Samuel & Tai
SamuelLongwell
&TaiPayne
August12023
Prospect, PA
Our Story
How We Met
𝐌𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰: (𝐓𝐚𝐢)
So.....I met Samuel on a dating app called Bumble! I wanted to find someone that had a sense of humor. Not just any humor, but my humor. So, I made a pickup line...."Are you a bank loan cuz you have my interest" Ha. Corny I know. No one seemed to match my energy like Samuel, his response was "Are you a parking ticket cuz you got fine written all over you" I literally laughed so hard! I now had to know who this mystery man was! Conversation went well for a few days or so before I offered my number. That evening into late night we had our first call that lasted 7-8 hours. We talked about Morals, Faith, Hobbies where we see each other in 5 years. you know the usual 'getting to know you things'. Later in the day we were going to go on our first date, We originally discussed maybe getting some dinner and seeing where the night takes us. But after 30min or so I called him and basically invited myself over. I wanted a more intimate setting. We talked for so long about so many things that I wanted to get into more detail with. !Risky I know! It just felt right! Glad to be here to tell the story. He told me he needed a couple hours to clean his place and during this time I'm praying to God, Thanking him. The peace that I felt through this entire process of meeting Samuel now thinking about it was God. I thank God for bringing such a Great man into my life and guiding our steps towards each other, anyway back to the story. SO when he came to pick me up. I felt cute and excited, All the butterflies. He said "Hey Beautiful" as he does to this day. We were off to his. It was just as I hope our FIRST 12 hour date. Just talking and diving deeper into each other forming a bond that usually takes couples some time to achieve. Samuel did tell me he loved me on the first night. I was over the moon, Things just didn't feel real.
Love is that inner feeling. That gut feeling you have, that makes you realize you can't eat, sleep because the love-bug has landed on your shoulder, or you shed tears when special words of a song suddenly somehow remind you of everything you feel for them all at once. Love is something you feel, down to the tingly feeling at the tip of your fingers, and your tippy tippy toes. I feel this way with Samuel. Since the beginning. May God lead our way and let us follow his Will.
𝗠𝘆 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: (𝗦𝗮𝗺𝘂𝗲𝗹)
When I stumbled across Tai, I was excited. As soon as I swiped on her it was a match. This was exciting,
since it meant that she had came across my profile first, and swiped on me. It was also only my 5 th or so
match, despite being on the app for 8 months. After that I had to wait. Due to the nature of the dating
app we were using, the woman had to be the first to message. The first thing Tai said to me was: “Are
you a bank? Cause you got my interest.” I of course responded in kind with: Are you a parking ticket?
Cause you got fine written all over you.” We hit it off from there. We messaged back and forth a while,
exchanged numbers and texted until that Friday. She asked if it would be weird to have a phone call, to
which I replied it would not be. We talked that night for hours. We started somewhere in the evening,
and kept talking until at least 2 in the morning on Saturday. We talked about beliefs, dating,
personalities, likes…, everything that takes some couples months to draw out. Later that afternoon, she
basically invited herself over to my place. I brushed her off for a couple hours to clean, picked up a pizza
and went to get her. She was stunning. I know many people look better on their profile than they do in
real life, but she was absolutely gorgeous. I may have stammered through some sort of greeting,
opened the door for her and we were off. The plan was to have a quiet night indoors, and we talked
again for hours. We went more in-depth about expectations and wants, and after many more hours
decided to begin dating. We saw a lot of each other that next week, it was spring break for me and I
could stay out later than I usually would. From there, we spent the next several months getting to know
each others families, integrating into friend groups, and loving every minute of it.
People always talk about a moment, a lightning bolt that hits them and they know who is the one. That
didn’t happen. Falling in love was a process. It started with the physical attraction, extended into a
personality attraction, and finally attraction of the soul. I may have said “I love you” first, but we both
say it with great frequency.
The Proposal
𝑺𝒂𝒎𝒖𝒆𝒍:
I proposed on the 16th of August 2022. I had been planning this for some time, purchasing the ring over
a month before. I was irritated that they had taken so long, and I picked the ring up the day I proposed.
Tai had explicitly told me not to propose at Texas Roadhouse (I would have done it there), so I took her
to Outback Steakhouse. I don’t remember exactly what I said, but she somehow believed that I wanted
a change of pace from our usual. I was also wearing jeans (which I rarely do), so I don’t understand how
she didn’t expect anything. So away we went. I was worried she would see the bulge of the ring box in
my jean pocket, but I managed to keep her on the opposite side and cover the box with my hand. After
we had ordered and gotten our drinks, I excused myself to the restroom. After using the facilities, I
tucked the box under the hem of my left leg and stamped a few times to make sure it wouldn’t fall out. I
also untied my left shoe. When I got back to the table, Tai was on her phone, and I “noticed” the untied
shoe and made a comment. At this point our waiter (who was walking by) gave me a look like “What is
he doing? Why didn’t he tie it in the bathroom?” I bent down, tied my shoe, and came up with the ring.
I may have had half-baked notions of saying something cheesy, but in the moment all that came out
was: “Tai, Will you Marry Me?” She leapt up and said: “Of Course I’ll marry you! Yes!” (Because I am
quite the catch), and the rest is history.