Some love stories start with a blind date, some begin online – and then there are also some like Matt and Caylie’s. This one seemed to begin with some greater force planning happy little coincidences to bring them together. It was written in the stars that these two would end up together – that I am fairly certain of.  The question was, how hard was the universe going to have to work before these two realized it?

Matt and Caylie first met in the high school band.  Caylie played the flute, Matt the Saxophone. Years of classes together – rehearsals, concerts, trips, and still nothing more than acquaintances. These two had yet to realize their destiny.  Fast forward 4 years – both Caylie and Matt are accepted into the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.  Coincidence or something more?  Well U of I is a large school, so I bet quite a few people from their high school chose that institution for their secondary education.  Okay – well then they ended up living in the same dormitory building.  

Now, seeing a nice familiar face from home, they began talking a bit more to each other.   Still, the universe figured these two needed a little more PUSH in the right direction.

Then one eventful day, a pipe in Caylie’s dorm burst, forcing her to be “homeless” for a couple of days while the repairs took place.  Coincidence or something more?  Caylie called her friend Matt and asked if it would be okay if she could crash on his couch for a while, Matt agreed.  While hanging out and watching movies together, Matt stuck out his elbow – naturally, Caylie wrapped her arms around it.  The rest as they say is well, history.

Since these two were destined to be together, we decided a meaningful place to have their engagement session would be the University of Illinois campus.  We had a beautiful evening together capturing their love for each other in all the places they frequented while dating.

2023 is shaping up to be a beautiful wedding season, especially when you have such a delightfully genuine couple like Caylie and Matt tying the knot. Congratulations, we can’t wait to celebrate your marriage next fall.  

Session Locations:

University of Illinois Main Quad | Champaign-Urbana, IL

University of Illinois Arboretum | Champaign-Urbana, IL