Our Story
Written by: Sam
(Heavily edited by Lauren)
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Well, Lauren doesn't think I can write and I have a lot of free time so brace yourselves. (Editor's note: this was heavily edited by Lauren for clarity. In fact, it was emailed to her in one giant paragraph. Just so you know.)
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The first time I remember seeing Lauren, she was picking up Connor from Boy Scouts. I was the SPL so I was in the front of the room doing the closing ceremony of every meeting. Every time I would see Lauren sitting in the back of the room, I would make sure I looked my best. I talked loud and proud so she would look at me and notice how nice I looked in my Boy Scout Uniform. Needless to say, it didn’t work, so I had to try something else.
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She claims she saw me at the ski team banquet my freshman year but I don’t believe that at all. #FakeNews
Anyways, from then on, it was me trying to get that cute, athletic, competitive girl to notice me. While Lauren and I ended up together, I knew Sydney before I knew Lauren, and Zach knew Lauren before I knew Lauren. My parents suggested a few times that we all get together and hang out because I skied with Sydney, Zach was in the same section as Lauren, and Grey and Connor did Boy Scouts together.
We started Marching Band my sophomore year (Lauren’s freshman year) and I was definitely hooked. I would flirt with her (slide tackle her at band soccer), I would try to get her attention in the brass arc (stare at her), and I would try to get her to like me (make fun of her all the time). The summer passed by and we started talking more and more. The school year started and Lauren became enthralled by my late-start Wednesday "bag ‘o waffles".
That’s when I knew I had her.
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I was not as smooth as I am now and was quite nerdy in high school, so if I saw Lauren between classes I would give her a nice head nod and continue to speed walk to my next class. Ski season rolled around and we started doing dry-land lifts. All 100 lbs of me was throwing up mad weight in the weight room so I would look over my shoulder to see if Lauren was looking at me. As we talked more and more, I finally got the courage to ask Lauren out on a date on January 15th, 2016. Over the phone. Via Snapchat. She said yes and I thought to myself, “Awesome, I have a girlfriend now.” Apparently, that is not the case at all and you actually need to ask someone to be your girlfriend now-a-days.
While dating Lauren wasn’t hard, I wasn’t in the best spot mentally and didn’t love myself enough to love someone else so we ended up taking a break for the summer. Band the next year was a little awkward as I continued to slide tackle her at band soccer. We eventually started talking again and I asked her on a date again (this time at a band party at 12:05 am on September 17th, 2016). I then proceeded to wake up the next morning and send my girlfriend (or so I thought) a meme that she was my girlfriend now and didn’t have a choice. I was met by the rude reminder that I had messed it up again. So, I asked her to be my girlfriend later that day.
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We went to see the high school’s production of Romeo and Juliet (how romantic, I know). I rode my bike to get there so I left pretty early and was sitting by myself on the hill when none other than John Klee sat down with his parents next to me. Lauren eventually showed up (I got nervous she was going to ghost me) and I gave her what I thought was a thoughtful gift of candy that was very good, Werther’s Originals. She was nice about it and took the bag and had one which she kept in her mouth the entire time because she hates caramel.
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Anyways, the show ended and we waited for her dad to come pick her up as I sat on my bike. I gave her an awkward hug and then she was on her way and I was biking home thinking the date went awesome. Lauren probably cried when she got home.
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​We dated through that summer and became the band power couple. She was a drum major her junior year and I was “not the horn sergeant” meaning I ran the workouts like Drew and John were supposed to because I had gone to the Naval Academy’s Summer Seminar and was an expert at working out now. All the power, none of the responsibility. That band season was fun, sitting with my girlfriend on the bus rides from competitions in my short shorts and bro-tank. We ended up getting 2nd or 3rd in the state that year and my JUNIOR girlfriend got a medal but myself, a SENIOR, didn’t get one (I’m not salty at all).
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We went through ski season again with her not wanting to get close to me on race days because of how locked in I was for the races. (I sat by myself and just got mad for no reason). We got some time to ski together outside of practices where I tried to impress her with my ability to stand just using my poles and the tips of my skis, this resulted in popping out of the bindings of my skis and falling on my face.
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As the school year ended, I started prepping for the Naval Academy. I said my goodbyes and headed off for plebe summer. Lauren then immediately replaced me with a bunny and a couple of stuffed animals and proceeded to rub it in my face.
I had pictures of Lauren and I up in my room and people kept saying we look like siblings. I cherished every letter that she sent me. I wrote back when I was able (and the letters are actually decently legible). She spent time losing at Settlers of Catan with my family while they waited for phone calls when I would get the last bit of time to talk just to her. Plebe summer ended and I was finally able to talk to Lauren again, somewhat regularly. We would talk every once in a while, on the phone and Snapchat constantly. I was able to trick Lauren into thinking my thanksgiving flight got delayed and was able to surprise her with some flowers and a date night.
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I went back to school and life was pretty busy but I didn’t have my priorities in line. I didn’t take the time that Lauren deserved and we ended up breaking up again right before that summer. I took the summer and did some serious soul searching before I realized that Lauren is the only person that I want to be with and that I needed to try to woo her again. She started school in Washington, DC so after some talking, I took the metro out to see her all dressed up in my dress blues.
It was awkward again at first but we figured it out.
We called almost every day that year and I decided what better day to ask her to be my girlfriend than on September 17th again, this time in 2019. So, I did, over the phone, using my voice this time because we were not able to see each other in person. She said yes, yet again.
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We continued to call and talk almost every day and I would grab an Uber to the Metro to get to DC whenever I had a free weekend. We would share her twin size bed and no matter what she says, I DID NOT LOCK HER OUT OF HER OWN ROOM. She did that herself and blames me because I slept through it.
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The turn of the semester comes around and she ends up transferring to Butler and moving away :(
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​Not to fear though. COVID-19 hit that spring break so we both got sent home. That may have been worse though, being 15 minutes apart but not being able to see each other is pretty painful. We did what we could. I took a Memorial Day bike ride to her house where I dropped off some of my t-shirts and some candy and picked up her t-shirts (mine that she was returning).
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During that summer we took a trip to Mackinac Island together and me and my bald head smoked her in mini-golf. She also took me on a hike and showed me her favorite spot in the whole world, Anne’s Tablet. Specifically, a little knoll just to the left of the tablet. It was cool and we finished up the trip, but the seed had been planted in my head.
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About a year later, on July 13th, 2021, I proposed. While neither one of us remember exactly what I said, I’m sure it was super romantic and loving and caring because that’s me, a very emotional guy. She freaked out and said yes and the rest is history: her crying when I didn’t get submarines, her crying when I graduated, her crying when I had my first MMA fight a week before our civil wedding.
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We had a very, very cold civil wedding on December 23rd, 2022 and are excited to celebrate with all of you come June 29th, 2024.
Keep reading for Lauren's perspective...
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Our Story
Written by: Lauren
(No editing necessary)
I have a distinct memory of the first time I truly "noticed" Sam—not including the time I asked my sister whose younger sibling he was at the ski banquet his freshman year.
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I was standing in the brass arc during band the summer before my freshman year of high school. Mind you, it had been less than a week since I had joined the marching band, and my social circle was strictly limited to the other six sousaphone players—two of which scared the shit out of me... Sam's older brother, Zach, included.
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Every so often, I noticed Sam catch a glance over at the sousaphone section, eliciting a response from Zach, who demanded he turn around and focus on the lesson. Jackie, my soon-to-be best friend (although neither of us knew it at the time), made a comment to Zach and I finally put together that the small freckled kid struggling to hold up his baritone was indeed my scary horn sergeant's younger brother. Had you asked me at the time, I would have guessed he had a crush on Jackie. In hindsight, I was a bit clueless.
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Over time, our social circles crossed and eventually meshed (as they all inevitably do in high school band). Come winter, we had become friends. While I didn't have feelings for Sam yet, I was tickled to realize that he was also on the alpine ski racing team at the high school and we would be spending the cold months training alongside one another.
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It didn't take long to realize we were incredibly similar people—we were both smart, adventurous, sarcastic, competitive, and just a weeeee bit intense. And while Sam's flirting (and height) definitely needed some work, there was something about his personality, cheeky smile, and unrelenting drive that had me hooked.
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Throughout our high school relationship we had plenty of awkward moments, disagreements, and frustrating learning moments (like that time we almost missed our Valentine's Day band performance because Sam got us locked in Camp Agawam). But before long, I found myself sitting in Mrs. Stringer's AP English class insisting to my friends that I knew I was going to marry the bright-eyed, buzz-cutted boy that didn't know the difference between a date and dating.
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Despite my assurance in our relationship, when you're that young, you need to make decisions for yourself. Luckily, we both whole-heartedly supported one another's big dreams and understood the need to chase them. Thus, I found myself crying tears of pride in English class a year later when Sam texted me he had been accepted into the Naval Academy.
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From that moment on, I was determined to make it into the 2% club—a fantastical club reserved only for the 2% of relationships strong enough to make it through four years at the United States Naval Academy. They don't call it prisoN* for nothing...
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Check the 2022 USNA yearbook, we did it (and I'm in it!)
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The next five years brought a lot more tears—happiness, sadness, loneliness, and pride. But there's nothing like five years of long distance to build a foundation that will stand the test of time. We learned quickly how to communicate, how and when to give extra support, and when to make sacrifices for the betterment of our relationship.
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For a pretty emotionally constipated guy, Sam figured it out pretty quick. From chocolate bars slipped into my backpack when I was a little extra moody, to "did you make it home safe?" texts, he found ways to show he truly cared. He surprised me with sweet gifts, provided unrelenting support, and continued to encourage me to chase my every dream—even if that meant moving across the country to finish my degree.
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Despite all of that, when we finally got engaged, I was floored that he had remembered an off-handed mention of my favorite spot in the entire world.
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I was never the little girl who played pretend weddings or had the whole day planned out by the age of 10—hell, I didn't even have a wedding Pinterest board. Instead, I was a fiercely-independent girl with eyes for nothing but success. Yet, our freezing 2022 civil ceremony and the resulting frostbite are a memory that 15-year-old Lauren could only dream of. At that moment, I knew I had reached success because my drive for a flashy job or to be on the cover of Forbes magazine had vanished. I now want nothing more than to live a happy, long, fulfilling life by Sam's side, no matter what that might look like—but we all know we'll both manage to be "successful" in the process ;)
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It's amazing to look back now and realize I'm not dating the boy I fell in love with nine years ago. We've both changed and grown tremendously, and we'll continue to change and grow as we go through life together. We continue to adapt, learn about one another everyday, and fall further and further in love with the people we're becoming.
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We are so incredibly excited to share that love, growth and happiness with all of our favorite people on June 29th, 2024.
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This might be our story, but the real story is just beginning, and we are so blessed that you're a part of it.