It’s the summer of 2014. A bunch of sweaty, awkward, 17-year-old nerds are packed into a dorm basement at Northwestern, about to start a five-week journalism summer program. Eventually, a boy from Highland Park, Illinois and a girl from Weston, Florida find each other in the crowd. When Sam and Jen met, they instantly felt like they had known each other their entire lives — partially because a chunk of Sam’s family just happened to live around the corner from Jen in Weston. The two developed a true friendship that only grew stronger as they went home to finish high school. When they both got into Northwestern, Jen excitedly told her family, “I get to go to college with my best friend, Sam!” After a few months of FaceTiming nearly every day, a meetup in NYC for New Year's, and Sam finding legitimately any reason to go visit his family in Weston, the two realized they were more than just friends. On Saturday, May 23, 2015, Sam surprised Jen at her doorstep to take her to prom, and things became official. Now, almost exactly 10 years since prom night, Sam and Jen will become husband and wife. Over the last decade(!), Sam and Jen have grown up side-by-side, from teenagers to adults. Together, they have experienced the craziness of college, supported each other in starting their careers, moved into their own apartment in downtown Chicago, become proud cat parents to Tony, and traveled the world. They have loved every second of building their life together and have become true parts of each other’s families. Sam proposed to Jen in October of 2022, 48 hours before they jetted off to Australia for four months. It was an incredible adventure, and a preview of the lifelong journey they now embark on together. They couldn’t be more excited to begin this new chapter of their lives alongside their treasured family and friends!