the newlyweds with some stern words of wisdom.

"Can we eat yet?"

The table is set for a beautiful al fresco feast.

More Toasts!

The wedding party toasts Simone, who is conspicuously absent from her seat next to the bride. Natalie and Larry each give a toast to the bride and groom. Matt and Lanie are grateful for a perfect night to celebrate with their family.

Dessert

Matt and Lanie celebrate the end of their first dinner as a married couple with some chocolate cake and port. While touring Sandeman in Porto, Portugal five years ago, Randy, Matt, and Casey all took turns dressing up like the Sandeman logo, making it a particularly special pairing with which to cap off the night.

Last Call

The gang moves to the fire pit for one last celebratory toast. The newly weds exit to their suite, conveniently located just steps away!

That's a Wrap!

Lanie and Matt say goodbye to Folktale Winery and enjoy a few more days taking in the California coastline before heading back to DC as newlyweds!