Samantha knew that having found the love of her life had been an absolute miracle. But she was certainly not prepared for the rocky journey she had to face to finally getting married.
Yet, little did she know what would be the reason for the most unexpected turn of events.
The handsome baseball player
Taylor caught Samantha’s eye when she saw him pitch at a local baseball game.
Samantha, however, was skeptical. “After that night, I never expected to see or hear from him again, but to my surprise, he asked me to hang out the very next night.” , she tells The Knot.
Their love blossomed
Samantha is still amazed by the unconventional nature of their meeting, as she describes in her blog; “I constantly think back to that night when we first met and I am amazed at the serendipity of it all.”
Samantha tells The Knot how ”they became more smitten each time they hung out, and their love blossomed into something beautiful.” You see, you never really know when you might meet the one.
A dream come true
After dating for 3,5 years, Taylor finally popped the big question during their summer holiday in Mexico. Samantha had been dreaming of this moment for so long. But when the moment finally came, she couldn’t quite comprehend what was happening.
Or as she puts it herself: “I was in such shock that I found myself completely speechless to the point where I almost forgot to say yes.”
A paradise wedding?
The two lovebirds did not want their Mexican fairytale to end. In fact, they decided they wanted to return to Cancun to get married there in front of their closest friends and family.
It took them months to plan the wedding of their dreams. All there was left to do was take a quick trip to Mexico to solidify their plans. Everything seemed picture-perfect until they got back home and sat down with Samantha’s mother.
Not meant to be
Her mum had battled with Multiple Sclerosis for many years, and the disease had taken a turn for the worse. The doctor predicted it would be impossible to travel to Cancun to see her daughter tie the knot.
Without a second thought, Samantha and Taylor canceled their destination wedding. Instead, they settled with a wedding in California. But they faced yet another blow the day before signing the new venue-contract.
A broken heart
Her sister called her in the middle of the night to tell her their mother had to be rushed to the ER.“You know those moments when you can just feel that something isn’t right? This was the sickening feeling I had that night on the drive up to the hospital” Samantha writes in her blog.
The doctors diagnosed her mum with stage 5 colon cancer. Samantha writes “I remember holding her hand with both of mine and saying over and over, we are going to fix this.. you are going to be okay” but in reality, she felt the ground falling from beneath her feet.
Emotional rollercoaster
The following month was a rollercoaster of emotions. Samantha was now taking care of her mother full-time and the wedding was the last thing on her mind.
Taylor and Samantha decided to postpone their wedding indefinitely. But the thought of her mum not making it to their special day broke her heart.
Some help from the Universe?
During one of her many sleepless nights, the bride-to-be searched online for ideas on how to throw a quick wedding. That is when she came across The Knot Dream Wedding.
Couples entering the competition stand a chance of having their entire wedding funded by the wedding website The Knot.
The crazy side-note, however, is that every detail of the special day, from the invitations to the honeymoon, is voted for by members of the American public.
The lucky couple
While most brides would get sick to the stomach by the idea of losing all control of their wedding, to Samantha, it sounded perfect.
“The planning would be handled by America, allowing all my attention to remain on my mom’s situation,” she tells The Knot.
Samantha and Taylor entered the competition, and to her surprise, she and Taylor were contacted by The Knot as finalists!
Their emotional rollercoaster, however, remained, as Samantha’s mother continued to fight her battle against cancer.
For better, for worse
It was the toughest time Samantha had ever faced. And it was Taylor who saved her from drowning.
Their love had grown so much. Taylor had already proven to her that he will be there: for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health…
Mother & Daugther moments
You can imagine that the weeks leading up to the most special day of your life are nervewrecking. It is during these times that a girl still needs the love and support of her mother. Being able to share this with her sick mum was “a positive light amids a lot of hardships.”
However as the wedding day approached, her mother’s illness took the best of her. Leaving Samantha no choice but marrying the love of her life without the presence of her mother…
I DO!
Nevertheless, Samantha’s mother was still part of their special day from afar. The Knot did everything in their power to include her mother. They arranged drones, live-streams, and even heart rate monitors!
The heartrate monitor documented that Samantha was nervous as she took the first steps towards her husband-to-be. However, after the couple exchanged their vows, her heart-rate dipped. She was calm, she knew she was loved. And she knew that the man standing in front of her was the one.
An unexpected turn
Following a dream ceremony, the newlyweds took to the dance floor to enjoy their first dance. They intended to dance to their favorite country song “Love You Like That” By Canaan Smith.
But just as the lovebirds started moving, the band came to an abrupt standstill. “You know, we have a better idea,” one of the musicians announces. “Sam and Taylor, we have a special guest for you…”
Surprise, Suprise.
It is then that the couple turns around and see Canaan Smith walking towards the stage with his guitar.
The big man himself traveled across states to give the couple a heartfelt surprise- something well deserved given the hardships that they had been through so far.
A day they will forever cherish
In the end, Samantha and Taylor finally got the wedding of their dreams. The guest appearance was the cherry on top, giving their family and friends a day they will forever cherish.
And not to forget, Samantha’s mum was there through technology and spirit…?
Watch the unique moment in the video below.
