Sam remembers when we met on her first day of work at Fortis and telling Michael that she was from northern California and graduated from Chico State, to which Michael replied, "No way! I lived in Redding for 5 years." Sam was naturally shocked that anyone in the Denver office knew much about northern California, let alone had lived there. Michael remembers meeting a social, outgoing girl, who was easy to talk to. He decided then and there that he wanted to hang out with her more. Over the next few years, we became BFFs at and outside of work. It was a "will they, won't they" rom-com office situation for a while, as many of our friends will tell you. Then, one fateful night over drinks at our favorite brewery, Cerebral, Sam made the first move and the rest is history. Over the course of the next few years, we continued a relationship grounded in friendship and a mutual love for life's adventures. Our story has been years in the making, but for the sake of brevity, we'll share just one highlight: a memorable trip to Madeira, Portugal, where Michael proposed. The plan was relatively simple: Get a ring through security at four different airports, travel for a week with Sam's family (who all knew the proposal was coming) without anyone spilling the secret, drive around the island and super casually find the perfect proposal spot, and then propose. Sam says she didn't see it coming because she figured Michael would be too stressed to travel internationally with a ring and her family. Guys, it was fine. He wasn't stressed at all! On the day of the proposal we got up early to see the sunrise at Madeira's famous black sand beach (Potential Proposal Spot #1), where we found two Instagram influencers mid-photo shoot and two engagement photo shoots happening. Well, he can't propose here, he thought. We drove to another viewpoint that had massive rocks jutting out from the ocean (Potential Proposal Spot #2). It was relatively secluded, but the beach itself was layered with rocks and boulders. Too difficult to get down on one knee, and what if he dropped the ring accidentally? This won't do either. Hours later, we made it to the small beach town of Porto Moniz, and okay, now he's a little stressed. He's 0 for 2 on proposal locations and things were not going according to plan! (Michael loves a plan.) We grabbed some lunch and headed out to the next viewpoint on our journey around the island. Per Google reviews, this was "the most romantic place to watch the sunset" - Bingo. We drove to the viewpoint, a massive cliff overlooking the ocean. Remote, beautiful, perfect. Sam got out of the car to take in the view and was freaking out about the cliff we were parked next to. She was stunned that Michael was not freaking out about the cliff with her. In truth, he was absolutely freaking out, but not about the cliff. Finally, he got down on one knee and proposed. She said yes.