Madeleine & Matthew
MadeleinePartridge
&MatthewMoore
December172023
Rome, GA
Our Story
How We Met
Madeleine and Matthew met in the Summer of 2016 in the huge town of Wadley, Alabama, (population 597), at Fine Arts Camp for The Southern Union Sound Show Choir. Matthew was headed off to LaGrange College after completion of the two-day Fine Arts Camp and Madeleine was headed into her freshman year of college. In the dining hall that no longer stands, Matthew told Madeleine he liked her purple Chacos, and that purple was his favorite color. She immediately found it intriguing that a guy's favorite color was purple and struck up a conversation. They ate hamburger steak and mashed potatoes for lunch, exchanged phone numbers, and Matt sent a printer to Madeleine's doorstep three days later as a confession of his love and freshman year gift. They had their first date the next week. Matthew drove his 2008 Mustang 5.0 all the way from Newnan, Georgia, to Pell City, Alabama, to pick Madeleine up, they drove to Oxford, AL, for dinner and Finding Dory, then he took her back home. Madeleine realized she left her wallet in his car, so he made a third trip back to PC to deliver it (man, this guy is legit). Matt probably drove 400 miles that day, all for a first date across state lines. About 6 months later on Madeleine's birthday in December, Matt promised her he'd marry her one day with a promise ring- little did she know he'd replace that with a forever ring 6 years later to the date. And with that, #herestomanymoore!
The Proposal
In college, Madeleine and Matthew worked at a local restaurant, Cock of the Walk, in Opelika, Alabama. This place became near and dear to their hearts as they developed relationships with their coworkers, worked the summers away on the front porch overlooking the pond, and feeding leftover cornbread to the turtles. In 2017, Cock of the Walk closed their doors and Madeleine and Matthew tucked their red shirts and feathered hats away for good. Madeleine worked in the building again when it reopened as Heart of the South in 2018, that only lasted for a few months. They moved to Newnan shortly after its final closing. Harper Pond was barren, but not for long. About a year ago, Madeleine saw that someone had purchased the property that was so close to their hearts. Botanic, the new brand for the property, had posted a before-and-after renovation video online and it blew Madeleine away. Working there, both of them saw the potential the property had and always hoped someone would be able to flip it and make it wonderful. Well, Botanic did just that and blew it out of the water. Madeleine had been talking about Botanic for months, and her birthday was coming up. He knew he had a big question to ask and had a lot of time to think about it, so everything needed to be perfect. When thinking of places that they both hold special, Auburn kept circling in his mind. He knew it had to be where they first built their relationship, so Botanic was the spot. He tirelessly communicated with their team and their families to set up the perfect night- he led Madeleine to believe they were going to her favorite Italian spot, Venditori's, but said they were first going to drive by Botanic to see the progress they'd made since they'd last seen it. They drove past, but the car pulled in instead. Madeleine got out of the car, amazed at what stood in place of what was once a parking lot and one log cabin building. She made her way to the entrance through a dimly lit walkway, only to find both sides of family waiting at the door to greet her. "Surprise!" they yelled, and oh was it a surprise. Both families dined together at a table reserved for them specifically on the front porch, overlooking Harper Pond where they'd been so many times before. When the meal was over, everyone made their way to the lobby where Madeleine and Matthew would wait on their tables to come in. In front of a Christmas tree on her birthday, 6 years to the day of the promise ring, in their most favorite place, Matthew asked Madeleine if she would make him the happiest man on earth by marrying him. She tearily said yes and celebrated with their new joined families in the lobby. It absolutely was the most perfect night, it couldn't have been more special.