Sam first called Carrigan on December 15, 2011. He nervously asked if she would be his escort for Cominghome. She happily accepted. They promptly began dating after Sam asked Carrigan if they could be "Facebook Official?" For ten months they dated until Carrigan's had too much stress for her to handle being a good girlfriend. Over a midnight text message, Carrigan broke Sam's heart as we all know. The next three years Sam and Carrigan flirted back and forth. There were many seasons one liked the other but NEVER at the same time. After graduating high school Clancy Hall and Steve Stephens, teachers at school, took fourteen students to the Rocky mountains. The trip lasted for two weeks. During that time, Carrigan and Sam camped out in Wyoming, climbed mountains in Colorado, rode horseback to steak dinner and learned to dance under the stars. While stuck in the mountains, Sam was bitten by a bug...the looove buuug. This trip brought their hearts back together. Sam and Carrigan have dated for three and a half years and can barely wait to get hitched! And now on December 15, 2018, we are here to celebrate our 7th year anniversary from the very first awkward phone call.

Since the first time Sam and Carrigan spoke on marriage, Carrigan was certain she would be married in a church. This is more than a moment, this is more than a wedding and it is more than instagram pictures. This is a covenant before a Holy God and we will honor the Lord in His house. Sam and Carrigan will be the fourth generation of Pate men to be married in the First Church of the Nazarene. From years of prayers prayed in this exact church it felt most fitting, this space holds significance and a holiness. When the time came for Sam to purpose, he asked Carrigan if they could go scout the church out to make sure the "old" sanctuary was big enough for all the guests to fit. Carrigan spent part of the proposal counting pews, wondering what flowers will look pretty, and what decorations could fit. In a sea of brainstorming Sam got down on one knee and asked Carrigan to be his wife. He said, "In nine months this is where I want to stand with you, will you marry me?"