Choose Your Adventure
We have two versions of our love story - the real one and an AI-generated version. We left the AI one for you to enjoy!
First Meeting at re:Invent
Picture the scene, it was the peak of the covid pandemic, Matt had been invited
by Dr Werner Vogels to present in his keynote infront of tens of thousands of people in Las Vegas.
He was also secretly being awarded a brand new award on stage, the Now Go Build Award for his impact on the community.
Due to the pandemic, Liberty wasn't sending anyone to the event, so Matt thought he was going alone...
Kristi has other plans, she had applied for the All Builders Welcome grant to attend through AWS sponsorship, not through Liberty.
Matt's inclusion was supposed to be secret but Liz as head of comms told us to say hello.
We met under the big AWS sign and Matt spent the day introducing Kristi to other AWS Heroes / community members before disappearing to do the dress rehearsal.
The next time they saw each other Kristi had snagged a front row seat for the "Lion King moment".
The Ginger ale and Zoom Era
Matt and Kristi started messaging each other when Kristi spotted a bottle of "Irish Ginger ale" in the shop and sent Matt a picture.
He joked that his family has a secret recipe dating back generations and she believed him. They began meeting regularly on Zoom to chat.
The problem was that Kristi lived in Colorado, the time difference meant that the conversations usually started at 11pm UK time. They would sometimes
talk until 5 or 6am UK time. Matt's dog Lucky used to walk into frame to tell Kristi he disapproved of the late nights
then go back to his bed.
The Gift Exchange
Matt and Kristi posted each other a gift box full of things from their countries for the other to try whilst on zoom.
The Ears
Kristi went on a trip to Disney with her family and sent Matt daily "ears pics". This is also where Kristi's parents found out about Matt...
New York City
Matt had been asked to speak at the NYC AWS Financial Services Symposium so it seemed like a perfect
circumstance for a first real in person date.
We rented an AirBnB in the upper east side and spent 3 days exploring NYC together. This was where we officially became
a couple. A small hiccup did occur though when our first real date was to a Yankees game and Matt bought a shirt not realising
how deep the Red Sox rivalry goes...
European Adventures
Kristi herself was now an AWS Hero and we had both been invited to an AWS Hero Summit in Milan so it was the perfect excuse for Kristi to come to Belfast then spend time in Italy
The road trip
Matt booked flights over to visit Kristi in Colorado however before he left Kristi decided moving back home to her
parent's house in New Hampshire was the best idea to reduce the time zone difference between us. So, a trip to Colorado became a road trip across USA with Kristi's belongings.
We went back through some notable sights like Niagara Falls, Chicago etc
Matt moving house
Matt bought a new house on the Jordanstown Road, so having moved all of Kristi's things last year they now got to move all of Matt's
Giraffe Encounter and Sibling Sightseeing
For Kristi's Birthday, Matt bought her a behind the scenes experience at Fota in Cork where she got to feed and meet the giraffes as well as a baby rhino.
Kristi's brother and sister also came over for a week where we did things like explore the Titanic Museum and the Game of Thrones studio tour.
Disney World with Kristi's Parents
We had an amazing time at Disney World with Kristi's parents, exploring the parks and making unforgettable memories together. Lots of jokes were made about Matt proposing on this trip because Kristi was in Disney with her parents when they found out about him.
Matt's Parents in USA
Matt's parents flew over to meet Kristi's parents and we went on a "small" road trip to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.
So Many Flights
We both got to know the inside of an Airplane super well travelling back and forth to visit each other.
The Proposal
Matt booked a fancy date night dinner under the guise of being 2 years since we moved into the house. Before we walked out the front door to leave he got down on one knee in the hallway and proposed.
Kristi Moves to NI
After a long, complicated and expensive process, Kristi's visa is approved and she moves to live in NI.
Bonnie Arrives
Lucky gained a sister when Bonnie, the Old English Sheepadoodle puppy, joined our family. She started off smaller than him but is at least 2x his size now.
Our House
Now that Kristi had moved, it was time for us to decide where we wanted to live long term. We found a house that we couldn't believe was on the market, put in an offer and it was accepted!
The Big Day
Our wedding day at Killeavy Castle Estate with all of our family and friends!
