Our Story

Copied and pasted from the wedding website we created...and then never used. Oops!

Her side... 

 Colt and I met after he moved into my apartment complex the summer before I was supposed to start grad school. I came back from visiting my family in May, and was debating about going home to Oregon for the summer. When I got back, two new boys had moved into the 3rd floor apt across from my building. I was curious, but didn't think much of it. That Sunday, I sat one seat over and back from Colton. He laughed at all my jokes, and he kept winking at me. By the end of church that day, I knew I didn't want to go home anymore.

 We were friends all summer, and spent a lot of time talking, playing cards, and he even took me for a ride on his motorcycle. I quickly figured out Colt got home from work around 4:30 every day, which was, coincidentally, the same time I liked to be outside on the grass field between our apartment buildings ;) I had a huge crush on him, and everybody knew it but him. Sometimes I thought he might be interested too, but for the most part he just seemed interested in being friends. It wasn't until the end of the summer that we had our first kiss...just in time for me to move an hour away to start graduate school in Salt Lake City.

 That fall was tricky! Colt and I still made the drive to hang out almost every weekend. We talked pretty much every day. We got along great and always had a lot of fun...but he still just wanted to be friends. However, everytime we had the 'just friends' talk and decided to cool things off, he would text me, or I would call him, and we would end up spending more time together. One time, Colt went on a double date after we had another 'just friends' talk, so I went and hung out with another friend in Provo. An hour later, Colt ended up texting the friend I was with and asking us to pretend we were sick. He had us call him up for help so he could leave the date early and come hang out with us instead. Not his most classy move, but I thought it was awesome that he'd rather be with me.

 After a semester of back and forth, we finally decided to start dating in January of 2012 and never looked back. Colt suprised me; I figured that since he took so long to decide to date in the first place that he would be hesitant in the relationship too. But once he makes a decision, he is all in. I love that about him. He drove up to SLC to see me all the time. He was so supportive and encouraging as I struggled through my first semester of clinicals. He spent hours in the library with me on Saturdays. He fixed my car on numerous occasions, cooked me dinner, and made me laugh when I was stressed. I fell in love with how service-oriented, thoughtful, and unselfish he is.

 Flash forward to a summer in separate states (he took an externship in Seattle, while I completed summer semester in Salt Lake), a two-week long road-trip to visit families, two more semesters of graduate school, one internship and one externship later, and he proposed. It was the best day, a perfect ending to our dating relationship and the perfect start to our new life together. It's amazing to look back on how we started and see how far we have come. Our story has had some twists and turns, but I wouldn't have it any other way. He is my best friend. I'm so lucky to get to be with somebody who makes me laugh, who is so giving and dependable and thoughtful. Plus, he lets me kiss him whenever I want.

His side...

So what Sam didn't tell you was that when I moved in at that apartment, she thought that I was only 18. She thought that my roommate Jon and I were the cute new guys who moved in, but it didn't matter much because we were too young. She soon found out that I was actually 24.

 We spent a lot of time with each other that summer. I was working almost 60 hour weeks, starting at 5 in the morning. I'd get home around 4:30, and Sam was 'coincidentally' out on the grass almost everyday. I'd go over and talk to her. Sometimes we'd talk for 5 or 10 minutes, sometimes for a couple hours. I found myself looking forward to seeing her after long days at work, and was a little disappointed when I'd park my motorcycle and walk around the corner only to see an empty grassy area.

 We did a lot that summer - motorcycle rides, movies, played soccer and cards, spent time with friends, went to baseball games, watched fireworks, and drove through the mountains listening to our country music.

 Fall came and we moved Sam up to Salt Lake to start grad school. We took turns making the drive. Somehow, we both managed to make the drive home on Sunday nights at 1 in the morning without falling asleep. I might also mention that only two weeks before I was set up on that awful double date, Sam was also set up on a date and spent the entire time not wanting to be there. Not long after these terrible dates, we finally became official.

 It was hard to leave for the summer. We knew it was temporary, but it wasn't really our first choice. We spent the summer looking forward to the end of the summer. Sam flew up to Seattle and drove back with me. We spent a few days at her parent's place in Oregon, then drove to Denver to spend a few days at my parent's house. 2 weeks and 2000 miles later, we found ourselves back in Utah. It was an awesome trip, and one of the funnest parts of our relationship. I had a blast with her. It was on this trip that I realized I was really falling in love with Sam. We talked about marriage a little bit, but I was nervous and scared for such a big thing. Bless her heart, she patiently waited for me.

Then it was 4 more months of the Provo-Salt Lake commute, and then Sam was able to move back to Provo for her externships. She was excited to finally be done with classes and be able to work. So was I. I learned early on that grad school is very hard, not only for the one doing it, but for the boyfriend who is along for the ride. I gladly helped her however I could, and learned more about speech therapy than I ever thought I would. I would help her, quiz her, and even be a pretend patient she could practice on. Everything from a kindergartener to a teenager to an old man. We had fun, and worked through it all together.

 I knew when I met Sam that she was a great girl. I noticed immediately that she was one of the most kind people I had ever met. She stood out from others as being the most genuine person I've ever met. Through all these months I saw more and more how amazing Sam is. She is such a hard worker, master's degrees are tough! And I'm proud of her for doing it. It speaks volumes about the kind of person she is. We have been down an interesting road together, and there is nobody else quite like her. She has been a light in my life and has helped me in so many ways. I couldn't ask for anyone better. She is like nobody else I've met!