Lucky Number 17
Bill and Samantha first met on July 17, 1992 on a blind date set up through none other than Bill’s father. Samantha was nervous to go out without someone she never met before but Her fears were quickly alleviated when they fell into easy conversation and practically ordered everything on the menu. That night, they discovered that they both share the same birthday, December 17! They moved in together two weeks after they met and got married in Boca Raton, Florida on a lucky day, exactly one year after they first met - on July 17, 1993.
North Meets South
Bill’s family comes from the South and Samantha’s from the North, and they say that they both meet somewhere in the middle. Their differences are what makes their relationship special. Bill recalls that the first night they met they stayed up talking long into the night and remembers that when they left each other he just couldn't wait to get to see her the next day. The way they both describe their initial weeks together is that they both just knew there was something extraordinary.
Marking the 30 Year Milestone
A few years ago, Samantha had all of her rings stolen. Some were family heirlooms, others were gifts from Bill. One of those rings was her engagement ring that she was hoping to one day pass on to her daughter, Catherine. Losing all of her jewelry and the memories attached to them was incredibly hard for Samantha. This year, as they came up on 30 years together, Bill decided that he wanted to do something special to celebrate the milestone. With their kids getting older and moving out of the house, this felt like the perfect time for a refresh! What better way to mark that than with a 30th anniversary ring? Wove was the perfect choice for them. Bill wanted to be able to create a custom diamond ring for Sam. Another big draw for the couple was that Wove is a veteran-founded company. With both their sons in the army (and one that attended West Point), Bill and Samantha loved that Wove was founded by two Army Rangers that ironically also attended The United States Military Academy together.
Designing The Ring
Bill worked with Mary Caroline to surprise Samantha by designing a platinum round diamond band. The design process took them only three days. Bill explained his ideas to Mary Caroline and she put all this information together to come up with the perfect custom design that she knew Samantha would love. Although Bill didn’t get a try-on ring for the anniversary band, he states that Mary Caroline knew exactly what he was looking for, which made the whole process easy for him. He says, “I think we really were able to knock it out of the park pretty quick.” Bill notes that Mary Caroline did an excellent job of providing him all the information that he needed to feel secure in his purchase. When the ring finally arrived, it was even more stunning in person than any of the pictures he had seen of it. Bill and Samantha met and got married on July 17 and both of their birthdays are December 17. As it turns out, Samantha’s ring ended up having 17 diamonds in it, which was completely unplanned.
Happy Place
Since Bill and Samantha originally got engaged on the beach, they decided to renew their vows on the beach as well, which is where the Wove anniversary ring came in! Their vow renewal took place on Sunset Beach, on the west coast of Florida. The beach is Sam’s happy place so they knew that it would be the perfect place to hold the ceremony. Bill presented Samantha her new Wove wedding band (engraved with 7.17.93) and they lived happily ever after (again)!
Credits
Ring: Mary Carolyn Robben Parker at Wove / Photographer Christan Cooper Photo / HMUA: Paula Heckenast at City Lights Makeup / Dress: Altar’d State
