Jen (Friend or Co-host) (2:03)

Right?

Matt (Grooming Service Owner / Proposer) (2:03)

That's why. That's why. Jen. Jen, I don't think I called you till what, last Thursday or Friday, not.

Co-host or Friend (2:08)

Till a week before. But like, Stacy and I talk to each other probably once or twice a week or something, but not like every single. Not like I'm not one of her friends that talks to her every single day.

Matt (Grooming Service Owner / Proposer) (2:17)

And it was so funny because leading up to this whole thing, so I probably started planning this in May, leading up to the whole thing. Stacey just kept saying to me that in fact, like three days before the engagement or the proposal on Saturday, we were just sitting there watching tv and she was just. She looked kind of strange. And I was like, stace, I was like, what's going on? What's wrong? She's like, oh, nothing. She's like, you know, don't get me wrong. I don't regret the fact we're moving in together. This is going to be fun and we're definitely doing the right thing. But I just never thought I'd move in with a boy before I was engaged. And so I'm sitting there and I'm like, oh, my God. I'm like, okay, time to lie again. That's been the worst part about this whole thing is it's just been white lie after white lie. Because within a three day span, my parents were flying in from Ohio. I flew them in for this. Which she also didn't know they were coming. So that Thursday night she schedules a dinner for us. She's like, hey, leave your schedule open. We're going out to dinner with Kitsie and Ray. It's gonna be so much fun. And I'm sitting there, I'm like, okay. So I call her back, stay. Sorry, I can't go. I gotta take a client out to dinner. You know, my manager and I gotta take him out. I'm gonna be busy all night. Oh, okay. I understand. Her best friend sends an email. I would like to do a surprise birthday party for Stacy on July 9th. Matt, if you have any ideas, please let me know.

Co-host or Friend (3:31)

Oh, no.

Matt (Grooming Service Owner / Proposer) (3:32)

So she's trumping your plan. I mean, it's just like, I was like, if you could plan 17 more things within a three day span, that would be awesome.

Jen (Friend or Co-host) (3:40)

You're getting proposal blocked, man.

Matt (Grooming Service Owner / Proposer) (3:42)

Yeah. So basically what I was gonna do is the way I had it set up, I was sitting there trying to think of something cool in Atlanta. I was like, okay, cool place to get engaged. It's like you're in the city, but you're not in the city. A place, Sheena, I'd never been before. I thought, botanical garden is perfect. That's what I'm going to do. So. But I didn't want to just be, you know, okay, let's go to the gardens and when we get to a certain spot, I'll get down on my knee and propose. I mean, that's very nice, but I wanted something a little unique. And the one thing I thought to Myself was, gardens have rocks. So what I did was I found this company in Idaho, and they make rocks. They'll take rocks out of streams in the Rocky Mountains, and they will engrave on the stone whatever you want. So I called the company and told them what I was doing, and they basically put her name at the top. I had a poem written on it. At the bottom, I put, will you marry me? With the date on it. The poem says. At the top, it says, Stacey. And it says, from this day forward, you will not walk alone. My arms will be your shelter, and my heart will be your home.

Jen (Friend or Co-host) (4:40)

See, there's nothing cheesy about that.

Co-host or Friend (4:41)

Is that.

Matt (Grooming Service Owner / Proposer) (4:43)

And it says, will you marry me? So went over there, met with the event coordinator, got it set up. She said, great, we're going to coordinate this. And she said, I'm going to have my event person, Chastity. Chastity is going to be here. I'd never met Chastity before. Here's her cell phone number. You call her when you guys get to the gardens. Give her five minutes, she'll go place it. And I've rented the Japanese garden there. You can rent a garden for an hour, so it's completely private. Give her five minutes, she'll put the stone down. You know, you go do your thing. It's going to be great. And so, basically, after that part, you know, I do the proposal. She's all excited. I was then going to blindfold her and take her over to Kima because I was having about 35 friends over there. So everything's set up, ready to go. I've told, you know, 1700 lies for that weekend to make sure she keeps it open. So I said, Saturday, keep your birthday day open. We're gonna have a day of it. So we get up, take her to brunch. Beautiful weather outside. We go for a run in Piedmont Park. I brought a picnic basket. So she and I sat there for a while, had a picnic, started to get a little closer to the time. Okay, let's go back and get ready. You know, she knew we were going out to dinner. She had no idea where. So 20 minutes before we leave, the sky just opens up, and I start sweating like crazy. And I don't usually sweat. And so I'm sitting there with my shirt off in front of the fan, Nothing but my box. Stacy walks in, and she's like, matt, what's wrong? I'm like, God, I don't know. I can't stop sweating. It's like. It's like 110 in here. She's like, no, it's not. It's like 60. I'm like, I don't know, maybe because of our run or I don't know what's going on. So I'm freaking out. And she's just like, you know, is something wrong? Did you have something planned for us outside? And I was like, well, I was like, part of your birthday surprise? Yeah. I said, besides the dinner, part of it was going to be outside. So at this point, I'm thinking, okay, why am I going to go take her to the botanical gardens when it's pouring out? I got to think of something else. So I just go, well, actually, Stace, I'm going to go ahead and tell you we're leaving in 10 minutes anyway. I have scheduled a private chef and a private dinner for you and I at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. They have a little dining area there.

Co-host or Friend (6:41)

Good lie, right?

Jen (Friend or Co-host) (6:42)

Nice.

Podcast Host (6:42)

Yeah.

Matt (Grooming Service Owner / Proposer) (6:43)

Yeah. So I said, it's. It's gonna be. It's gonna be fun. And she's so excited. She's like, oh, my gosh. And I was like, well, as part of it, you know, I wanted to walk around the gardens for about an hour before dinner, but obviously it's raining. And she was just like, well, then, you know, we just won't walk around the garden. And I'm like, yeah, you're right. But, you know, let's just go ahead and go over there. They have a bar there. They have a bar there. Let's go get a couple of drinks and we'll just wait until the table's ready. So it's just pouring. And plus, they're having a huge festival there this weekend, so you can't park right next to the garden normally. It's like a 10 foot WA to the front door. So we park down and across the street, we're walking up the hill, and it's just pouring. And Stacy's sitting there like, you know, I shouldn't have worn my $300 shoes. And I'm like, well, you shouldn't spend $300 for shoes. So, you know, and I'm like, this is the last time I want her to get angry about something. Just like, well, you know, we get up to the top, we'll have a drink, Things will be fine. So we get up the hill, and I have to pay admission to get into the garden. And so I walk up and she's like, why are we paying admission? I'm like, oh, it's part of the dinner. Just don't worry about It. And she's like, literally says to the attendant, yeah, we're here for dinner. And the guy goes, you're here for dinner? And I was like, yes, we're here for dinner. So I get our tickets, and we go around and we sit under this little overhang. It's still pouring outside, but we're sitting on a bench underneath. And I'm like, I'll be right back. I have to go use the bathroom. So go into the men's room, get on the phone to call Chastity. This is not a working number. This number is not in service.

Co-host or Friend (8:10)

She's the person who's supposed to place the rock.

Matt (Grooming Service Owner / Proposer) (8:12)

She's the one supposed to place the rock. And I'm just like, okay, somebody gave me the wrong phone number.

Co-host or Friend (8:16)

Oh, no.

Matt (Grooming Service Owner / Proposer) (8:17)

So I'm sitting in this bathroom, you know, there's, like, two guys around me, and I'm sitting there, like, cussing, and they're like, everything all right? I'm like, oh, yeah, good. Thanks. So I walk back out of the restroom, and I'm like, okay, I gotta find somebody that knows where she is. So as I walk out, this blonde girl is walking toward me, and I just go, excuse me, do you work here? She's like, yes. I said, I'm looking for Chastity. She said, I am Chastity. I was like, chastity. On Matt. She just goes, oh, my God. Okay, give me five minutes. So I go and sit back down with Stacy, still sweating like a hooker in church. You know, I'm sitting there, and she's like, baby, are you okay today? You just. You never sweat this much. And I'm like, yeah, it's, you know, it's humid. And so chastity is, like 10ft next to us walking out of her office with this rock. And so I'm like, stacy, come here. You know, Stacy, I want to talk to you. You're beautiful. You know, look at me for a second. So, you know, Chasity's heading towards the garden. And Stacy's like, well, why can't we go inside? I thought you said they had a bar here. Why can't we go in and at least sit inside out of the rain? And I'm like, well, they told me that, you know, they have this room for us. And the room wouldn't be ready until 30 minutes before the dinner. So we got, like, 10 minutes to kill. Let's just go to the gift shop. So, you know, we're walking around looking at porcelain frogs, and I'm just. I'm looking at my watch. And I'm like, okay, okay, let's just do this. So I'm like, okay, I think we can go now. And so we go out, wind our way around the garden. There's this big building in the back, she thinks we're going towards. So I make a right and I'm heading toward the garden. Chastity is walking out of the garden and it's just like, oh, excuse me. Yeah, hi, how are you? So we go in and actually the rain was a blessing in disguise because it cleared everybody out. There was nobody around us. And so we're walking in here and again she's just like, well, why are we still outside?

Co-host or Friend (10:01)

It's raining.

Matt (Grooming Service Owner / Proposer) (10:04)

Just, come on, just two seconds. I wanted to show you something. So we walk in, she's holding the umbrella and, you know, and she's like, matt, my shoes. And I just go. I just looked at her and I said, stace, I said, would you just do me a favor and look down? And so she looks down and the rock, because it was raining, the poem was covered. All she saw. All she saw at the top was Stacey, and at the bottom all she saw was, will you marry me? And she just looked for a second and she was like, oh, my God. She was like, is this really happening? Jen, I think it's similar to what you said when Ryan proposed to you. It was, this is my, this is my moment, I can't believe this is my moment type thing.

Co-host or Friend (10:39)

Right? You go. I think my first words to Ryan were, are you serious? Yeah.

Matt (Grooming Service Owner / Proposer) (10:43)

And that was, that was Stacy. She was just like, are you kidding? And so I got down on the knee and she just, she just started shaking. I thought she was going to start bawling, but she didn't because she was such in shock. So I got down on the knee and of course I start welling up like a 3 year old. I'm like, you know, Stacy, I love you so much, you know? And I did the proposal and the cool thing was, you know, she just looked at me and she was like, yes. She's like, yes, yes, yes. And so I stood up and I hugged her and she was just like, oh, my God. Oh my God. And there was a little covered area in the garden we were in. I was like, come on, let's go sit down and get out of the rain. And she's like, can you bring the rock over? I need to see the stone. And so I picked the stone up, bring it over. So she reads the poem and this whole time when I was on my knee. I had the ring sitting out in front of her. And she didn't even look at it because she was just so in shock. And so we're sitting there talking for like five minutes. And I was like, stace, do you want to see your ring? Oh, my God, yes, of course. So, you know, pulled it out of the box and, you know, she loved it. She thought it was perfect. And so I go down, get the car. She's waiting upstairs at the top of the hill. Go get it. And I blindfold her. I said, look, I know you want to sit there and stare at your ring. I know you want to call your mom and Amanda and Amy and everybody, but can you bear with me for another 10 minutes? I have another surprise. And she's like, okay. So I put the blindfold on her.

Co-host or Friend (11:54)

And you stole her cell phone while you went to go get the car.

Matt (Grooming Service Owner / Proposer) (11:57)

I said, give me your phone. I said, I know you're going to call everybody. Give me your phone. So I'm carrying this 20 pound rock down a hill. I left the umbrella with her. It's just pouring. The lights are out. So traffic. You know, in Atlanta, people are so great about treating it as a four way stop when there's no lights, right? So there's just this crazy guy with a 20 pound rock over his head running across the road, you know, and I'm like, please don't hit me. So I get to the car, go pick her up, and the whole time we're in the car, it's just pouring. And she's like, oh, my God. She's like, is there like a tornado? And I'm like, oh, no, no, we're fine. And I'm like, turning all these back streets so she doesn't know where we're going. So we get to Kima, pull up in the valet, you know, he goes to open the door and what do good valets do? Hi, welcome to Kemah. So I pull up, roll down the window and go, don't say a word. And this guy's just standing there holding a number. He's like, okay, don't say a word. Ignore the blindfolded woman in my trunk. I'm a stalker, but I'm a romantic stalker, right? So I go and I pull her out, and she and I go to Kima all the time. It's one of our favorite places. We usually go and have some drinks before we go out for the night. So she walks in the door and immediately she knows where she is because she hears the Greek music. And she's like, r. I'm like, yes. And the general manager of Kima Nicholas is one of my very, very good friends. And so immediately she walks in the door, Nicholas comes up behind her, starts pinching her, you know, poking her. And she's just like, what's going on? I'm like, get away. Stop it. And so I'm leading her past the bar, out to the patio. And we just get to the patio, I pull the blindfold off, and everybody was there. Everybody had shown up on time. And it was just so great because I walked out and everybody turned at the same time and looked. And right when I pulled the blindfold off, they just started cheering.

Co-host or Friend (13:36)

It was really cool. It was fun to see the surprise on her face because she first saw her parents and so ran over and was like, mom, dad, you know, so she got to hug her parents and then she saw Matt's parents who had been flown there from Ohio. So to see the surprise on her face for that, and then every turn she made with a new friend, you know, and seeing them for the first time. Oh, my God, you knew. Oh my God, you knew. So it was awesome. It was. He was a hero.

Jen (Friend or Co-host) (14:00)

So everybody that she would have been on the phone calling or you would have been on the phone calling was actually in that room to celebrate with you guys.

Matt (Grooming Service Owner / Proposer) (14:06)

Everybody was there. It was, you know, we shut the place down. Nicholas actually came to me at the end of the night and just like, dude. He's like, I'm going home. You guys can stay as long as you want, but I'm going home. So we, we stayed the rest of the night, had it, had a great time. And then after, after the event, I didn't tell her this either. I'd gotten a room at the Grand Hyatt right there in Buckhead. Nice. So, you know, we finished the night. Yeah. And she and I, there's no way we're in any condition to drive. So friends, our good friends John and Anna, we went and got something to eat. And I was just like, all right, John. So Stacy's like, okay, you know, let's go back to my place. You know, I'm so tired, blah, blah, blah. We pull into the Hyatt, she's just like, what are we doing here? And I'm like, what do you think we're doing here? I was like, surprise again. And she was just like, oh, my God. So, you know, had a great night, had breakfast in the morning and then had dinner at her parents house last night. It was just, I told her last night, she and I were laying there before we went to sleep and I just said, the best part about this whole is that I don't have to lie to you anymore. And I said, I know it was good. Lies. I said, but this has been like planning the Normandy invasion. And it was totally worth it, though.

Co-host or Friend (15:09)

Good for you.

Jen (Friend or Co-host) (15:10)

You talk about pulling all the stuff. You have set the bar too high in Atlanta. Now your friends are either gonna love you or hate you, man.

Matt (Grooming Service Owner / Proposer) (15:17)

Well, most of them are engaged, thankfully now. So, you know, they can all just be like, well, fine, I'm already married and things are good. But yeah, there's a couple of friends who are just like, you are a jerk. Matt.

Jen (Friend or Co-host) (15:28)

Congratulations, Matt Congr. Awesome job, dude. You went all out. You pulled it off, man.

Matt (Grooming Service Owner / Proposer) (15:33)

The Birch Show In a world where January is supposed to be boring, one staple of the holidays refuses to end the great deals at Verizon. The joy just keeps on coming. Right now you can save on four new phones and four lines. Critics agree it's the deal that keeps on giving. Come into Verizon and save on four new phones and four lines on unlimited. Welcome. Additional terms apply@seeverizon.com for details.

Podcast Host (16:07)

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Well, with the name your price tool from Progressive, you can find options that fit your budget and potentially lower your bills. Try it@progressive.com Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates Price and coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states.

Matt (Grooming Service Owner / Proposer) (16:27)

Say hello to Mia.

Co-host or Friend (16:28)

Hey there.

Matt (Grooming Service Owner / Proposer) (16:28)

Mia runs a pet grooming service in Chicago. But getting new clients was rough until.

Co-host or Friend (16:33)

I started using Acast. I recorded my ad, targeted pet owners in the area and let ACAST do the rest. Now people all over the city know about my grooming services.

Podcast Host (16:41)

Mia's business is looking sharp. What's your secret for happy pets and happy clients?

Co-host or Friend (16:45)

A fresh cut, a friendly vibe and a well placed podcast ad.

Podcast Host (16:49)

Get the word out about your business through Acast. Visit go.acast.com advertise to get started.