Samantha and Patrick met on the 4th floor of the Robinson Building at Electric Boat in late 2017. The same building Patrick's grandfather Dennis J. Hallahan used to work in back in the 1950's. It was love at first sight when Samantha and Patrick first bumped into each other at the water cooler. Patrick finally mustered up the courage to say "hey" one day when Samantha was in the kitchenette fridge getting her eggs for breakfast. She so was surprised that the quiet, cute boy from down the hall said "hey," that she whacked her head inside the fridge, and promptly replied “nothing!”, running off thoroughly embarrassed. Samantha ended up asking Patrick for his number a few days later and the rest is history.

Five years later Patrick proposed to Samantha on the soft black sand beach against the backdrop of a west coast El Salvadorian sunset on December 24th, 2021 - a Christmas gift to remember. Patrick and Samantha spent Christmas with Patrick's sister in law Sofia's El Salvadorian family in El Zonte, El Salvador prior to the wedding to get the most out of a rare Central American trip. On Christmas eve, a professional photographer was at Villa Lety taking pictures of the family and staff, and Patrick was excited to be able to take advantage of the opportunity to photograph the proposal live. Patrick secretly pulled the photographer aside and presented the plan. The photographer agreed and followed them down the long-terraced steps of the Villa Lety Bluff to the beach. Patrick told Samantha that he simply wanted some nice professional photos of the two of them to remember the trip, and the couple walked side by side, holding hands down the beach. Samantha was overwhelmed when Patrick got down on one knee in the sand, pulled a mini Altoid container from his rear pocket, and presented Samantha her beautiful ring. Little did they know, everyone from Villa Lety was down on the beach, watching the proposal from afar with champagne and cheers at the ready. Samantha of course said “YES!!!” and Pat whispered that he hoped every Christmas of their lives together they would remember this special moment.