For one whole year and a half, Johnny & Sam could only communicate through written word. A majority of their dating relationship wasn’t even in person! They could email only once a month, and sent letters to and fro from the United States to Puerto Rico! I can’t even imagine how that must have been! How their relationship grew and remained steadfast is truly amazing to me, and I was so blessed to be able to spend time with the both of them for their engagement session! Their love for one another was so visible, and there was just so much laughter and love during our time together!
Before introducing you to their engagement session, let me first give you a background on how they met and came to date! It’s going to be a lot of quotes because they each individually told their story so sweetly!
“Samantha and I met at church. She would be in San Diego between school semesters and would then leave to go back to school, so I had short windows to get to know her. I remember my first impression of Samantha, our church had a Valentine’s day activity, including dinner and live performances. I first saw Samantha when she was on stage playing the guitar and singing. I thought she was really cute, and had a great voice.”
– Johnny
Sam mentioned that they first met at a speed dating activity their church held. Sam remember thinking that “…out of all the guys who were at my church if he was single I would want to date him. He was really confident and funny.” Johnny was in a relationship at the time, but after some time when he became single again, they reconnected and Johnny started to take interest in Sam!
“Johnny asked me out. I knew he had been single for a few months, and we had spoken a few times. We had an activity and he suggested everyone going out to get boba. When we got back to the church parking lot he was talking to this girl and I didn’t want to feel like a loser waiting around so I started walking to my car. Johnny ran and caught up to me and asked me if I had any plans for the weekend. When I told him I was free after 7, he said something along the lines of, “Great, because I really want to take you out because I’d like to get to know you better.” Super confident about it! (Which I loved.)”
– Sam
For their first date, Johnny took Sam out to Phil’s BBQ because Sam worked near it and would recommend people to it, but she had never actually tried it herself! Haha!
“I do remember our first date. I picked Samantha up and we got lost 3 times on the way to Phil’s BBQ. I had been there plenty of times before, but for some reason I had the hardest time finding the place! In the car, Samantha told me “You don’t have to be nervous! I put my pants on one leg at a time just like you.” Haha. We finally got there, and I don’t remember what we talked about for so long, but I remember that by the time we actually started eating, our food was really cold. Then we went downtown to “The Haunted Hotel” and I remember thinking Samantha was so cute when she would get scared and hold on to my arm. After that we walked to a Chocolate shop, but decided not to buy anything, so we just sat and talked until 2 AM. The shop gave us free chocolate covered strawberries, so that was nice. Again, I don’t remember what we talked about, but I had been up since 5 AM that morning, so I remember fighting sleep because I didn’t want to miss a single word she said. It was a great night.”
– Johnny
Johnny shared with me (and allowed me to share) the messy part of the beginning of their relationship. At the time Johnny began dating Sam, he had also been dating another girl. Johnny made sure she knew because at the time he was only interested in dating. Sam told me that she told him she wasn’t interested in just dating around, but wanted to pursue a more serious relationship if she were dating someone.
“To make a long story short, I realized that I didn’t want to live another day without Samantha, and so even though she was about to leave the country for an 18 month missionary trip, I told her I loved her and that I wanted to wait for her so that we could be together forever. Thank goodness she agreed.”
– Johnny
And with that, we begin the story of Johnny & Sam and how they came to writing each other fervently in their time apart!
John and I met with Johnny and Sam at a Starbucks in San Diego! From there, we carpooled to the beautiful San Junipero Serra Mission to begin their engagement session! :)
Sam shared with me three things that she loved about Johnny:
“1. His desire to always be better
2. His patience
3. His sense of humor”
I definitely got to witness a lot of their humor during our session! There was so much laughing the entire time! :)
I also got to witness a teeny bit of their musicality. Johnny actually plays in a band, and I have heard that Sam has a truly beautiful voice by not just Johnny, but by mutual friends that we share! I got to hear Johnny play a bit, but they sang quietly to one another during the session, which was sweet! :)
“I realized that I wanted to marry Samantha when we were talking one night and I asked her to sing for me. Samantha got really close to me and just sang quietly in my ear. I remember thinking “I can’t be without this”… I love when Samantha sings. I could listen to her sing every day.”
– Johnny
Johnny also shared with me three things he loved about Sam. :)
“1. Samantha has an amazing ability to love. I don’t mean just me, she has an amazing ability to love people.
2. Samantha knows what is important in life. She has priorities. She doesn’t allow herself to get caught up in things that are silly or unimportant. She stands for what she believes and is willing to make difficult choices.
3. Samantha makes me laugh. And not in the “Oh, she’s so cute” sort of way. She actually makes me burst of laughing all of the time.”
I loved seeing their chemistry together, and how silly and fun they were! Their session was so natural!
Johnny loved swaying Sam back and forth! Haha! Sam made these sweet signs for the session! :)
Right before these shots, Johnny walked over and took a double take at Sam! Haha! It was so funny!
After San Junipero Serra, we headed to Sunset Cliffs for the rest of their session! And this is where I begin to tell you the story of how they snail mailed the majority of their session! :)
When we first met up, Sam took out a bag filled with authentic letters Johnny and Sam wrote to each other during their year and a half apart! I was so excited! :)
“So before Johnny and I started dating I wanted to serve a mission for my church. I’m LDS (Mormon), and we have this program where we are assigned (we don’t choose where) to serve in different countries or states and share a message about Jesus Christ. Guys serve for 2 years (Johnny served in New Jersey) and girls serve for 18 months (I don’t know why girls’ service shorter). The whole thing is voluntary, of course. During that time we’re supposed to just dedicate that period to The Lord, so we don’t call home or anything. We can write letters and e-mail our friends and families once a month. On Christmas and New Years we can Skype home and that’s about it. I was called to serve in Puerto Rico San Juan Mission. Johnny and I wrote letters and e-mails as much as we could. It was really hard to be away from each other, and both of us really had to trust each other, but I’m super grateful for the experience.”
– Sam
Johnny summed up the experience for me:
“To put our year and a half apart into one word, I would say miserable. Hahaha. It was a really difficult time, but it was also really important. During that time I was able to make a lot of changes in my life that I had wanted to make. I started a new school to change careers; I started getting into better shape, things like that. Only being able to communicate via written letter for 18 months was really difficult, but it was also really special. I feel like we got to know each other on a different level than we would have had we been physically together. If I wanted to say something to her, I had to write it down, and I knew that it would take just about a week to actually get to her. I also knew that everything she was telling me was a week old. One thing I can say is that it has made me really appreciate the opportunity to just talk to her when I want to. It has made me appreciate getting a text during the middle of the day, or having a face to face conversation. It also made me really appreciate the postal service!”
– Johnny
I can’t even imagine waiting around for a week to receive a letter in reply! I can only imagine the wait and the anticipation!
Sam shared a bit of what they learned during the time they were apart. & Boy, does it sounds like a lot of patience!
“We learned a lot about each other and he honestly supported me 100% through the whole thing. When I wanted to go home he pushed me to stay, because he knew that that experience would bless and strengthen me and us as a couple. Going on my mission not only strengthened my testimony of the Savior but also the love I had for Johnny. I think both of us thought that our feelings might fizzle out, but they just got stronger. He was a really wonderful example to me throughout the whole thing and I love him so much for it. Deciding to serve was the 2nd best decision I ever made, and marrying Johnny will be the first. :)”
“Johnny has a lot of wonderful qualities, and he’s honestly everything I always wanted but never thought I could have. We’re totally aware of the fact that we both have weaknesses and shortcomings, and I know that marriage is not a stroll in the park, but he’s the person I want to share all the good and bad moments with. I can’t pin point when I realized I wanted to marry him, but I do know when I realized that I wouldn’t find a man nearly as wonderful and strong, and that was on my mission when he supported me and took care of me from miles and miles away.”
– Sam
The water was freeeeeezing, but Sam and Johnny toughed it out “for the photos!” What troopers! :) So you may be wondering how these two love birds got engaged…
Sam’s description of how it all happened was really detailed, so I’ll just let her tell the story. :)
“Johnny and I had made plans to have a picnic in La Jolla. There was also a store I wanted to pass by since we would be in the neighborhood. Then we would stop and pick up food for our picnic in the park. I had purchased what I wanted at the store, and Johnny was telling me he wanted to leave because he was hungry. So we headed to the store and picked up the food. We got to the park and the sun was out and it was pretty hot, and now I was getting hungry. We walked and find a really nice spot with a big tree and shade, and I suggested we stop and eat there, but Johnny said, “No, we should really go down that trail over there.” I thought it was strange because he had been complaining about how hungry he was and now he had this sudden interest to walk down some trail, but I followed him. We walked more and I was getting hot and hungrier. Then he said, “Hey, do you think there’s a Geo-cash here?! We should find it!” (Geo cash is a scavenger hunt game you do on your phone.) I was uninterested.
I said, “That’s okay. Why don’t I sit here and eat and wait for you and you can go over there and find your Geo-cash.” He kept insisting for me to come with him so I said, “How come when I want to stay in the store we have to leave because you’re hungry, but when I want to eat and you want to walk down a trail we have to go down the trail?” He begged some more, and I went with him.
We found a sprinkler box, and he said, “I think it’s under there! Do you want to grab it?”
I said, “No, there are bees over there. Last time I got stung by a bee I ended up in the hospital.”
He picked up the sprinkler box and found a big black box. He asked me, “Do you want to open it?”
“No, there’s probably something nasty spider in there.”
He opened the box and there was a pretty little white box and I remember thinking, “That’s a really nice box.” Then he got down and one knee and asked me to marry him.
His best friend Juan had been waiting for us, guarding the ring, and Johnny had been in a rush so Juan wouldn’t be kept waiting for too long. I immediately felt awful for being so impatient, haha. Johnny was very patient about it, and loves when I tell the story to people. I am very happy with him and am very excited to spend eternity with him. I know I am very blessed.”
Sam & Johnny’s engagement was so funny! Johnny’s way of proposing was so cute and creative, and Sam’s reactions are so relatable! I can only imagine being hungry and confused as to why you can’t eat, and be forced to do something else! Haha! While Sam felt sorry for being so impatient (which was completely understandable to me, haha!), patience is actually something she really learned in their relationship. :)
“I’ve learned… a lot of things, haha. Patience is a really big one, haha. I think that’s the most important thing I’ve learned. Being patient with each other can make a world of difference in a relationship.”
“The most important thing I learned for a long distance relationship is that commitment and love are a choice. Life is always changing, and you can choose to love someone no matter how they change or how circumstances change. Some days are easy and others are hard. Ever had a disagreement with someone via letter? That literally took two weeks and two letters to clear up? No matter what, you can choose to love and commit.”
– Johnny
The sun set beautifully over the coastline and we finished up our session watching it on the cliffs. :)
I asked them if they had any advice for those of you that are seriously dating, and this is what Sam’s advice was:
“Ha, I don’t consider myself a relationship expert, buuuut I believe that the root of all marriage (couple) problems is selfishness. If the both of us are always just putting the needs of the other in front our own things will be good! It’s easier said than done, because being selfish is a natural thing, but it’s something I want to strive for, and I really believe that a couple who loves each other enough and pushes away those urges to be selfish will always stay together.”
& Words from Johnny:
“If things aren’t a big deal, don’t make them into a big deal. I assume its possible to disagree on practically every point, or to point out when your Significant other is wrong, but why would you? Especially in wedding planning, there are lots of decisions to make and lots of opinions in the air, if its not important, than don’t pretend like it is.”
CONGRATULATIONS SAM & JOHNNY! I had so much fun with you both! Thank you for sharing your love with me & John! :)
Happy Friday!