Where Charlotte couples say they met their spouses

Zoom in: We decided to lean on the couples who've made it past the dating phase to share where it all began. Their love stories might offer a few fresh ideas on where you could find your life partner.

Here's what they said:

Editor's note: Responses were edited for brevity.

"My husband and I had a brief encounter at a coffee shop he owned called South End Grind. Five years later, we matched on Bumble and met in South End at Eight and Sand for our first date. 2 weeks later, we had a weekend away in Boone, and 1.5 years after that, we got married in the Italian mountains. And today we are raising our beautiful baby girl." — Christina G.

"My husband, Mike, was my seat partner on a flight. Lucky him, he got this chatty Kathy for 14 hours!" — Kate M.

"We were working at Carowinds when we met!" — Stan and Donna R.

"At her father's funeral. It sounds creepy, but it was actually goofy and hilarious. We were married 9 months later, and that was 25 years ago. —Bruce J.

"I met my husband at Cosmos Cafe in 2007. A lot of readers might be too young to remember Cosmos. I think it's a Jimmy John's now. (😭)" — Angel W.

"I met my wife in the mid-eighties at the old Cellar on Morehead Street. We both worked for IBM at the time, and it was a promotion party for my wife and a few co-workers. I didn't really know her, but she caught my eye. I went over to congratulate her on her promotion, to which she quickly called me a pompous ass and turned around and quickly walked away. I did not know what that meant, but I could tell it wasn't good. I thought to myself that I would make her pay for that remark. We will be celebrating our 38th wedding anniversary this year! I should mention that she is a native Charlottean, and I was raised outside of Boston. Perhaps she misunderstood my Yankee charm." — Mark S.

"My husband and I met on Match.com (a website — not an app!) in 2011. We were never 'matched'. My now husband found me by searching with two criteria: college-educated and within 5 miles of 28202. Good thing I lived right outside of Uptown — he didn't want to commute! First date was the Starbucks in Myers Park. We do a Starbucks date every year on the day!" —Laura-Nelle H.

"I met my husband, Paul, in 2010 at the Target in Blakeney. We were both employees of Target at the time, and we met while working at that store. He was actually my boss! It ended up being a successful office love story; we've been together 15 years." — Jillian W.

"My friend asked if I wanted to join her at a picnic in Uptown on The Green. Well, we got there and saw across the street hundreds of firefighters gathered at the Duke Energy (now Wells Fargo) tower for the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb. We ran into someone we knew, who ultimately introduced me to my future husband that day. We spent the afternoon getting to know each other, surrounded by friends and hundreds of firefighters, all over Uptown during the after-climb bar crawl. We're celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary this year.😊" — Sarah H.

"I joined the Mint Museum's Young Affiliates of the Mint to start building my network in a new city. I served as the event chair for the YAMs annual Derby Day fundraiser at the Mint Museum, where I happened to meet my future husband, Will. He was also new to Charlotte and had joined the YAMs after his financial advisor encouraged him to get involved, saying that's where he had met his own wife. Will and I hit it off right away, and what started as a chance meeting quickly turned into something much more. A few years later, we came full circle, getting engaged and married at the Mint Museum in the very spot where we first met. Charlotte, and the Mint Museum community in particular, will always hold a special place in our story." — Katie H.

"My husband and I met on a ski lift at Sugar Mountain about 14 years ago! We shared a love of snowboarding, and not long after that, we moved out to Colorado for 5 years. We moved back to Charlotte to be closer to family about 9 years ago." — Amy S.

"It was January 2018, the last time Charlotte saw real snow before this year. We both worked in finance at the same company but had never met. Thanks to a snowstorm, some canceled clients, and the magic of corporate networking, my brother invited me to a Hornets game, and his coworker invited my now-husband. We met first at Roosters, then ended up in the company suite at the game, along with a group of vendors from China, where we were informed that our job for the night was to "make sure our suppliers had a good time." Turns out, a "good time" meant Jack Daniel's, Whiskey River, and karaoke at Tin Roof, where their song of choice was, naturally, Josh Groban. The night ended, and he didn't ask for my number. Luckily, we worked together and knew how to find each other. Fast forward: almost five years of marriage later, and we're expecting our first baby. All because of a snowstorm, some whiskey, and Josh Groban." — Jennifer K.

"My hubs of 20 years (Fred) and I met at the Visulite Theatre while watching Jake Delhomme lead the Panthers in their first Super Bowl bid in 2003. Bonus!!, Fred's brother, Ed (yes, their names rhyme), met his wife, Ginger, there the same night; she was one of my wing girl buddies!! The Visulite served no food, so when Ginger (now my sister-in-law of 20 years) mentioned that she was hungry, the boys went across the street to the Burger King and brought us all back Whoppers (even one for my other wing girl, Caroline!). Their acts of kindness, brotherly love and excellent sense of humor swept us both off our feet, and we have enjoyed being married to these boys and raising our families for 2 decades. We occasionally call each other on Super Bowl night to reminisce and bask in the efficiency of that one evening!" —Catherine M.

"I was at church and looked up to see this gentleman there that I had never seen before. As soon as I saw him (we hadn't made eye contact yet), the Holy Spirit spoke again and said, 'That's him.' I brushed it off as though I was just hearing things. After about 9 months of friendship, we attended a gala together, and that evening we talked in the parking lot after the gala for a few hours, then left and got on the phone all night. We dated for 8 months, then got engaged for 5 months after he got on stage and sang his proposal at a local jazz restaurant. 18 years later, we are married with 3 children. God is good!" — Christal R.

The bottom line: In Charlotte, love has a way of showing up when and where you least expect it.