We met when we were 17, just two kids looking for somewhere to go on the Fourth of July. Luckily for Chelsea, her original plans that day got cancelled, and her friend (and current bridesmaid!) Megan invited her over. Luckily for Sam, his family friend, Megan, also invited him and his somewhat crazy friends over as well. Sam remembers wondering who Megan’s cute friend was. However, being woefully bad at talking to girls, he took another route. He decided to awkwardly interact with Chelsea all night without actually making a move. Sam gave her a water bottle at dinner, we played some spikeball, and he thought of the most suave move he could pull off: handing Chelsea sparklers once it got dark. You could say the sparks flew, but that would be both cheesy and not entirely true… yet. Sam went home, and his friend (and current groomsmen!) Alex convinced him, rather easily, to start texting Chelsea, and Sam sent that first text. So began a few weeks of intermittent back and forth, characterized by Sam’s lack of game and Chelsea’s uncertainty about this new guy texting her. For better or worse, Sam didn’t pick up on Chelsea’s slow responses at first; all he saw was a cute girl occasionally texting him back. One day, after a few days of less chit chat, Sam and his friends were hanging out at a waterfall in Dublin, Ohio. Sam knew he was near Chelsea’s house, and being completely oblivious to how creepy it sounded, he decided to let her know. Funnily enough, Chelsea was in Worthington, Sam’s hometown, taking pictures with her friends when she got Sam’s text. Again, we’re both not entirely sure why, but Chelsea found this funny, and we started texting a lot more. A couple more weeks went by, and Sam kept convincing himself he would ask her on a date. Spoiler alert: he kept chickening out. One night, while we were texting back and forth, Sam still hadn’t asked her out. Chelsea was tired of waiting around, so she not-so-subtly nudged him in the right direction, asking when they would see each other next. Sam finally took the hint and asked her on a date. Our first few dates were Chipotle and Rita’s, mini-golf, and the drive-in movie theater. It was here that Sam officially asked Chelsea to be his girlfriend. That was over five years ago, at the very beginning of our senior year of high school. We spent all of college in a “medium-distance” relationship while attending different schools. We’ve since learned about our shared love of adventures, dogs, tacos, and so much more. Chelsea taught Sam how to dance, and he taught her how to ski. We’ve been to Washington, New York, Hawai’i, and California on trips together, and all of those have included some cool hiking and exploring. We’re happiest when we’re trying new, exciting things. We also love a good night in, cooking yummy food, and watching a good movie. We’ve known we wanted to get married for a while, and Sam knew he wanted to ask her soon after college graduation. When he landed a job over the summer, he immediately began ring shopping. Sam’s family has a lake cabin in New York, and we absolutely love spending time there, so Sam knew it was the perfect place. Sam planned a couple’s weekend at the lake in mid-August. The first night, Sam took Chelsea out on a boat ride and pretended it stalled out in the middle of the lake (he’s a terrible actor). Confused, Chelsea decided to turn away and look out over the water. When she turned around, Sam was on one knee. A few minutes of tears and lots of “I love you’s” followed before Sam turned the boat around and drove back home. There waited an even bigger surprise as both of our families popped out from behind the bushes to surprise Chelsea. It was the most amazing night of celebration, and we’ve been loving our life together ever since. We can’t wait to become husband and wife, and we’re so excited to celebrate with you! See you on May 15th, and make sure to bring your dancing shoes!