The start of this is relatively boring but I promise it gets better!

2013, Sam was fresh out of high school and started working for Harvey Norman in April.

2015 The day Ryan started at Harvey Norman, Sam actually turned to her colleague and said "Why are work hiring cute guys?"

Sam has a very clear memory of one day installing a range-hood with Ryan and while they were just making small talk, the idea of marriage came up and Ryan said he had no interest in ever getting married and that it wasn't for him. Although not together, a little bit of Sam's soul died that day, as if it knew they would be together. However, as fate would have it, Ryan's mind would eventually be changed.

2016 February 26th, Ryan asked Sam to be his girlfriend <3

2017 Ryan and Sam flew to Thailand on their first overseas trip together, visiting Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket.

2018 After a year of dating Ryan and Sam moved in together and not six months after their Thailand trip, flew to Bali with good friends of theirs. You could say this was the trip that ignited their love for this beautiful island.

2018 Clearly they both had the travel bug as 8 months later they were flying to Vietnam and Cambodia, visiting Hanoi, Siam Reap then Ho Chi Minh.

2019 Sam and Ryan managed to convince Kieran and Jade to come with them back to Bali AGAIN. This trip was an important one for their next move..

2020 Sam and Ryan saved their hearts out, skipping social events and refraining from spending until eventually they had enough saved for a house deposit, however,

2021, December 1st, Sam and Ryan handed in their notice at Harvey Norman with no real plan, only that they wanted to travel and would make it work and so began the process of selling EVERYTHING they owned and preparing to leave NZ

2022 April 30th, Sam and Ryan flew to Bali with the intention of setting down some roots after falling in love with the island years prior.

2022 May 15th, A seemingly normal day, Sam and Ryan went out for dinner to a beautiful Italian restaurant just around the corner from their apartment where they ate beautiful food, shared stories with the Italian owner and had a few too many Limoncello shots. Upon arriving home they realized that the singular cactus in their garden beside the pool had flowered! This only happens once per year and usually only for a few hours through the night so it was a rare and breath-taking sight to be able to witness. Little did Sam know, Ryan had been planning all day to propose this night so it was as if the universe was giving him the go-ahead. While Sam was outside taking pictures of the bloom Ryan came out and proposed!

*Sam remembers always telling Ryan to make sure her nails were done when he was going to propose (he forgot this) so after cherishing the moments and riding the happiness high for a few hours, Sam got to sticking on some fake nails and they both waited up until 2am so they could call friends and family in New Zealand to give them the news!

9 years, 9 houses and 6 countries later and we have a WEDDING!!!