The invisible string theory: A concept that suggests people who are destined to be together are connected by an invisible string. For most of Samantha's life 593 Hillcrest was just the house across the street from her childhood best friend's. For most of Linus' life Mike Derrick was just his brother's teacher & cousin's coach. Fast forward to 2020, and suddenly those two things took on an entirely different meaning — because sophomore year of high school, in Samantha’s dad’s photography class, their paths finally crossed. When we say “the rest is history,” we literally mean it — because the day we officially started dating, the world shut down for COVID-19. Friday, March 13th, 2020, is remembered by most as the day everything stopped. For us, it’s the day everything started. Now, starting a relationship on Friday the 13th at the beginning of a worldwide pandemic might seem like a bad sign… but six years later, we’d beg to differ. That’s not to say it’s all been easy — we’ve weathered health challenges, long distance, and all the growing pains that come with going from sixteen to twenty-two. It’s taken a lot of love, faith, effort, and Jesus. We’ll spare you the full rom-com montage, but after high school graduation, first jobs, new cities, and finally college graduation then came May 30th, 2025 — the day Linus got down on one knee and asked Samantha for forever. All of you have been part of our story in some way, and we can’t wait to combine all those stories into one big celebration on May 30th, 2026.