Niche

Friend's Wedding Shower

Alcove by MadTree

Wedding Day

Ceremony

Reception

Fall

Our Wedding

Kirsten & Ben

Kirsten &amp; Ben had their first date at Factory 52 in Norwood. They immediately made plans to compete in duck pin bowling less than a week after for their second date. Despite already having a next date planned, Kirsten &amp; Ben could not wait five days to see each other. Between the dates, they met at Eden Park to walk Renegade &amp; Roxy, the dogs that they now parent together. For their third date Kirsten subjected Ben (and Ren &amp; Roxy) to the 2008 cinematic masterpiece Twilight. The two had such a great time watching this cringefest of a movie that there was no looking back.

Before deciding to "officially date", Ben met Kirsten at a local cryptid convention. He met her best friend (Alexis) and bonded over cryptids and great pretzels. Kirsten and Ben decided to start "officially dating" after that adventure.

Loveland Frogman Convention

After meeting Kirsten's best friend at a cryptid convention, it was only fitting that Kirsten met Ben's friends at an FC Cincinnati match.

Our First Sporting Event Together

In July 2024, we took our first trip together to Ashville, NC. While there we did all of our favorite things: visiting breweries, eating good food, and walking around their downtown.

Our First Trip Together

Since their third date, Kirsten and Ben had been talking about making a trip to Snallygaster, a beer festival held annually in Washington DC. So naturally, Ben decided that was the perfect weekend to also propose. On their first night in DC, they went to dLeña for dinner and Ben asked Kirsten to marry him. They then went on to celebrate their engagement at a bookstore bar nearby.

The Proposal

Our Story

Photos

Shelby Klapper

Jake Meyer

Sharen Matala

Jeff Matala

Ann Burton

Glenn Burton

Jan Matala

Luke Fraley

Alexis Pitzer

Kip Larison

Carolina Burton

Matt Burton

Emma Burton

Matthew Matala

Wedding Party

Q + A

We have a block of rooms available to anyone who wants to stay downtown for the wedding. The link below will take you to the site specific to our wedding block for booking, but please reach out to Kirsten or Ben with any questions. The hotel is a short walk to the street car to provide ease of transportation to and from the wedding.

Hampton Inn & Suites Cincinnati-Downtown

Downtown Cincinnati Streetcar Connector Map

Travel

Things to Do in Cincinnati

For those traveling into Cincinnati for the wedding, thank you! It means a lot that you came all this way to celebrate with us. Please refer to this list of popular places to visit while you're in town.

Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

Newport Aquarium

Krohn Conservatory

Cincinnati Art Museum

Things to Do

Registry

Wedding Shower- Friends

We look forward to spending time celebrating with friends on 8/9/25 at Niche. If you have received an invitation to this event, please RSVP on the RSVP section of this website. It will ask you to first RSVP to the shower and then to the wedding. Sorry for any inconveniences if you have already RSVPed.

Wedding Shower- Family

We look forward to spending time celebrating with family on 9/13/25 at Grainworks Brewing. If you have received an invite to this event, please RSVP by texting Sharen Matala or Ann Burton.

Wedding Shower