For years, our mutual friend Lacey couldn’t stop talking about us to each other. Lacey is one of Sami’s best friends from sixth grade and the first friend Cole made on his way to Officer Candidate School in 2020. Sami vividly remembers Lacey texting her that year, saying, “I met your future husband.” We finally met in 2022 at Lacey’s wedding. What began at the ceremony led to a silent disco afterparty, and the rest is history. Not long after, the Navy brought Cole to Virginia Beach—Sami’s hometown and the site of her medical school—making it seem as though fate had orchestrated it all. Time together, filled with countless memories (and adventures with Cooper, of course), confirmed that a life together would be one of laughter, friendship, and love. A home purchase, deployment, and surgery residency application later, Cole proposed in Dallas on October 25, 2024, in the presence of both the Carey and Strohm families. We are overjoyed to celebrate this special chapter of our lives with you on November 22, 2025. We hope you’ll join us in Virginia Beach for the celebration!