Sam and Alex met on the second day of their freshman year in the all-boys dorm... Alex has never questioned what Sam and her friends were doing walking around that dorm. Their relationship started as just friends — much to the chagrin of Sam — for their first two years of college. (written by Alex)

It wasn’t until the summer before junior year, after a long beach day filled with sand volleyball at Bde Mkah Skah, that Alex finally drew up the courage to ask Sam on a date for the following day. They went to a small movie theatre near campus and saw The Big Sick. Afterward, they grabbed Mac and Cheese pizza from the Italian Pie Shoppe.

About a month later on 8/11/2017 they finally made their relationship “official” while Sam was high on Vicodin after getting her tonsils removed the day before. Sam has to trust Alex that she actually agreed to be his girlfriend.

Two weeks later, Alex went on a trip to France and was slated to be home for his 21st birthday. Due to some mechanical issues and other miscommunication that was definitely not his fault, Alex missed his flight home and Sam had to move his surprise birthday present. That surprise present? Pushing him out of a plane with an absolute psychopath strapped to his back making jokes about the parachute not working. That was Sam’s idea of a cute present for a guy she had been dating for 3 weeks. Alex was totally in love.

That November they took their first trip together to Chicago to see one of Sam’s favorite bands, Bleachers. There they discovered their shared love of stand-up comedy and the belief that deep-dish pizza is overrated. The following June, they went to Los Angeles and Sam discovered just how bad Alex could get sunburnt.

They spent many nights out (remembering about 50% of them) enjoying their final year of college together. They did a J-term study abroad in India where Alex discovered the extent of Sammy’s “stomach problems”.

In May 2019, they graduated from the University of St. Thomas, Sam with Honors, and moved in together... with 4 of their best friends. The 6 of them found a love for Beer Dye and Spikeball, and during Covid, they all got closer than any of them probably desired.

They’ve spent New Year's Eve in Punta Cana with 10 of their friends, went back to India to celebrate a friend's wedding, and discovered a love for wine in Sonoma, California.

Sam and Alex bought their first home together in June 2021 in their dream location of Northeast Minneapolis. Alex is within walking distance of work and 3 different Chipotles. Hooper moved in with them (still has never paid rent), and gets to go on multiple walks a day to the various parks around them.

On November 26th, 2022, Alex took Sam on a date to the same movie theatre where they had their first date. As they walked out of the theatre, Sam noticed the marquee had changed from "Now Showing: The Menu" (Alex agrees this was not the best movie choice), to "Sam, will you marry me?" Since you're reading this story, you will have to assume what she said because Alex blacked out and cannot remember.

They had already planned to go out to dinner with another couple after the movie date, so they headed out to the restaurant. When they showed up, the other couple greeted them at the door, but so did many other friends and family. They had good food, plenty of drinks, and celebrated the two finally getting engaged after 5 years of dating.

Nowadays they spend their time trying all of the restaurants and breweries around them while Alex tries to plan their next trip using only credit card points. They’re very much looking forward to the wedding and celebrating with friends and family.