We first met through mutual friends in our high school marching band. After some shy introductions, we planned a date and spent an ENTIRE day together. We kicked things off with a trip to King’s Island, where unbeknownst to me (Sam), I took Eddie on a tall rollercoaster he had never rode before. You would have never known he was nervous! (Although looking back he didn’t have much to say when we were waiting in line…). After we conquered our fears, we caught a movie followed by a trip to the frozen yogurt shop—definitely a very 2013 energy. A week later, we officially started dating, and the rest is history!

In May of 2023, Sam and I took a 10 year anniversary trip to St. Augustine, FL where I secretly planned to propose. While doing some research about St. Augustine, I came across an article talking about 7 different “love trees” in the area - two separate species of tree that grow in, on, and through one another. Local legend suggests that if two lovers kiss beneath one of these rare trees, they will share an everlasting romance. The perfect place to propose! After a wonderful dinner at the Columbia restaurant, I had planned to take Sam over to the love tree near the Castillo de San Marcos to pop the question, but Sam wanted to explore more of the city. I exclaimed that I think we should take a walk over by the Castillo de San Marcos, somewhere we had been just earlier that day on a tour. After thinking I pulled off the smoothest, totally chill, not suspect at all, alternative idea of heading back toward the fort, we started on our walk to the love tree. As we made our way there, I could tell Sam was a bit confused, she must have thought I couldn’t get enough of that old Spanish fort. When we finally arrived, I started explaining what I had read about the love trees and their symbolism. With her back turned, Sam looked up from underneath the tree to get a closer look at the trees intertwining. I quietly dropped to one knee, and held out the ring. When Sam turned around, I looked up at her and asked “Will you marry me?”. Sam said “Are you for real?!” (Sam for "yes") we shared a kiss under the tree, and spent the rest of our evening out exploring the town.