The date was June 1st, 2019. Sarah was single and living and working in Indy. Donnie was single and living in Orlando. A mutual friend, Sarah (Lehman) Wilson, invited Sarah to a party at the Indiana Vintage Wine Festival where some mutual friends would gather every year. It was a festival Sarah had always wanted to attend and finally was able to go to this year.

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Sarah was getting ready to travel to Disney World for the first time in almost 20 years with her brother, Mikey’s, family. While at the Wine Fest, Sarah Wilson pointed Donnie out to Sarah and suggested that she talk to him about Disney, being that he lived nearby and had previously worked there. Sarah, finding Donnie attractive, introduced herself and asked about Disney. From there, Donnie asked for Sarah’s phone number, saving it in his phone as “Sarah’s friend coming to Disney.”

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Throughout the festival, Sarah and Donnie had a good time with friends. At an after cookout, Sarah and Donnie bonded over a shared interest of games and physical activity by challenging each other in the game of KanJam (Sarah won, of course). After some fun outdoor games, a few others decided to head to Fountain Square for a late-night snack at Kuma’s Corner. It was at this point that Sarah and Donnie broke off from the group and went to Imbibe so that Sarah could whoop Donnie in another game: Ping Pong.

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At the end of the night, Sarah, who at this point was an independent woman, was taken aback by Donnie offering to get her an Uber back home. Sarah felt this was a very sweet gesture. Donnie walked Sarah to the Uber and noticed the car did not match the vehicle in the app, so he rode all the way back to her apartment where they continued to talk about life.

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Once they arrived at Sarah’s apartment, Donnie was a gentleman and hugged Sarah goodbye at the front door of the building. Sarah found out later that Donnie actually ran after the same Uber before it left and caught it back to where he was staying, on the opposite side of town. The next day, Donnie caught a flight back to Florida, and over the next few days there were some Facebook requests and DMs exchanged, until Donnie noticed Sarah was on the Marco Polo app, and sent her a video message. From there, Donnie and Sarah exchanged video messages almost daily, until Donnie invited Sarah down to Florida to “do Disney right!”

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Sarah was beyond excited about this trip, and it was on this trip in August of 2019 that Sarah and Donnie truly connected. He was able to meet Sarah’s grandmother, Mona, who lives in Florida, and Grandma immediately approved as she sensed the connection. After this trip, Donnie came to visit Sarah in Indy in September, and then Sarah returned for the family Disney trip in October, spending lots of time with Donnie exploring other parts of Orlando.

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In November of 2019, Donnie decided he would move back to the Midwest (his original home is Springfield, Ohio), to be closer to family (but also maybe to be closer to Sarah 😊). And the rest is history.

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After 5 years of dating, it was decided that Sarah and Donnie, already knowing they wanted to spend their lives together, would make it legal and official, which brings us to today, planning a celebration of their love and commitment with those closest to them.