Anyone who knows Phil or myself, knows that we are not the type of people to agree to a blind date. However, with God leading the way, we were both willing to step out of our comfort zones and try something new when a mutual friend of ours offered us to opportunity to meet.

Love. At. First. Sight. That basically sums up our beginning. We met on this blind date by and have been in love ever since. The minute I saw Phil, I knew he would be the man I marry, the man I spend the rest of my life with. One date turned into two, which turned into spending every minute together, and here we are today! Engaged, planning our wedding, planning for the rest of our lives. This is the beginning to our HAPPILY EVER AFTER.

Phil asked me to marry him on July 15, 201 6 and the answer was an immediate YES! I have been dreaming of this day my entire life and it was everything I could have ever imagined and more. Phil proposed to me in front of Buckingham Fountain in the city of Chicago, a place where we've shared many of our most beloved and happy memories. He conned me into getting dressed up for a "fancy dinner with friends in the city". We sat in the famous Chicago traffic, which put me in an expected crabby mood. Once we finally made it to the city, Phil convinced me to take a walk by the Buckingham Fountain to take pictures. Given my mood, I was against this idea, but went along with it and boy was I glad I did. Pictures soon turned into Phil telling me the nicest things I've ever heard and before I knew it, he was down on one knee asking me to marry him. Due to my tears and physical shaking, he barely could finish what he had planned to say...but he got to the most important question I have ever been asked, "Samantha Arnold, will you marry me?" In my head, I was saying, "about damn time", but out loud, through the tears, I said yes! With that being said, we are so excited to embark on this journey together and could not be more blessed to share all of these special moments with our loved ones.