Alex's POV:

Sam and I met when I was in my first semester of college at SDSU. We met over social media, and we finally met in person over Hobo Day weekend. I actually bought him Chick-fil-a that day, and I remember him telling me he was so nervous that he forgot it in my dorm room hahah! We started FaceTiming almost every night until 3, 4, 5 in the morning. We would talk about the most random things, but I'll never forget how happy those calls made me and how much they meant to me. Sam became the first person I wanted to talk to when something good or bad happened, which has not changed to this day. The next time I saw him in person was a week or so later when I decided to visit him in Mitchell where he was attending MTI for HVAC. I really started to like him after being able to spend this time with him :)

We continued to FaceTime and, over time, became a little bit more serious. We started dating on January 30th, 2021 at 12:29 a.m. (Yes, I remember the time! I needed to know if it was still the 29th or if it was the 30th hahah!) At the time, I never thought I'd be writing about how our relationship started to share with our closest friends and family. Since then, we have endured a number of ups and downs, but have also created so many amazing memories with one another. A majority of our relationship has been long distance, but, as my mom always says, "distance makes the heart grow fonder." I suppose she was probably right :)

Throughout the length of our relationship, we have made God the center of our relationship. This has positively impacted our relationship in various ways, and I'm so thankful that Sam and I share our love for God together every day.

On May 13th, 2023, Sam asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. It was the easiest "yes" of my entire life! This day was so special for the both of us, and I can't thank everyone who was involved in planning and celebrating our engagement day enough. I am blessed by the greatest God for placing Sam in my life, and I am SO excited to spend a lifetime with him!

Sam's POV:

I met Alex on social media while on vacation with my family in Minnesota. Her smile caught my eye right away. I knew I wanted to talk to her, but I was nervous. I sent a text image of Forest Gump waving to her, and she thought that was really funny, which is actually how we started talking. We finally met in person on Hobo Day in Brookings during Halloween weekend. After that, our Facetime calls became more frequent, and we would even stay up until morning just talking about random things. The next time I saw Alex in person was in Mitchell where I was living at the time attending Mitchell Tech for HVAC.

Alex and I would then start to see each other about every weekend in Brookings or Mitchell. When I was in Brookings on the weekend of January 30th, I asked her to be my girlfriend. She said "yes!" and instantly looked at her phone to see the time haha. Alex and I started seeing each other almost every weekend from that point on. I believe that our relationship is so strong because we put God at the center of it. We put Him as our corner stone and have both helped each other grow in our faith exponentially.

I knew Alex was the one for me so I wanted to make the engagement special for her. I planned to ask her at Sylvan lake in Custer, SD where her and I have hiked several times while visiting her grandparents. I asked her family for her hand in marriage, and they all said "Yes"!

We got to Sylvan lake and sat down to read our Bibles. I saw the hidden photographer so I got ready and told Alex to "stand up". She told me, "No why?", so I asked her again, and she told me "No" again hahaha. After the third time I asked her, she finally stood up, and that's when I got down on one knee. We took pictures for a while, and then I told her I have another surprise for her. After I proposed, I took her Prairie Berry winery. Little did she know, both of our families were there waiting to surprise her.

I am so blessed that God has put Alex in my life. She is a blessing, and I cant wait to celebrate our big day with everyone. I'm very excited to spend a lifetime with Alexa Rae!!

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