Most of you have heard the story, but here's a quick review. Having met only once before, the stars aligned on New Year's Eve 2015 for a more official meet & greet, made possible by our mutual friend, Marianne Jarboe. A natural matchmaker, she invited Sam and his brother Johnny out to ring in the new year with the girls. It was nearly midnight when Tiffany and her squad finally arrived, but they quickly hit it off and spent the rest of the night getting to know each other. Despite the sparks that flew, one simple fact remained: they lived 200 miles apart. A few days later, the two were exchanging texts while Sam was packing for a trip to Europe during a break in the grad school calendar. He had planned to visit his parents in Germany, and then he and his mom were set to travel around Scotland and England. Half joking, Tiffany asked if someone could pick her up in Munich. Sam countered with Amsterdam, his favorite city. Tiffany booked the flight. After rearranging some flights (thanks Mel!) and surviving some travel & baggage snafus, they had their first date over a wine & cheese tasting followed by a canal tour. After additional stops in Edinburgh, Liverpool, and London, they parted ways once again not knowing what the future held. In August, after many trips up and down the east coast, Tiffany moved to DC, and they've been together ever since.

Everyone knows these two #travelersnottourists have continued adventures around the US (Philly, Boston, Hamptons, Baltimore, Ocean Grove, Atlanta) and abroad (Garmisch, Munich, Prague, Mexico). So it was no surprise the two booked a trip to Paris, Bruges, and Amsterdam between Christmas and New Year's Eve 2018. They began the the vacation with the meeting of the two families. The Leons made the trip to New Jersey to spend Christmas Eve with the Newenhouses, and drove Tiffany and Sam to the airport shortly after presents & dutch pancakes on Christmas morning. The two had an excellent trip exploring the city of love, and drinking Belgian beers before taking a train to revisit the site of their first date. After dinner at the Food Hallen, the two were walking around the canals when they "stumbled on" Magere Brug. On their first trip to the city, they took a canal tour to check out the Amsterdam Light Festival by night. The tour guide explained the legend of this bridge - if you kiss someone under the bridge, you'll be with them forever. Egged on my Tiffany's cousin Shylon, Sam stole a kiss. This time their visit to the bridge wasn't an accident, Sam had this planned all along, and knew it was the only place he would want to pop the question. On December 30th, 2017, standing on Magere Brug, the two were reflecting on their first trip, and all that had happened since, when Sam dropped to one knee. Of course, Tiffany said yes! They spent the remaining two days in Amsterdam celebrating the engagement, revisiting the bridge for New Year's Eve and taking informal engagement photos with a selfie stick, as millennials do.