We're getting married!

Charlie and Samantha met November 2, 2022. As the saying goes, the timing was right. Charlie, a Lexington native, lived in Chicago for about a decade and moved to Louisville during the Pandemic to be closer to family in Southern Indiana and Cincinnati. Samantha, a Louisville native, spent the previous decade transitioning from undergrad in Washington, D.C., to work opportunities in Seattle, and graduate school in Denver. She returned to Louisville the previous summer to be closer to family and to begin a doctoral program at Spalding University. Both were trying to “put themselves out there” the best way they knew how - dating apps. Truth be told, Charlie chickened out and canceled the first date. But Samantha wasn’t going to let him off the hook. She had a good feeling about this guy. So, while it wasn’t her usual style to put too much effort into a first date, she made sure they followed through the second time. She knew her instincts were right about this guy when he responded having made a reservation at Louvino, a Louisville staple in one of her favorite neighborhoods. When they sat down for their first meal together, they were nervous but the feeling was mutual that there was a spark. Despite her literally peeling off every speck of nail polish under the table and him accidentally using the serving ladle as his spoon, which he denies to this day, they enjoyed each other’s presence. They learned they both valued their families, listened to similar podcasts, obsessed over their dogs, and returned to Kentucky after years of “big city” life. After a second date (and a first kiss) at Mile Wide Brewing, and third date at Top Golf (where Samantha shockingly demolished Charlie at the Angry Birds game), the feelings continued to grow. Once Charlie’s Pyrenees Retriever, Bailey, hit it off with Samantha’s Australian Cattle Dog, Lola, it was a done deal. Charlie and Samantha have since built a life together, splitting holidays with families, camping with the Schaffers, attending UofL tailgates with the Strattons, moving into a home together, vacationing in Asheville, cheerleading one another’s successes, and supporting each other through professional stress, academic pressures, and personal loss. On August 30, 2024, Charlie proposed to Samantha in their living room with the assistance of Bailey, who donned a bandana that read, “Will you marry my dad?” Despite Samantha unintentionally spoiling multiple details surrounding the proposal, Charlie pulled off the surprise and gathered their families and some of their closest local friends back at Mile Wide, where they had their second date and first kiss, to ring in the start of their next chapter.

Charlie and Samantha plan to center their ceremony on what they value most: family. They plan to marry in an intimate ceremony at the 21c Museum Hotel in Louisville on July 26, 2025 with their immediate families present.