Kaitlin and Sam met through a mutual friend…or was it a dating app? Well, technically both. ~It’s complicated~ The Mutual Friend Flashback to 2016: Sam is moving from Chicago to Nashville and connecting with other graphic designers in the area on Instagram, one of which was a friend of Kaitlin’s. “This guy just followed me on Instagram—He’s moving to Nashville and he looks like your type,” she said. (Translation: Sam is tall.) Curiosity piqued, Kaitlin checked out Sam's profile. Confirming he was indeed tall, she left a subtle yet bold comment on one of his posts: “👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻” He fell in love with those three emojis and the rest is history! Just kidding, he thought she was a bot or wannabe influencer looking for followers and nothing happened. The Dating App Two years later, Kaitlin and Sam match on a dating app. Kaitlin recognizes Sam immediately but pretends not to and Sam thinks Kaitlin looks familiar but can’t place her. Sam asks Kaitlin out and they have their first official date at Barcelona. Over patatas bravas and cocktails, they got to know each other and both left the night feeling excited about how well it had gone. Over the next few weeks, they went on a few more dates, but it eventually fizzled out. (Rumor has it things ended because Sam had never heard Toto’s “Africa,” but no one knows for sure.) The Reprise In 2019, Sam randomly hears Toto’s “Africa” and it’s the nudge he needs to reconnect with Kaitlin. He texts her, they begin casually catching up, and both begin to wonder why the relationship didn’t work out the first time around. Then, Sam hesitantly shares his latest life update—He’d moved back to Chicago. Around the same time, Kaitlin had co-written a book and, after looking at his local Barnes and Noble with no luck, Sam asked Kaitlin where he could get a copy. “Oh, I’ll send you one!,” she said. “How about this,’ he replied. “Send me one of your books and I’ll come to Nashville to take you on a date.” And that’s how Kaitlin and Sam ended up meeting for dinner at Answer in December 2019, followed by another visit for New Year’s Eve, when they became an official long-distance couple. They couldn’t have predicted the next few months if they tried—A global pandemic that made the already crazy decision to be long-distance even more, dare we say, unprecedented. Unfortunately, Sam lost his job early into the pandemic, but fortunately for Kaitlin, that’s what freed him up to move back to Nashville. They’ve been together ever since, and as fate would have it, their story sounds a lot like those Toto lyrics now permanently ingrained in Sam’s brain—“It’s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you.”

Kaitlin and Sam had discussed that the proposal would happen on their trip to Italy, but Kaitlin didn’t know when or how. Because of this, Sam created a few different things leading up to the proposal to guide Kaitlin. The Passport When we arrived in Rome, Sam texted Kaitlin that she had a “new itinerary” that she needed to accept. Once she did, Sam told her she’d need an additional passport for her travels. Later that day, Sam gave her a book he had made titled “Our Forever Passport”. When she opened it, I created a passport page for both of us—including photos, passport info, and personal info for us to fill in (hometown, favorite trip, currently reading, etc.). One detail from this spread was that part of the passport info was a code that pulled up an accompanying Spotify playlist full of songs (6.5 hrs to be exact) capturing the details and places in our relationship through song titles, lyrics, and artist names. After those pages, the rest of the book was filled with photos from our relationship and writing prompts for each of us to answer. After we filled them out, we used a custom stamp Sam had made for them to change the date to significant ones in our relationship—which related to the prompt. It was a great way to ground ourselves leading up to the proposal. The Pause The next day, Sam texted her that her “flight to SLM was delayed” and she’d receive an update in a 4-day window (when we were going to be in Florence). Okay—she could relax now. The Prototype When Sam updated her next, he let her know that she’d be receiving a boarding pass to check in to her flight. Later that evening, Sam sent her a link to an interactive prototype he had made. It included all sorts of Easter eggs including an airline called ForevAir, Flight #1013 (the proposal day), Bob and Helen Pre-Check, and more. Everywhere Kaitlin looked, there was something meaningful. When she tapped on the QR code to board her flight, it showed a seating chart for the plane—filled with familiar faces—except there was an empty one: the co-pilot’s seat. Once she selected her seat, a video Sam had made as the flight attendant played. In the video, he talked about the flight details—aka when the proposal was happening (the next morning), that they were equipped to handle any turbulence, and “In the event of an engagement, please put your ring on first before helping others put theirs on.” After the video finished, it went back to the seating chart—where we watched fun and emotional videos from close family and friends. But once we finished watching those videos, the rush was on: the proposal was happening tomorrow morning! Kaitlin scrambled to steam her dress and get prepped for the big day. The Proposal Sam proposed in the morning of October 13th on one of the bridges next to the Ponte Vecchio, the Ponte Santa Trinità. Unbeknownst to him, Kaitlin lived off the same bridge when she studied abroad. We enjoyed the rest of the day visiting one of Florence's oldest pharmacies that now sells perfume, happily FaceTiming our family, eating an incredible meal by the water (though Kaitlin wouldn't say that about my Florentine steak), and putting a lock on the Ponte Santa Trinità—knowing that in exactly a year we'd be married.