Hayley and Sam met us at the University of Missouri for their spring engagement session! As soon as they showed up with big smiles and pleasant attitudes, we knew this session would be a breeze. Hayley and Sam are an adorable pair and their giddiness around one another is the cutest thing to witness. Their laughter was contagious and kept us smiling all evening long. Hayley and Sam are so comfortable around each other; It’s obvious these two have an undeniable connection! The way they look at each other as if no one else matters is a sight to see. We just loved their eagerness to go along with any of our ideas. We had fun strolling around their old stomping grounds at Mizzou for the first half of the session. We ended the evening at one of our favorite parks in Columbia. It was an absolutely perfect evening from start to finish!
Their Love Story
Hayley and Sam met through Bumble and decided that they should meet at Andy’s for frozen custard and first impressions. It was a cold fall evening, so they decided to talk in Sam’s car. Like the gentleman he is, Sam offered Hayley his keys so he couldn’t “steal her”. The conversation started off easy as they talked about money, politics, and religion (as everyone does during a first conversation). Three hours later, there was obviously a connection, so they set up a first real date later that week. Their first official date was a game night at Sam’s house. Hayley had bragged about how she had never lost at Settler’s of Catan, so naturally, that was the first game they played together. Sam ended up winning that game, but there is still controversy over whether or not he cheated. This game is such a sentiment to them as a couple, that they even decided to set up a quick game at the park during the engagement session to recreate their first official date. We love when couples add fun ideas to make their engagement session unique to them as a couple.
Sam knew that Hayley was “the one” about a month in and he remembers telling his mom early on. Sam was always frustrated about how people said, “when you know you know” , but for him that’s definitely how it worked. Once Hayley entered his life, he had this overwhelming urge to make sure she never left it. Hayley knew Sam was the one when both of their inner dorks would came out amy time they were together. She loves how they always have so much fun. Hayley remembers telling her friends that she loved the person she was when she was around Sam because she felt like she was genuinely herself.
How He Asked
Sam had the ring about a month before the proposal. He was contemplating how to do it while talking to his friend over voice chat. Sam’s friend asked to see a picture of the ring, so Sam opened up snapchat and followed the motions and screamed because he quickly realized that he had just sent the ring picture to Hayley. Thank God she was giving a presentation at the time and Sam was able to send her messages and call her telling her not to open the picture. Hayley agreed to wait until she got home and let me delete it for her (She totally knew what it was though.) The next day, Sam was at her place and when she stepped out to take care of something, Sam leapt up off the floor and grabbed the ring and tied it around her cats neck (she loves this cat more than Sam.) When Hayley got back, the cat walked up to her and…. Now, we go over to Hayley’s version of events! After Sam freaked out about the picture he sent, Hayley knew it had to be of the ring. She didn’t look at it and let him delete it when he picked her up at the airport that night. Hayley was convinced Sam would wait a long time to throw her off the scent, so the next day came as a huge surprise.
Hayley sat down on the sofa and Sophie (her cat) hopped up on the end table next to her. She looked down and noticed that there was a bow tied around the cats neck. Naturally, Hayley panicked thinking that Sophie had somehow gotten tangled in something when she was away for a conference the day before (clearly not registering that it was a perfectly tied bow). Hayley untied the string and heard something fall on the ground. Then Sam got up, picked up the ring, and got down on one knee. Hayley started crying and he said (what she assumes to be) a lot of very sweet and meaningful things that she cannot remember (it’s all a bit of a blur) and then Sam asked Hayley to marry him.
We cannot wait to document day on of their marriage in November as this darling duo say their I do’s in front of their closest family and friends. With the love these two share, we know their wedding day will be incredibly special and full of lots of laughs. Enjoy some of our favorites from our time together.
