10/5/24—The Matsons

My brother got married. He has a wife. I have a sister in law. After exactly 12 years, it’s about damn time. 10/5/12 —> 10/5/24

Dakota and McKenzie have been together over half my life at this point. I’ve witnessed them go from teenagers to young college kids to dog parents. Now, they are husband and wife.

The most vivid memory I have of these two is from a big Matson family vacation to the Oregon coast. We all went down to the beach one day to hang out, even Dakota who famously hates the outdoors. Now if you know anything about the Pacific Northwest, those beaches…not warm. That is cold water. So we’re all just kinda sitting around, talking, enjoying the wind and layer of clouds overhead. And all of the sudden, we hear some hooting and hollering. All of our heads turn to see Dakota and McKenzie dipping their toes into the freezing cold ocean a little bit. Then a lotta bit. Then, they start splashing each other. Next thing you know, they’re holding hands trying to jump over waves, which escalates to Dakota picking McKenzie up and trying to jump over waves while carrying her. They’re both extremely clothed by the way, as in wearing pants and sweatshirts. They didn’t care though. The way they were laughing, just having the best time together is something I will never forget. I think I was 15 at the time, and I thought to myself, “Wow. Look how much fun they’re having. They really are just best friends. I hope to have that someday.”

Anyways, here are some photos of their wedding day straight out of a medieval fairytale. Couldn't be happier for them.