The Covenant Place

Wedding Day

Ceremony

Cocktail Hour

Reception

Our Wedding

When Nick’s brother, Andy, proposed to Sam’s bestie from college, Mariah, the idea of this match was formed. Mariah and Andy decided that choosing their future sister-in-law was something they hoped to have a say in, therefore Sam was selected as the chosen one for Nick in this matchmaking endeavor. They first proposed this idea to Sam, who if you know at all can be stubborn. She was a little skeptical given that Nick was described as “single and drives a Ford truck”, a direct quote from Andy. Mariah offered a little more insight, “He works with babies and is in the military so hes pretty fit. He’s a good conversationalist and he cares about people”, which helped fill in a few gaps. Sam decided to store this information for safe keeping. A few months later, Nick popped up on Facebook as a friend suggestion and after some encouragement from Mariah, she sent him a friend request and he accepted. Fast forward six months, Mariah started persuading both Nick and Sam to reach out to one another because they would both be at their wedding in August of 2022. Sam was open to the idea, but wasn’t ready to reach out. Nick, on the other hand, needed one simple push and reached out with a casual, “Hi there! I dont think we’ve ever met but Mariah said you are going to be at the wedding next year?”. As they say, the rest is history!

The Beginning

Due to Nick being in California and Sam being in Ohio, they developed a routine of getting to know one another through texting, everyday, for the next ten months. They eagerly and nervously met for the first time on May 30, 2022. Nick took Sam out for dinner at a Mexican restaurant, he’d learned early on that she loved margaritas. After that, they spent the rest of the holiday weekend together, even attending the Indy 500, a Moore family tradition. A few days later, on June 1st, Nick asked Sam to be his girlfriend and she said, “Yes!”.

The Meet-Up

Thus began their long distance relationship. Throughout over two years of dating, they have experienced lots of adventures together. Sam got stranded in Las Vegas on her way to California to visit Nick for the first time. She helped Nick move from the West Coast to East Coast on a two week long, sight seeing trip, after a year of dating. Both of them fell hard and fast for one another after being official, expressing “I love you” less than three months into dating. They developed a strong trust in their communication skills, as they’ve spent most of their relationship apart from one another. They’ve traveled over forty thousand miles to see one another, every chance they could get, sometimes for only a four day weekend. They’ve celebrated birthdays, holidays, anniversaries and career achievements mostly apart from one another. Through it all, they’ve grown their relationship and love for one another other. Their story doesn’t end there though…

The Middle

After knowing that Sam was the one (and having taken descriptive notes) Nick began his search for the perfect ring and moment. They had planned for Sam to visit Nick in North Carolina in August, so he began to brainstorm. He asked his friend, Liam, to assist. On a beautiful, sunny, and warm Tuesday afternoon of August 27th, Sam and Nick took a trip to the beach. After driving past parking lots for beach access, Sam became flustered as to why they hadn’t stopped there. Secretly, Nick knew of the drive-on beach, that was slightly more exclusive. After driving onto the beach and finding the right spot, he parked and they got out to enjoy the day. Unknowingly to Sam, Liam was pulling up next to them with a photographer waiting inside. Nick was unsuccessfully attempting to distract Sam to look out towards the water so he could get the ring from his truck, but finally did so without her knowing. Walking back out to ankle deep water, Nick repeatedly asked Sam, “Do you love me? Are you sure? Are you absolutely sure?”. As Nick dropped to one knee, Sam knew exactly what was happening. He couldn’t get any words out before she kissed him, but finally managed to say the words, “Samantha Jo Trausch, will you marry me?”. To this day, Sam still doesn’t believe if she said yes, but Nick knows for sure that she did! Here they are now, preparing to get married!!

Samantha & Nicholas

Samantha & Nicholas

Wedding Party