Kate & Sam -i do, i do- Kelly Hornberger Photography

The whole weekend was bliss. Joe and I LOVE Sam & Kate. It was an absolute honor to get to be in Maryland for their sweet weekend. We felt like members of the family by the end of it all and I seriously want to adopt their amazing grandparents as my own…what incredible family’s with awesome legacies they get to lead another generation with.

Preppy chic has got nothing on sweet Sam & Kate. JCrew has her number. And Brooks Brothers has his. It was an adorable mesh or perfect gentlemen and beautiful posed ladies. Take it all in…this one is full of prep, cool, uniforms and crazy fun. A day that we were so blessed to get to be a part of!

Some of Kate & Sam’s memories from the day:
Q. What was your favorite part about the wedding?

A. The fact that we had people from all over the country who were able to celebrate our day with us. We had friends from childhood, high school, college, church and Air Force/PA school along with our families and their friends. We were able to pick up right where we left off with all of them and they all seemed genuinely excited to be there and share in our joy. We come from very close families, so it was also great to see just how well they meshed together. We feel fortunate to have so many healthy, outgoing and loving people in our lives, and it was truly a day/weekend we will never forget.

Q. What was one quirky or crazy thing that happened on your wedding day?

A. Sam – Playing football with the guys at the Wedding Crashers house. Never thought I’d get a chance to do that.

Kate – All of my bridesmaids and I sat on the edge of the bed for a picture right before I put my dress on. The bed started to slide off and we all screamed.

Both – When our groomsman (Jason) jumped on our bridesmaid’s (Jen) back and she immediately fell to the floor during their introduction. Apparently they had practiced before, but Jen’s balance was altered by a few cocktails.

Q. What was the most special moment on your wedding day?

A. Sam – The first look. When I heard Kate say “Sam” I had to pause for a second and take in what I was about to see. Then I turned around and saw my beautiful wife looking at me from across the bridge and had a million emotions running through my body…excitement, pride, happiness, love, pure joy…it was unlike anything I had ever felt before and from that point on I just couldn’t wait to stand at the alter and say “I do”.

Kate- After taking communion, we were able to watch everyone walk up to receive theirs. It was an awesome moment watching everyone come up while holding hands with my soon-to-be husband! Also, my dad made an amazing video and played it during our father-daughter dance. It was so special!

Q. Did you do anything yourself?

A. 1. Kate painted the shutters for the placecards and the pink lantern center pieces with her grandfather (Grampa Tom Paulsen).
2. The out of town boxes were made by all of the family and friends staying at the Oaks on Thursday night
3. Sam made all of the CDs with our favorite songs (and your awesome engagement photos!) for the out of town boxes.

Q. What do you look forward to most about being married?

A. Sam – Finally being together again and being able to take Kate out on dates on a regular basis! We had been long distance for 4 years, so Kate and I were used to spending either a long weekend or at most a week together and then having to say goodbye. Those times were special, but when it’s always a special occasion or holiday you never get to just live life together. It’s nice to know that we’re not always on a timeline now trying to pack as much as we can into a 4 day weekend and we can just enjoy our time together.
Kate- I am so happy to be Sam’s wife and to go through life by his side. I am looking forward to bringing our two families together for special memories and holidays. We have many dreams and goals and I am so excited about supporting each other every step of the way.

Q. Where do you hope you will you be as a couple in five years?

A. Hopefully we’ll be living in Europe, stationed in either Germany or Italy. In five years we’d like to have at least two kids…maybe another on the way! Depending on the age of the kids, Kate would love to be working as a pediatric physician assistant on-base. It would be getting to the end of Sam’s first operational tour so we’d be looking to either come back to the D.C. area for some sort of fellowship or continue to live abroad while Sam receives his masters in a foreign language.