We met in September 2022 during Sam’s senior year of college and Audrey’s first year of law school at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL. We quickly grew fond of each other and made things official on November 5th of that year. We met each other’s families shortly after that; we already knew at that point that this was something special. After only 8 months together, we road-tripped from Illinois to Colorado to move Sam into his new home in Denver. We continued our relationship from a distance. We would visit each other as often as possible, while Audrey was on breaks from school or during holidays. We made the most of our time together. Fast forward to May 2025 and Audrey was preparing to sit for the Illinois Bar Exam. Sam had just moved again to Del Rio, Texas. We decided to spend the summer there while Audrey studied and Sam worked. This time together was different than before, as we were actually living together rather than visiting for a few days at a time. We got to experience everyday life as a couple for the first time. This summer was one of our favorite times in our relationship to date. To make the summer even better, we got engaged! We took a weekend trip to Fredericksburg, Texas for wine tours and tastings. Audrey was suspicious that Sam might propose over the weekend (he had dropped some hints) so she asked him about it. He apologetically told her that he did not even have the ring with him. The next day, August 31st, Sam popped the question. Audrey was completely surprised. We celebrated afterwards with an amazing dinner and a quiet night in. Since then, we have returned to long distance and visit one another as much as we can. Audrey spends most of her free time obsessing over wedding planning, and Sam spends most of his time telling Audrey that our wedding will be perfect no matter what. We cannot wait to celebrate our love story with you at our wedding! - Audrey & Sam