Community Corner

Salem Love Stories

Our readers share tales of love in the Witch City in the spirit of Valentine's Day.

In the name of the season of love, we asked Salemites to share their Salem love stories.

We received some romantic responses on Facebook and some great stories from two couples in the Patch Family.

Here are two Salem love stories — One from blogger Sarah Zimman and another from Lynnfield Patch Editor Bill Laforme.

Sarah and Dennis (a.ka. Delvis or "D")

How They Met

Sarah: Dennis and I met eight years ago in Salem at what was then the Edgewater Cafe Restaurant (It is now the ). He was playing a gig with a band at that time singing a song he wrote — "I Can Get Any Girl I Want." I thought the song was funny and that he was a little full of himself, but I noticed he had a beautiful voice.

Later that night, he came over to ask me to dance while our friend's band was performing. I teased him about the song and told him he had a nice voice. We saw each other out and about in Salem throughout the next five years at gigs or parties, and became friends. I was out of commission for a while due to my first hip surgery and didn't see Dennis for probably a year.

Randomly, I got an email from him saying, "Hi, haven't seen you in a long time — hope all is well." We wrote a few emails back and forth and then he asked me if I wanted to meet him for coffee. We met up at in Salem and had a really nice time talking and really getting to know one another besides just a few words to each other when we were out and about. We have been together every since.

Proposal

Sarah: On our three-year anniversary, D wanted to take me out to dinner. He said it was going to be a surprise. He made me close my eyes in the car so I wouldn't see where we were going. He took me to the Adriatic, a restaurant I had been wanting to go to as well as the actual building where we first met.

We spent the dinner reminiscing about our relationship and started talking about when we first met. He then said he needed to go to the car. I was like "why do you need to go the car? It's cold out." He stood, flustered. Eventually, he said, "I wanted to get my guitar." My reaction? "Huh?" He then said "forget that idea, I am going to do this a cappella," and pulled out a piece of paper with lyrics. He started to sing the song I heard when I first met him eight years earlier ("I Can Get any Girl I Want"), but this time with different lyrics which ended with in a beautiful Delvis singing/rhyming way asking me to marry him, and then he pulled out the ring. It was the happiest moment of my life. We then spent the night sharing the good news with our family and friends. I now feel bad I didn't let him go get the guitar. I guess he told the people at the Adriatic he was going to do it and asked permission (my bad). We have been in cloud nine love LaLa land ever since. But, then again, that's how we have been all along.

Tasney and Bill (Lynnfield Patch Editor)

Proposal

Bill: In November, Tasney and I picked out her engagement ring and then basically agreed that some time in the next month or so, we would have a traditional proposal at some nice place. But of course I couldn't wait, and that night we ate dinner near the wharf and lighthouse on the Salem waterfront. That wharf was already significant to us because we went out for a walk there on one of our first dates, so then I tried to casually suggest a walk out there and once we got out there I did the down on one knee old fashioned proposal thing… Looking back, I was a bit clumsy about it and the scene was made a bit more comical by taking place on this cold and windy late November evening.

Other Salem Love Stories from Facebook

Last week, we asked our readers and Facebook readers If they had any Salem love stories. Here are some of the highlights we received from our Facebook Page:

Brendan Flynn: I fell in love with the city of Salem.

Heather Schlittler-Reed: I got married in Salem :)

Ericka Ayube: My husband took me out to dinner at Asahi and then proposed to me down at the Friendship in 2008.... where we had our first date. :)

Meg Stott Riccardi: Met when neighbors on Mason Street....Proposed to at the Grapevine restaurant....had our wedding ceremony on the Friendship, reception at the Lyceum.... Live in Salem, Daughter was born last year. Love Salem

Mario Costa: I was at Gulu Gulu and there he was, staring at me from across the room. He was so tall and gorgeous, I knew he was the one for me. I love my man!

Thomas O'Brien Vallor: My wife was an English tourist who took one of my witchcraft tours in 2005. A few years later we got married in the Old Burying Point cemetery under the old oak tree.

Amanda Rae Timoney: Definitely fell in love with Salem! I had many amazing experiences there and met a couple great people!!!

Deborah Greel: After a not very good date with someone I met on Match, headed to the Lyceum and ran into a man I had known on a professional basis from my job. He was recently separated from his wife and we got to talking about transitions....A get together for dinner a few weeks later lead to great ongoing conversations and we've been together ever since. We've been married for 3 1/2 years and absolutely wouldn't live anywhere but Salem.


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