Our story began in December of 2017. We had both been in the Saint Mary's concert and jazz band together for a little over a year but had never truly formed a close friendship. Through a mutual friend, we were told to get to know each other more. We messaged each other every day of that Christmas break, talked late into the night and enjoyied getting to know each other. Once back at campus, we hung out in our residence hall's lounge and talked for hours, showed each other pictures, made food and most importantly, played cards. Everything was wonderful, which led to Erin's desire to have Sam meet her parents. We traveled to meet Erin's family at Whistle Binkies in Rochester, MN. After that meal on February 11th, 2018, we officially started dating. Over the next year and 8 months, we grew closer and closer. Whenever possible, we spent our time together watching the Twins, playing board games and going on long car rides. Playing cards together is by far our favorite thing to do, as we have running scores of many games since the beginning of our relationship. We share a love of family and love spending time with our friends.

On an cloudy, drizzly day in October, Sam "disappeared" from work for a few hours and drove out to Waseca, MN to meet Bruce at a job site. There, he proceeded to ask him (and Colleen) for Erin's hand in marriage. The "Yes" was provided and a ring was purchased. However, due to timing regarding Erin's sister Connie's wedding to her now husband Jordan, Sam was going to wait until after the celebration. On the day after the wedding, November 10th, we began our trek back to Winona. Upon arriving, Erin was cold and hollered to Sam downstairs, asking if she could borrow some socks. Sam saw the opportunity and responded to Erin to come down and pick any pair that she wanted. Sam was waiting at the bottom of the steps on one knee. The rest is history.