Gallery

We met a Halloween party in 2016 at Durham, where Sam was getting her masters and Alex was getting his PhD. Our friend Marina introduced us, and Sam was impressed that Alex actually dressed up.

Scotland played a big role in our first year of dating. This was taken at the Ustinov College Burns Night formal.

Our year in Durham ended with a ball at Beamish Hall.

When Sam finished her Masters, she went back to DC. This is taken at Alex's first trip there, which was his second ever trip to the US.

Also taken at Alex's first trip to DC. Sam was very excited he got to try his first s'more.

Sam returned to Durham for her Masters graduation in early 2018.

This picture is taken at the top of a mountain near Seattle. Sam accidentally told Alex it was just a short walk.

During Sam' first spring break in law school, we drove around Canada and forced our friend Sarah to take us to a sugar shack.

In Sam's first year of law school, Alex had a conference in Seattle. We met up with Marilyn, who took Sam's favorite photo of us.

At the end of Sam's first year in law school, she spent the summer in Serbia. We met in Paris and waited until a group of American tourists passed by to beg for a photo.

We rang in 2020 in Edinburgh. This was taken at the top of Arthur's Seat.

Our last pre-pandemic day. This was taken in early March 2020. Sam was about to head back to law school, and we were starting to get nervous about all the news reports about the novel coronovirus.

When Covid hit, the borders closed between us. This picture took 306 days and a government mandated quarantine to get.

Quarantine with Alex's parents in Cambridge included a lot of themed meals. These were an attempt at Spirited Away.

When Sam graduated law school, the borders to the US were still closed because of Covid-19. Alex attended grad remotely, and we met up in the UK afterwards. Sam started working in DC shortly after.

Alex defended his thesis remotely due to the pandemic. We celebrated his graduation in 2022.

Taken at Sam's sister's wedding in Virginia Beach.

Celebrating Alex's 30th birthday in Iceland, which included a hike down a volcano and Sam spraining her ankle when walking into a restaurant.

Because of grad school and Covid, it took a very long time to get Alex to Missouri. On his first trip, we went to Springfield's (incredible) aquarium. Unfortunately, Sam still doesn't like fish.

In 2022, Sam quit her job and moved to Luxembourg at the European Court of Justice. We spent that Easter together, wandering around the Luxembourgish countryside.

After Luxembourg, Sam dragged Alex to Cyprus. This is Aphrodite's Rock - ie, where legend says she was born. Alex was very unhappy that Sam made him turn his back to the ocean.

In the fall of 2023, we both moved to London, and finally ended the long distance era of our relationship.

After seven and a half years, a pandemic, a bar exam, a PhD, and multiple moves across oceans, we got engaged at Jesmond Dene in Newcastle, England, on May 18, 2024. Next step: Celebrating with you!