Late in 2020, neither Stephanie nor Austin thought they’d meet the love of their life in the midst of a global pandemic. But they met how most people meet these days, on a dating app! They’re thinking about sending a thank you card to Bumble, because without it they might have never crossed paths. Having grown up in Carrollton, Stephanie hadn’t even been to Fort Worth before they met. They both swiped right, Stephanie sent the first message, and the rest is history.


The setting for their first date—Norma’s Cafe, the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Austin waited inside while Stephanie ran late, of course. That didn’t keep them from having a good time though, so busy quoting The Other Guys to each other that before they knew it, they had to move their fun to Zolis. In the blink of an eye, six hours passed. And one sweet afternoon kiss later, the rest of their lives began.


Next up, it was Stephanie’s turn to trek across DFW, if only to make sure Austin’s favorite taco spots were up to scratch. (They were not.) Bowling was far more successful, despite neither of them hitting a score over 120. Austin made it official on December 6th, 2020—two weeks after their first date.


Their first trip was originally supposed to be a solo journey to Boston for Austin but he found himself suddenly lucky and blessed with a new travel partner. With Stephanie tagging along, they visited as many recommendations from friends as they could. Which mostly meant eating seafood til they were stuffed and seeing every piece of history Boston had to offer.


Since then, they’ve explored across the states, including New Mexico, Colorado, and New Orleans. Stephanie took Austin on his first trip out of the country to Cancun, Mexico. It’s safe to say they’ve met their perfect travel match considering last year, they saw the beautiful hills of Lake Como, Italy and even took the train up to Switzerland. Their list of places to visit grows longer practically everyday but they wouldn’t have it any other way.


They’ve built a wonderful life living together—just them and their house hippo Opal whom they adopted from the Fort Worth Humane Society. The future Vaughans can’t wait to celebrate their marriage with friends and family in Fort Worth in November 2025!