How We Met: Sam and I were recently watching the Disney movie, Inside Out, and we couldn’t help but laugh at the end when the girl meets a boy which make his emotions start panicking with an alarm blaring in the background. This was particularly funny because Sam said that’s exactly what it was like when we were in middle school, and I couldn’t agree more Sam quickly became my best friend during seventh grade and he’s stayed such a special person in my life ever since. Whether it be teasing, asking for homework, or talking with me all the time (we were separated in class a lot), Sam has always been someone I can be myself with. Even when we were young he has always been the one to make me laugh between his sense of humor and his personality (cats…lots of cats) Inside Out Scene: https://youtu.be/DYHkbOugcD0?si=WE4NsnfirM8b152G How We Reconnected: Over the years, Sam and I kept in touch through social media and check ins every so often. Seeing his name appear on my phone would never fail to give me butterflies and after our many failed attempts, we finally came together. My trip to Florida was extended so I took a big chance in reaching out. I remember being incredibly nervous while getting ready to see him again, after so long. Yet as soon as he walked in I instantly knew this was what I wanted. Being with Sam felt like being home, and we’ve been together ever since Going Long Distance: Looking back now, this feels like it was forever ago and I’m so grateful to say that. For clarification, I moved to Georgia with family my senior year of high school. Sam and I reconnected in April of 2022 and had a long distance relationship until December of 2022. These early months were bittersweet because I missed him like crazy all the time but I also felt like we were strengthening our friendship first, just like middle school (I forgot to mention, we “dated” several times and broke up the same day…every time). Long distance with Sam was easy because he was still my best friend, and I couldn’t have been happier to plan a future with him Meet the Family: As nervous as I was to meet his family, I was also equally excited because I’ve heard so much about them for so long. I was especially excited to meet his sister, Nina, after hearing so many stories over the years, and one of the early things Sam said to me when we reconnected was “no teaming up with Nina.” Meeting his family only intensified how lucky and fortunate I feel to be joining such a beautiful, kind, and loving family. I love having a relationship with each member, but I am especially grateful to have such a wonderful soon to be mother in law. Amy and Jim, thank you for all you do and the man you have raised Our Proposal: Sam proposed on December 9th, 2023 (best day of my life) during a beach walk. I remember the weeks leading up the weekend had been super busy due to work and the holiday season. We planned a beach trip to have a small getaway before Christmas festivities and family visits started. Our first day there and Sam suggested a beach walk to our favorite drink spot. Moments later he told me he had been meaning to ask me something and I knew it right away. There was no hesitation that he is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with

How We Met:   Kaylen and I met in the 7th grade in Mrs. Moors computer class, I don’t quite exactly remember how we were introduced but I know that we immediately clicked and she became one of my best friends. We would regularly get in trouble in class for talking, so FaceTimes afterschool naturally became a thing with us. If you go on Kaylen’s instagram from this time period you’ll find sarcastic comments from myself, always teasing and trying to make Kaylen laugh. In this class Kaylen and I built the strong foundations for our future relationship together. (Fun fact: Kik was our preferred method of communication) How We Reconnected:  It was a random April afternoon at work (the 19th to be exact), and I felt my phone vibrate. I checked my phone and I see I received a text message from Kaylen….. From that moment my heart was racing with butterflies and excitement.  We ended up making plans to grab a drink at Nona Social. I had a work dinner that night, but I so badly wanted to see Kaylen, so I devised a plan and spoke to my dad who let me leave the dinner early. I wanted to spend as much time as possible with Kaylen, so I rushed home, showered off, shaved my face and threw on my best billabong shirt. FINALLY I make it to Nona Social, only to find I sent Kaylen and her dad to trivia night… major embarrassment on my end. I felt terrible I had them made them sit through pointless queries BUT in the end it was worth it. The rest is history!  Going long distance: Going long distance with Kaylen was never a challenge, the only thing I could think about was the next opportunity to see her. I will never forget the butterflies and (good) anxiety I would get on my drives on my way to visit her in Gainesville, GA.  When we couldn’t visit each other we always had nightly FaceTime calls (just like middle school). During these calls we loved playing the wordle together and falling asleep while watching movies Meet the Family: The night Kaylen and I reconnected I had met her father, Arthur. I thought he was a super cool guy immediately, we had some drinks and chit chatted randomly throughout the night.  My first time meeting her siblings and Dana, was in Atlanta for Arthur and Dana’s fantastic wedding. I probably embarrassed myself quite a bit with some things I don’t want to mention here (had a bit too much fun) but I’m very happy with how everything has ended up and I wouldn’t change a thing.  I got along well with Jack, Landen and Chloe pretty quickly, Birdie was a whole other story and was not fond of me one bit. Fast forward a couple years and now whenever I visit, I’m always so honored when Birdie invites me to play in her pink room Our Proposal: I knew I wanted to marry Kaylen from the night we reconnected, It was so natural and felt nothing short of perfect. Anyways one weekend we had gone up to visit Kaylen’s family in Georgia, and while we were laying in bed one morning Kaylen’s little sister Birdie came to hang out. Seeing Kaylen and Birdie interact absolutely melted my heart, I knew I could not wait to have kids with this extremely special person. From that moment I knew I was ready to go buy a ring.  Weeks and months passed and trying to figure out proper timing and the right way to do it, I believe I had devised the perfect plan. Propose on the beach and get some cute pictures, have our chauffeur Nina take us to dinner (Rusty’s, I wanted to take Kaylen for some amazing ahi Tuna!) then I would bring Kaylen home with some drinks to go and then cap the night off with a romantic movie and snuggles