distance between us .
Alisha : After a while , we started getting serious .
Matthew : Really serious , serious enough that I bought her a house for her 24th birthday .
Shanna : Wow ! What a birthday present !!!! Alisha : ( laughing ) Instead of the big wedding we were planning , we invested in a house . Matthew : When we got engaged , we intended to have a huge wedding . We had our
engagement photos made and everything .
Alisha : We traded the big wedding for our home . We had a very , very small wedding at
church one Sunday after services .
Matthew : It was just our parents and grandparents . Her dad was the officiant on that Sunday
after noon .
Shanna : How sweet ! So your wedding wasn ' t planned at all ?
Matthew : Not at all ! It was spur of the moment . I woke up on the morning of June 27 , 2010
and said to Alisha , ' Let ' s get married today !". I put on an all grey suit and wore the 1st gift Alisha ever gave me , which was a polka dot tie .
Alisha : It was such a beautiful day ! My dad was the officiant and I remember that I was so
happy ! I was crying . I was scared . I was excited . All mixed into one ! I ' m usually emotional . I cry all the time though . I wore this beautiful white dress . I had no bridesmaids , no flower girls , none of those bells and whistles that happen at weddings . We were having a tough time coordinating the schedules of our siblings to come to the big wedding we were planning . So this intimate ceremony worked out well for us . We didn ' t have a honeymoon either . We honeymooned in our new home .
Shanna : What is the secret to marriage success in one word ?
Matthew : Openness . You have to give complete trust . You have to be an open book . Alisha : Perseverance : Regardless of what life
may throw at you , love is worth fighting for .
Shanna : Great love story ! You two are a strong
team ! You share in love and life , and you share a business .
Matthew : Yes , we started Eyeshadow
Photography . I bought her a camera , then another , then another , then another .
Alisha : ( laughing ) We have fun while we work .
Because we never had a wedding , we take wedding pictures personal . We want to give our couples what we never had . All the memories and images captured to have forever !!
Shanna : That made me tear up ! How sweet ! So looking into your future , where do you see
yourself in 10 years ?
Matthew : Together .
Matthew & Alisha : ( laughing lovingly )
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