by Lauren Mensch, Maid of Honor

Sarah and Kevin sat in a corner booth patiently waiting to be served their brunch at a noisy cafe in Sarah’s hometown. They sat side by side. Always close to one another and in tune with the other’s movements, sipping their iced coffees.

At first glance it would appear that Sarah and Kevin are already years into their marriage. They act as a unit and when the pushy waiter comes by to take their orders, they have an entire conversation with their eyes. However, the reality is that their love story is only just beginning -- full of fate, coincidence, and shenanigans.

In the world of romantic comedy, Sarah and Kevin’s romance would be described as a second-chance romance with a twist. They were first introduced on JSwipe, where their conversation quickly petered out as both of them were too busy to keep up with the texts. But clearly they were meant to be because they matched on Hinge a little while later and had their first date via Zoom shortly after.

“I almost didn’t go,” Sarah said when asked about the first date, “It was a Sunday, and I had drawn the short straw, so I had to go in to work. I was tired and I didn’t want to go on a first date with a stranger. But then I thought, ‘you know, I can always turn it off and pretend that I had a bad signal and ghost.’ I figured I had nothing to lose. Our date ended up lasting three hours and then we texted the whole night.”

Sarah and Kevin met for the first time in person a few days later, and both knew immediately that this was going to be a significant relationship.

Kevin felt even more certain, when his dog, Chloe, the world’s most anxious golden retriever-labrador mix, fell for Sarah too. A few weeks into their relationship, Kevin had some friends over and Sarah came to join them for dinner. When Sarah walked in the door Chloe, who often takes a while to warm up to new people, bolted over to her to beg for belly rubs. She curled up in Sarah’s lap for the rest of the evening. (Note: Chloe is not a lap dog).

After those first few dates, Sarah and Kevin continued to bond over their love of corny jokes, good food, and just general silliness. When Sarah finally asked Kevin if he loved her his response was, “Yes, you dumb stupid idiot. Obviously I’m in love with you.”

As the last drips of iced coffee were slurped down and plates were scraped clean, I asked Sarah and Kevin to describe their favorite thing about one another.

“My favorite thing about Kevin is the lengths that he will go to make me happy,” Sarah said, “There was a while when he used to look at me and say, ‘on a scale of 1-10, how badly do you need ice cream?’ and if I needed ice cream he made sure I had it.”

Kevin replied with, “My favorite thing about Sarah is the enjoyment that she gets from life and being goofy, her silliness, and the fact that she is basically always down for tomfoolery and shenanigans.”

They are so excited for the wedding and cannot wait to see everyone there!

Q + A

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