We’re getting married!

Stephen and Samantha were both working in the construction industry and were attending a typical networking event. Stephen approached Samantha and her coworkers to introduce himself, exchanging handshakes and business cards they sat at the same table for the luncheon. A couple weeks passed and Stephen reached out to Samantha to grab coffee in order to “develop business” as the director of business development for his company. They quickly discovered that there wasn’t any business to develop, but that didn’t stop them from continuing to “network”. Samantha and Stephen also belonged to the same young professionals group that met once a month, so they conveniently had an excuse to grab lunch. Here they talked about their families, passions, goals, values, and everyday life. They laughed and joked. They shared advice. They discussed struggles at work. They talked about their weekend plans. They called one another just to chat. They felt a connection with each other and became true friends. One day... they met for a happy hour, that turned to apps and a drink, that turned to dinner, that turned to a kiss in a parking lot at the end of the night. From there their relationship grew...

Samantha and Stephen had been talking about a weekend trip to take in early spring to get away from life’s busyness and spend some quality time together. Samantha had been talking about camping and hiking and taking on a more outdoorsy adventure. Stephen listened and has a talent for planning for trips, so he told Samantha he found a cabin for them to spend the weekend together in the Thousand Islands, a place his grandfather used to take him fishing. Samantha mapped out the hikes and found the local wineries they could visit while they were there. They camped, they hiked, they drank wine and spent a rainy Saturday morning touring the famous Boldt Castle on Heart Island. Stephen told Samantha with the rain he booked a bed and breakfast down the road so they weren’t stuck in a cabin on their last day/night. So, after the tour they drove to what Samantha thought was the bed and breakfast and to her surprise, and confusion, they approached a marina... got on a boat and took a ride down the St. Lawrence River. They came up on another beautiful castle, known as Singer Castle, on Dark Island. Their boat captain said “Here we are! You’re the King and Queen of this Castle tonight!” They docked and took their belongings up to the castle. Samantha couldn’t believe it. The entire castle on an island just the two of them! Walking up to their suite, Samantha is in awe. How did Stephen find this?! The captain of the boat, also the B&B host at Singer Castle, took them on a tour of the grounds. The sun came out, mesmerized by the beautiful island and still amazed they had this whole place to themselves, Samantha was blissfully unaware at what was about to happen next. As they approached the front door to continue the tour inside the castle Stephen asked the host to take a picture of them. They pose for the picture, and Stephen took Samantha by the hand, told her he loved her, and got down on one knee to ask her to marry him... her response? “Absolutely!”