How We Met
Sam and I met at our place of employment in November of 2016. I had applied for a job in a residential program in social services when I got a call for an interview. On the day of the interview, I walked in confident, until Sam stood up from her desk to shake my hand. I was completely awestruck and forgot every ounce of the professional articulation I had prepared, she was the most stunning woman I had ever laid my eyes on. We spent an hour in this interview, a lot of which was just talking and getting to know each other. She quickly offered me the job, and as soon as I got back to my car I called my mom and said “I got the job, but ma, I gotta tell you about my new boss. I’m in love with her.”
Sam and I worked very well together. She coached me and helped me hone in on my clinical skills, but every day I went home and talked about the “big crush I had on my boss.” It was a pipe dream to even be noticed by her, or so I thought
One night after running into each other off-hours, we admitted there was an insane attraction. I had no clue there were any feelings on her end, as she kept her professional boundaries pretty tight. We decided to leave our jobs and pursue the relationship.
How They Asked
I knew I wanted to marry her very soon after meeting. I told my mother, and she came ring shopping with me in March of 2019. I hadn’t thought of how I wanted to ask, but I just knew I wanted to. A few weeks after I bought the ring, Sam and I won a photoshoot with a wonderful photographer local to us. I reached out to the photographer and asked if I could make this a surprise engagement. Sam is a professional photographer and documenting huge life events is so important to her. She was totally on board and from there, came the planning.
One night after work, while Sam was getting her nails done, I went to her parent’s house where her siblings happened to be visiting too. I asked for all of their blessings and was graciously given their approval. The photoshoot came up on June 14th, and I was a total nervous wreck. Sam knew it too.
She kept asking if I was okay and I just played it off as being overtired and camera-shy. The photographer and I had a code phrase, and after a few shots around Portland, she gave me my cue. I pulled the ring out and before I could even ask, Sam shouted “YES!” Every plan came out perfectly, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with my best friend.
