Heritage Presbyterian Church

Wedding Day

Ceremony

Reception

Spring

Please join us September 21st for a ceremony and pot-luck reception to celebrate our marriage!

Our Wedding

Wednesday October 26th 2022 "I'm going to fall in love with Sam Watts. Shoot." ﻿

Sam & Kat : A Love Story

While that journal entry at the end of October '22 certainly marked a turning point in the love story of Sam and Kat, it was far from the beginning of the story... Our story starts off with another story, one about a very typical little hobbit off on a very non-typical little adventure, thats right, The Hobbit. Both Kat and Sam owned pocket-sized versions of this beloved novel, and both planned to bring them along for their freshman year of college at Cedarville University. While comparing packing lists with other incoming freshman on a discord server, Kat and Sam started to realize they had more than just one favorite book in common. Over the next few weeks, throughout late July and early August, the two started to talk outside the server and group chats they were apart of. Comparing stories about their hometowns, high school theater experiences, sibling dynamics, and of course, lots of their favorite stories. Sam was a jack-of-all-trades hailing from West Virginia (yes, he's heard the John Denver song a time or two) planning to pursue a PharmD, and Kat was poet, baker, and generally philosophically-minded soul from Missouri whose procrastination tendencies carried over into choosing her major. It took less than 12 hours on the Cedarville campus for the two to meet up, after a bit of searching on Kat's part, she located Sam next to a tree (however if you ask Sam, he was apparently under the tree.)

Though the first months of the semester were filled with a lot of adventures, fantastic decisions. terrible decisions, new friends, drama, and fresh starts, one thing remained fairly consistent: Kat and Sam were not typically far apart. With the exception of their very different classes, you could almost always find one if you found the other.At the end of October '22, Sam asked Kat to be his girlfriend, and while I wish I could say the rest was history... it most certainly was not...

Between October of '22 and the day Sam proposed, (November 25th of '23) the two tackled a 12 hour break-up, 9 months and over 500 miles of long distance, a hand full of solo plane rides and long car drives, difficult family dynamics, and many, many adventures and challenges. The two were determined to make it work, challenges and all, however, which led to the proposal in November, at a beautiful park in St Louis, surrounded by colorful, falling leaves. Sam planned out a picnic, complete with coffee and readings from Kat's favorite Shakespeare play, Much Ado About Nothing.

A few months after the proposal, Sam made the move from WV to MO, thanks to the generosity of friends who opened their doors to him while he was on the hunt for a job, an apartment, and a new church home. Kat and Sam were officially married June 22nd in a private ceremony at Heritage Presbyterian Church, with only three people (including the Pastor) in attendance. This autumn, they want to celebrate their marriage and this new stage of life with their friends and family. And that, dear reader, is where we come to your part in our story. We hope you'll join us this September for a more traditional wedding ceremony followed by an outdoor reception! We look forward to sharing this day, and celebration with you!

Our Story

Photos

Kat and Tori first bonded over a shared passion for literature back in 2019. They have remained friends ever since, balancing long distance between Missouri, Ohio, and Michigan. This wedding is step one in their long term plan to have a shared house to spend family summers on the shores of North Carolina.

Tori Hall

Did you ever hear the tragedy of Noah Renfroe? I thought not. It's not a story the Groom would tell you. It's a Kat legend... 
Noah and Kat first crossed paths leading up to their freshman year at Cedarville University, they connected over a mutual love for Star Wars and Classical Literature. Sam and Noah connected months later over a mutual appreciation for Kat. Since the chaotic start of their freshman year however, Noah and Sam have become close friends, acting together both on-stage and around a D&D table, as well as discussing theology and encouraging each other in the faith.

Noah Renfroe

Kat first met Megan through a mutual friend in her junior year of High School. Through several difficult events they were able to offer support and encouragement to each other. Megan has been a great encouragement in the faith for Kat through mundane days and big questions alike. Though life has taken many twists and turns since, they remain commonly bonded over Christ, coffee, and sad pop songs.

Megan Hunsaker

Kat's best frienemy since birth, Abby's eye for style and penchant for telling it how she sees it has been invaluable in the planning process. Determined and passionate, she remains one of Kat's favorite people to bounce ideas off of or take a trip to the bookstore with.

Abby Poddo

Kat's littlest sister and favorite snuggle buddy. Elsie loves music and caring for all types of critters. She's been a huge support and encouragement throughout the wedding process and is always willing to lend a helping hand.

Elsie Poddo

Kat's first best friend, (at times confused as her twin) and Sam's favorite gym partner, Josh has been a sounding board for Kat since the beginning of the relationship. His friendship with Sam began last spring when he spent the night in Sam's dorm room on a trip to help Kat pack up her dorm.

Josh Poddo

Sam quickly gained the approval of his youngest brother-in-law to-be when the two bonded over the same favorite video game. (Breath of the Wild) Since then, Michael has been tagging along on adventures with the couple and enjoying all their middle-grade fantasy book recommendations.

Michael Poddo

Wedding Party

Q + A

This hotel is about a 16 minute drive from the venue. It's surrounded by restaurants and near a major highway.

Drury Inn & Suites St. Louis Southwest

This Hotel is 22 minutes from the venue.

Residence Inn St. Louis West County

This hotel is about 20 minutes from the venueThis hotel is about 20 minutes from the venue. It is surrounded by restaurants.

Drury Plaza Hotel St. Louis Chesterfield

Awesome local coffee shop nearby the venue.

La Finca Coffee

Delicious menu, locally sourced food, a variety of options, and incredibly cool atmosphere.

Kathryn + Samuel

Kathryn + Samuel

Travel

Drury Inn & Suites St. Louis Southwest

Residence Inn St. Louis West County

Drury Plaza Hotel St. Louis Chesterfield

La Finca Coffee

The Wolf Cafe