They first met in high school when they swam for the YMCA swim team, but it wasn’t until the summer after graduation that they got to know each other better (she was a lifeguard and he was a pool manager–“scandalous, I know!”) and had their first date. “I couldn’t believe she joined me because I thought she was way out of my league,” John said. “I was fist pumping the air at just the opportunity to date her.”

They are now just several months away from their wedding and I’m so thrilled that I got to spend some time with them this past weekend! Samantha described John as “sweet, good-natured, and funny” and he described her as “beautiful, caring, and hard-working.” And those things are all true! But what both failed to mention is how, together, they are relaxed and positive, which made for such a truly fun time (despite some gnats which they never complained about once)!

They both described one particular day during their relationship as a defining moment. For her, it was her favorite date and, for him, it was the moment he knew she was the one. “One late fall weekend, I was visiting John where he went to college in South Dakota and on Saturday around noon, we completely and spontaneously decided to drive the five hours to the Badlands National Park on the other side of the state.”

John added, “We raced the sun and got there just in time for sunset. Her being excited to go on a spontaneous adventure like that was what impressed me the most.”

As for Sam, she didn’t know if there was ever one point in time when she realized he was the one. “I think it was more of a gradual realization over time that I felt the most happy, safe, and comfortable with him and that I wanted to feel that way for the rest of my life.”

They were in Wisconsin at a lake hour this past July. They had gone out to dinner and played miniature golf with friends. When they came back, the dock was set up with lanterns, string lights, floating candles, and champagne. “It was a big hectic to get the timing right,” John admitted. “But everything turned out perfectly, except for the tomato bisque I accidentally got on my shirt.”