Hello there
Lindsay's mom talked her into online dating.
"You didn't meet anyone in college. You haven't met anyone at work. And you run a gay theater company. Where do you think you're going to meet people?" she asked.
"She had a point," Lindsay admits.
The now 29-year-old actor is also development and communications manager for Philadelphia Young Playwrights and cofounded the Mauckingbird Theatre Company as a vehicle for gay storytelling.
She electronically winked at Matthew in November 2008.
Matthew, who grew up in Jeannette, Pa., and graduated from Dickinson Law School in Carlisle, had just come to town to clerk for Court of Common Pleas Judge Arnold New. He had previously noticed Lindsay's smiling face and blond ringlets, but her photo - a professional headshot - seemed too perfect to be real. Her wink sent him to her Match.com profile, where he liked what he read and saw some amateur photos. Lindsay was real.
A week and a half of e-mails later, they met at a now-defunct city tea shop.
"The conversation really seemed to flow," said Matthew, now 31. Both loved theater - albeit from opposite sides of the footlights - dogs, and football.
"We talked for two hours over one cup of tea," said Lindsay.
Then her stomach interrupted. "Hey, could we maybe go get some food?" she asked.
Sitting at the Fox & Hound tavern, Lindsay asked another question: "Would you judge me if I order wings?"
"Only in the best possible way," Matthew replied.
Matthew had given himself a law school graduation present: Two tickets to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. At purchase, he told himself he had four months to figure out who would use the second ticket.
"That night, I invited Lindsay."
How does forever sound?
In April 2010, Lindsay, a Harrisburg native who first came to Philly to study music education at Temple, gave up her apartment near Rittenhouse Square, and Matthew his near Broad and Vine, to share an apartment in South Philadelphia.
In May 2013, they rescued a new family member: Lucy the basset hound.
Before their July 2013 Disney cruise of the Mediterranean, Matthew tucked a vintage engagement ring into a shoe in his carry-on. They were staying one night in London before setting sail from Barcelona and arrived at their B&B well before check-in. The couple could keep their luggage in the lobby, and stash any valuables in the safe, said their host, leaving Matthew to ponder just how he could convince this guy that his running shoes were safe-worthy.
Figuring it impossible, Matthew took a surprise-saving risk instead. "Whelp, I hope my bags don't get stolen," he thought as they headed out for sightseeing.
Once on the ship, Matthew tried to propose. Lindsay was so happy and distracted by the music and dancing, she didn't notice. Matthew sought help from Erica - Lindsay's good friend and an actor who was performing on the ship and had persuaded the couple to take this particular cruise. "When is a good time?" he asked.
Costumed Disney characters would soon launch the boat with a countdown from 10, Erica offered.
"At about 5, I turned Lindsay around, got down on one knee, and pulled the ring out of my pocket," Matthew said. Just as she said yes, the characters reached 1, the ships' horn blew, and cannons fired confetti everywhere.
That December, the couple bought their home in Point Breeze and rescued a second basset, Elvis.
It was so them
As the ceremony at the Boathouse in South Philadelphia's FDR Park was about to begin, a group of people playing as close as they could get to Harry Potter's Quidditch without flying broomsticks started shouting "Congratulations, you two!"
Rather than bridesmaids and groomsmen, the couple dubbed coed groups of family and friends Team Lindsay and Team Matt.
Team captains Erica and Michael had the special job of escorting Canine of Honor Lucy and Best Canine Elvis down the aisle, causing Judge New, Matthew's boss and the wedding officiant, to quote W.C. Fields' line about never competing with children or animals. Matthew hasn't worked for him this whole time, but he's back at the office now. "He . . . was really able to personalize the ceremony," Lindsay said.
Their musicians were "two kids that play in the subway for tips," Lindsay said. One day after a violin and viola performance at Suburban Station, the couple asked them to play their wedding.
The cocktail party-style reception for 150 was held at the Suzanne Roberts Theater. Lindsay's continued acting at Wilmington's Candlelight Theater has not only led Matthew to play volunteer stagehand or bartender, it's opened him up to a little performing. And so the couple's first dance was a choreographed ensemble performance of "Seize the Day" from Newsies, starring not only the bride and groom, but their "teams" as well.
"Some of the bridal party - mainly her friends - are really awesome dancers," said Matthew. "Mine were awesome sports, who all did it with a smile on their face and a beer in their belly."
Awestruck
Everyone kept asking Matthew if he was nervous. His answer was always no. What he felt just before he and Lindsay briefly parted for the start of the ceremony was a warm, happy certainty that things were exactly as they should be. "Hey," he said to her. "Let's go get married."
Before they walked down the aisle, Lindsay caught a glimpse of her dad's red and teary eyes. The retired high school football coach isn't prone to tears and "it took everything I had not to lose it," she said.
After the ceremony, she and Matthew stepped into a vintage Rolls-Royce, and it all felt like a midcentury Hollywood glamour romance.
Discretionary spending
A bargain: Most everything. "We pretty much pulled in any favor that was ever owed to us," Matthew said. One prime example: Their friend Bob, a great cook, prepared the oysters, crab claws, twice-baked potatoes, ravioli, fried chicken, and prime rib, asking only for the cost of food and supplies. "He saved us well over $10,000 from what our lowest catering estimate was," Lindsay said.
The splurge: LaDuca shoes, worn by Broadway dancers, don't normally come in wedding white. A custom pair cost $500.
The getaway
A two week transatlantic cruise from Barcelona to San Juan, Puerto Rico, on the Disney Magic - the ship where they got engaged.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Officiant: The Honorable Arnold L. New, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia.
Venue: Ceremony, FDR Park Boathouse; reception, Suzanne Roberts Theater; both in Philadelphia.
Catering: Friend of the couple, with dessert by Barbuzzo Restaurant, Philadelphia.
Photo: Sam Nagel Photography, Philadelphia.
Music: Emcee Elroy, Philadelphia.
Dress: Vintage.
Wedding planner: Natalie Diener, www.nataliediener.com.