He was everything she was looking for: fun-loving, energetic, cute, and a little crazy. He was a black lab puppy named Oliver and he is the reason why Sam & Jared hung out for the first time. Okay, let us back up.. Sam and Jared met briefly for the first time in September of 2012 at a party in Kalamazoo. Jared (holding a pineapple he'd crafted into a cup) introduced himself, handed Sam a drink, and they went their separate ways. On Jared's 21st birthday he reached out to Sam to ask her out, and when he'd gotten a puppy a week later Sam was suddenly available. Fast forward through college graduations and moves across the country they made their relationship official June 24, 2016.

As the busiest summer of their lives was coming to a close there were just two weekends of plans left to close out the season. Sam would spend Labor Day Weekend in Detroit on a girls trip, and then friends would come in from Europe on the weekend that followed. Sam began to suspect Jared would propose during the latter set of plans. Given that she’s never wrong (Jared fully agrees with this sentiment) she alerted her friends of her suspicions and feigned ignorance at home. When Labor Day Weekend arrived Jared dropped Sam off at LAX with a secret plan to catch a red eye a day later. Sam and her best friends from college headed to The Monarch Club for dinner, and to Sam’s surprise Jared was waiting on the rooftop with a ring and a very important question. She said yes and their families jumped out from around a corner ready to celebrate! Speaking of celebrating, we can't wait to spend our wedding weekend in Mexico with you!