Sam and Maggie met on Facebook Dating. When you least expect something good to come from an online conversation, it turned serious quickly. Maggie had to cancel their first date when she realized a few days before that it was Sam’s birthday. Not wanting to ruin his day, she figured it made sense to reschedule. A few days later, after some long phone calls where they bonded over their love of museums (and dislike of people in general), they planned a last-minute date while Sam was in Rochelle for work. At the time, Sam was a truck driver. Their first date went great at the China buffet, followed by some laughs as they made fun of the many men working at Love’s cause it really took too many to empty those trashcans. For their second date, they spent the day at an apple orchard, then went to Autumn on Parade, sat at the lookout at the Blackhawk statue, and ended with dinner in Rochelle. The date lasted nearly the entire day. But after their third date, Sam started acting off, and it turned out his gallbladder was trying to kill him. Maggie didn’t hesitate. She jumped in her car, drove through the night to Iowa City, skipped a sale day at work. She called everyone crying on her way there, wondering if she had lost her mind. Thankfully, it wasn’t the heart attack the EMS workers had feared. Since Sam was living in his semi-truck at the time, Maggie brought him home to recover. And he never left. We both knew by the second date that we were in love. And thank god it worked out because we would have looked pretty silly. It’s been the best thing to ever happen to Us. Being with the right person has honestly made life so much easier. Sam and Maggie had a civil ceremony on September 13th, 2024, at the Winnebago County Courthouse. We both knew we wanted something more personal to celebrate our love, so we’re beyond excited to have a ceremony and reception exactly one year later, surrounded by everyone who means the most to us.