We're Getting Married!

It all started in October of 2019 on Bumble… (a dating app for those that don’t know). They matched, chatted casually, and Dakota asked for Samantha’s SnapChat profile so he could live vicariously through her while she went to a music festival. To his dismay, she never added him back…then things fell silent for several weeks. Out of the blue, sometime around Christmas, Dakota checked back on Bumble and was excited to see Samantha had messaged him back, “Yo, how's life?” Ready to move past the idle Bumble messages, Dakota “took his shot.” Thinking he was slick, Dakota responded, "What are the chances between 1 and 4043753495 that you will text me?” Keeping the suspense, the next morning Samantha texted back and said, “The chances are pretty good”. From then on, the pair texted/SnapChatted regularly and eventually it was time for them to meet in person… Dakota asked Samantha out on a date, and she suggested the location. They went on their first date in January of 2020 to Ormsby's for drinks and appetizers. Samantha arrived at the restaurant early and Dakota was having trouble finding where to park. He called her (eeekk! first time chatting on the phone) and she eventually met him outside in an attempt to help him find parking. She walked up to his old truck – Dakota, feeling a bit embarrassed her first impression was his old, beat-up truck that had no power steering anymore, was nervous to finally meet her. Samantha opened the passenger door, hopped in with her bright smile and said, “I normally don’t get in strangers' cars.” Little did she know, he wouldn’t be a stranger for long! As soon as Dakota saw her, his anxieties of his dilapidated truck melted away, suddenly struck with how beautiful she was in person than her Bumble profile, led him to believe. After their first in-person date, the two talked and texted over the phone non-stop and eventually Samantha invited Dakota to her “Emo Night" themed birthday party where they danced the night away, only to be separated for 3 months afterwards, due to the COVID lockdown. Samantha with her parents in Hiawassee and Dakota was back at home in Buford, they kept the communication lines open and continued to get to know each other the best they could in such weird circumstances. The next time they met in person was in April of 2020 at Samantha’s house. When they matched, Dakota had a full beard and when they met again in April, Dakota was clean shaven and all Samantha could think was, “Dang he is even better looking than I thought!” Was it love at third sight? He sure thinks so… Afterwards, they exclusively dated yet Samantha stubbornly continued to tell her friends, “He is not my boyfriend,” meanwhile Dakota would tell his friends, “She's my girlfriend, she just doesn’t know it yet.” In August of 2020 Samantha was ready to call it what it was, and Dakota formally asked her to be his girlfriend on a hike up Stone Mountain on August 8th, 2020. From then on the two have experienced many adventures, laughs, challenges but in the end have chosen to love each other each and every single day. They could not be more excited to “tie the knot” in marriage and cannot wait to celebrate their special day with all of you! S+D