*I have this “how we met” synopsis posted on our theknot.com site, but I love our story so stinkin’ much, I’m posting it here too. :)*
Long ago in a land far, far away… oh, wait, different story.
Two years ago, not so far away, in Chapel Hill, N.C. one reserved redhead and one bubbly brunette met over wine at a birthday celebration. The rest, as they say, is history.
Russ and I met two days before my 26th birthday in 2009. I had recently moved to Raleigh, N.C. from South Carolina and was thinking (read: moping about the fact that) I might not be having much of a celebration for my birthday, since I didn’t know very many people in my new state. But my superstar friend Jackie stepped in, waved her magic wand and put together a birthday outing that included my sister Rose, a few of Rose’s and my mutual friends and Jackie’s roommate Mary Beth. Thankfully, Mary Beth also decided to invite a couple of people: her good friends Rachael and Russ.
Russ and I the night we met, along with Rachael on the right
Russ and I met at a little place called West End Wine Bar on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, and over the course of the evening, we talked and danced (no laughs from the peanut gallery) and got to know one another. A few days later, Russ and I, along with several friends, got together at Jackie’s and Mary Beth’s house for some riveting rounds of trivia. According to some in attendance that evening, it became clear the redhead was smitten when the usually competitive Russ was allegedly seen feeding me answers. I will neither confirm nor deny whether this actually happened.
A first date was set, and I was rather impressed when Russ recommended one of my favorite places, Lime & Basil Vietnamese restaurant. It was probably over the course of devouring this tantalizingly delicious meal of Pho, more than anything, that we realized we shared so much in common — a love of Pho, for one thing; a love of travel; a love of learning, and, of course, a strangely similar sense of humor (read: both are easily amused). Russ continued to score high points with me on that first date, taking me to Top of the Hill for blueberry beer (with real blueberries bobbing up and down in the glass!!) and then to The Varsity theater to see The Hangover. That’s right, no classy flicks for us. Give us tigers, Mike Tyson, stolen babies and teeth pulling any day.
The Frozen Southerner 