I Do!: Samantha Hoffman and Matthew Loew

When Samantha Hoffman met Matthew Loew six years ago, she said she knew immediately that he was not her type.

The two were at a get-together in Long Beach over the Fourth of July weekend, and Loew, who had been drinking, “kept asking me the same question over and over, and it got annoying,” recalled the nurse practitioner, 33.

But the next year, they ran into each other again at another Fourth of July party. When Loew missed his ride home, Hoffman offered him a lift, said Loew, 32, who is in law enforcement. While stuck in traffic, the two found they had a lot in common, he said.

“Samantha realized there was more to me than her first impression,” Loew said.

They started dating, and before long Hoffman was smitten. “He is smart and well-spoken . . . and he made me laugh,” she said.

In September 2021, the couple visited Acadia National Park in Maine, one of their favorite spots, with Loew’s brother and his girlfriend. Unbeknownst to Hoffman, Loew was planning to propose at a scenic overlook during a hike.

As they reached the overlook — the couple’s “special place” — Loew got down on one knee. But Hoffman said she thought he was tying his shoelaces. Then she saw the tiny box he held behind his back.

“I screamed,” she recalled. “I kept repeating, ‘Oh my God,’ over and over. When I finally said ‘yes,’ he put the ring on my finger.”

The couple planned an Oct. 13, 2023, wedding ceremony and reception at The Vineyards at Aquebogue in Riverhead for nearly 140 guests, she said. Eleven bridesmaids and groomsmen attended the couple, including one four-legged, furry friend: Hoffman’s beloved Baby Ernie, a 10-year-old Dachshund, who sported a bowtie that matched those of the groomsmen. “He’s our family and we love him to pieces,” she said. “He’s our third wheel,” Loew said. “We wanted him to be part of it.”

Despite the date — Friday the 13th — Hoffman said the wedding went off without a hitch. “It was the wedding of our dreams.”