Looking back on their journey together, it’s clear that God’s plan was guiding Jacob and Samantha toward one another all along. Although they both attended SUNY Cortland, it wasn’t until their senior year, after years of crossing paths, that their story truly began. During the COVID 19 pandemic, Samantha moved into a new house, and on the very first night she moved in, their next door neighbors came over to introduce themselves. Jacob was the first person to walk through the door. Over the rest of their time at SUNY Cortland, their friendship grew into a meaningful connection. Even after graduation took them in different directions, they never lost touch. They both dreamed big and would half jokingly talk about moving to Colorado one day. Fast forward to 2023: Jacob was living in West Palm Beach, and Samantha was living on Hilton Head Island. Both were navigating the whirlwind of their early twenties, asking themselves, “What am I going to do with my life?” One day, while catching up on the phone, those old dreams resurfaced, and Colorado came up again. This time, though, it felt different. Jacob and Samantha spent nearly two hours on the phone that day, catching up and diving into the meaningful conversations they had always shared in college. The seed of something more had been planted long ago, but now the deeper connection between them began to blossom. Samantha had always respected the calm and grounded way Jacob carried himself, while Jacob admired Samantha’s kindness and intellect. It became clear that they both cherished the conversations they shared with one another. From that day forward, they spoke on the phone daily. They talked about life, spirituality, exploration, the future, the past, and everything in between, including committing to a Harry Potter movie marathon over FaceTime. Those conversations eventually inspired Jacob’s idea for their first official date: Universal Studios Florida. After a magical first date, the two became inseparable. For months, they drove six hours back and forth to visit one another, growing deeper in both love and faith. Together, they built a foundation rooted in God, and it felt as though the doors to their future had swung wide open. Less than a year later, Samantha was accepted into nursing school at the University of Colorado, and they finally made the move they dreamed about. In July 2024, they packed up their car and drove across the country to begin their Colorado adventure. During their time out west, they both knew they wanted to devote the rest of their lives together, filled with dreaming, adventuring, taking long walks, and building forts in the living room. After their Colorado adventure came to an end, they returned to the East Coast to live on Hilton Head Island. Across the street from where they now live is one of their favorite places on the island: Dolphin Head. Beneath a beautiful pergola overlooking the ocean and framed by a sprawling live oak tree, Jacob and Samantha spent countless evenings walking together. Many conversations about their future happened in this special place. Each day, as they walked through the pergola, Jacob would spin Samantha around before the two paused to look out toward the water together. On March 27, 2026, as the sun was setting and dolphins swam through the water during one of their usual evening walks, Jacob guided Samantha beneath the pergola as he always did. But this time, as he spun her around, he dropped to one knee and asked her to marry him. In that moment, everything around them seemed to grow quiet as they reflected on the journey that had brought them there and the forever they now had ahead of them. Samantha immediately dropped to her knees to embrace Jacob and made the easiest decision of her life: She said yes. Jacob and Samantha are beyond excited to begin this next chapter surrounded by the people they love most, in the place that became such a meaningful part of their story.