Our Love Story
how date nite began
Hi there, I’m Kate.
Well, Kevin calls me Kate—so let’s start there. Most people call me SK, short for Sara Kate. When I first connected with Kevin, I gave him the rundown of all the names people use: Sara Kate, SK, Katie, Sara, and Kate. I mentioned that I don’t love "Sara" and that only my dad called me Kate. It was in that moment Kevin chose Kate.
The ironic part? I always knew my person would call me Kate.
So here we are: Kevin & Kate.
I won’t bore you with all the details of our story—just the good ones.
It was March 2020, about ten days into lockdown. I figured if I was going to be stuck at home, I might as well find a pen pal. Little did I know, that search would lead me to a husband.
Kevin would say it was love at first swipe. I’d say I took “all kinds of convincing”—but that’s not exactly true. During our first FaceTime call, I took a screenshot mid-conversation and posted it to my Instagram story with the caption:
“I have some kind of feeling about this one.”
I knew it, too.
At first, we were hesitant to meet in person—everything in the world felt uncertain. I didn’t feel comfortable going to someone’s home I didn’t know, and as an essential worker, Kevin wasn’t sure if crossing into North Carolina would affect him being allowed back into Tennessee. But after a 7-hour FaceTime that night, we changed our minds.
We talked and laughed like we’d always known each other. When 4 a.m. rolled around, we knew we had to meet.
A few hours later, we picked a spot: a rest stop in the middle of nowhere in East Tennessee. Not his home (which felt safe for me) and still in Tennessee (which worked for him). Kevin says the moment I stepped out of the car, he knew he was going to marry me. Then he looked at me and said, “Get over here and kiss me.”
So I did. And that was it. Green light go from hello—we never looked back.
Six months later, I moved to Knoxville. The following June, we were married. I was 41 when we met and 42 when we tied the knot. I had waited years, wondering who my person would be, but I never worried. I always knew the timing would be right. And it wasn’t just right—it was perfect. Divine, even.
Creating a beautiful home life together has always been important to us—something cozy, vibey, and functional. From the very beginning, we cooked most of our meals at home. Grocery shopping together became a weekly ritual—our only outing for a while. We’d plan our dinners, build our grocery list, and get creative with what we already had on hand.
Most nights we ate at the living room coffee table, but every once in a while, we’d sit at our drop-leaf dining table. Every time we did, Kevin would say, “We need to do this more often.” Sitting down together made our time feel more intentional. Our conversations went deeper. Everything felt more meaningful. So we made it a thing.
Wednesday nights became our Date Nite.
Midweek felt like the perfect pause button—something to look forward to that didn’t compete with weekend plans. And if something came up? We’d just pivot to Tuesday or Thursday. But the point remained: we committed to each other at the table every single week.
That’s where Date Nite was born—from a quiet, consistent ritual that became the heartbeat of our week.
It’s something we think the world needs more of, too.
More pauses from the hustle.
More intentional time together.
More deeply rooted conversations about hopes, fears, dreams, and tears.
And of course—more love.
