Heath first noticed Sam during Law School Orientation at the University of South Carolina School of Law and Sam noticed Heath too. They had the same group of friends and chatted occasionally while out at their favorite bar Jakes, but didn't get to know each other until Heath had an Oyster Roast and Sam went with some friends in February of 2017. Heath asked Sam on a few dates, but Sam wasn’t sure about him at first. They became friends, chatting most of the summer. Eventually, Sam invited Heath out for a celebration of her friends birthday at the end of July. After spending most of the night together at the bar, Heath recommended going to a nearby late-night restaurant, NightCaps, to get mozzarella sticks. Heath wanted to take an Uber, but Sam was convinced they could walk. After a long up-hill walk, Heath bought Sam mozzarella sticks & Sam was smitten, so much so she even repaid Heath with a kiss!

After that night, Heath and Sam went on sevaral dates & Heath would alwasy drop by Sam’s locker to make sure she had a snack (or Recees) after she got out of class. Sam was still unsure about dating someone in the law school and she thought Heath might be a little too spontaneous for her… but as they got to know each other Sam realized that Heath brought out the most fun side of her and was always there to calm her down, even over the littlest things! By this time Heath had already fallen in love with Sam and couldn’t imagine his life without her. Their favorite memory is just a month into dating, Heath planned a romantic dinner in at Sam’s house and moved all the furniture so that he could teach Sam to “Shag Dance” to beach music. The song they danced to that night is their first dance song at their wedding. In October 2017, Sam was supposed to go to the Presbyterian College Homecoming with Heath; however, she was stuck late at school planning an event for the law school. At 8:00pm Heath finally talked her into leaving the law school and to come meet his friends! That night Sam was able to meet Heath’s friends from college and Heath even tried to help Sam with some of her “Shag moves.” That night they said “I love you” for the first time and that love has grown ever since. In the fall of 2018, Heath moved Sam into her new apartment and they like to joke he never left. One night while Sam was out with coworkers she came home and heard a puppy bark. To her surprise, Heath had planned to surprise Sam with Sadie. Sam was shocked, a little angry she was not consulted, but Sadie turned out to be the best surprise Sam had ever received! She completed their little family perfectly!

Sam finished Law School and took the Bar in 2019 and began her clerkship. Heath finished law school and took the bar in 2020. They had been renting houses for two years and were working on buying a place of their own. With Heath being handy, they knew they could tackle a “fixer upper.” With Quarantine giving them tons of time to search Zillow. And after looking at tons of homes in a very busy market, Heath and Sam finally found a home to make their own in May of 2020! They closed on the home in June of 2020 - right in the middle of Heath studying for the bar. Heath would use his times after studying that day to knock down a wall, or tear up the floor. By 2021 they had completely renovated their kitchen! Heath knew he wanted to propose in 2021 and he and Sam went ring shopping in Spring of 2021 so Heath could get an idea of Sam’s style preference. Little did Sam know, Heath had a big surprise - he was going to use his Grandmother’s diamond for her center stone. Heath, in his spontaneous fashion, decided he would plan the proposal less than a week before they were going home to Sam’s parents for Fourth of July. He knew that Sam’s home was very important to her, and that the Fourth of July was her favorite holiday, of course. Heath went to his grandfather and told him the plan, Pop was very excited for Mammy’s ring, which he gave to her in 1951, to be a part of the special day! Heath knew that Sam would want family all around on their special day, so he - that same week - asked his parents and brother to fly up to Chicago with only a few days notice, they said they wouldn’t miss it for the world and booked their flights!

That day, many people helped keep the surprise, Sam’s mom (Deb) and Heath had planned for a photographer to secretly capture the moment. The photographer pretended to be a friend of Sam's best friends, Kaylee and Ashlee's mom, Denise! As boats began to pull up, Sam was told to go say hi to family friends. She was chatting with her parents long-time friends Aunt Karen & Uncle Joe, who knew they had to keep Sam’s attention, as Heath turned on the Song “Greatest Love Story” and he and Sadie jogged down the hill towards her. Ashlee had bought Sadie a bandana that said “Will you marry my Dad?”. With the song playing, Heath took Sam out to her favorite spot on the beach and asked her to read Sadie’s bandana. At this point, Sam knows what is going on, she gets down on her knees, reads the bandana and says “YES” Heath’s response was “WAIT - I haven’t asked you yet!” He pulled Sam to her feet and got down on one knee and said “Samantha Ann Sanders, will you marry me?” And held out the ring - Sam then said “YES, YES, YES” and Heath placed the ring on her finger. If she wasn’t crying hard enough already, then Heath whispered in her ear that the diamond in the ring was Mammy’s as they hugged. Sam was shocked and so happy! In the excitement of the moment, Sam hadn’t realized that people had gathered around. As Sam turned around she realized it wasn't just the normal July 4th, crowd, Heath's family had flown all the way to Illinois to watch!! Ashlee ran and gave her a hug, while trying to absorb everything, Sam realized that Denise's “nurse friend” was taking photographs. Sam thought that was so nice of her, until Heath told Sam she was a photographer. Sam thought she was a photographer AND a nurse, not until much later in the day did she realize it was part of the surprise! The photographer had them walk around the yard in the photographs to do an impromptu engagement shoot. They and their families and friends continued to celebrate for the rest of the day and night!