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Boston Globe

Between bylines and banter, a romance unfolds

'Kerri went for a laugh right out of the gate, and it absolutely crushed,' says her new husband, Sam Mintz, 32, of their March 15 ceremony at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem. The rest of their vows took a more serious turn. 'I brought it full circle,' says Kerriann, 31, who goes by Kerri. They promised to 'do the work,' to seek personal fulfillment and provide mutual support, to commit to authenticity and honesty in their marriage. Though they wrote their vows separately, their intentions closely aligned when read aloud for their 135 guests. Tears were shed. Advertisement Kerri and Sam married at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, liking that the museum "does great work and has so much history in it,' Kerri says. Solare Wedding Photography Before they exchanged vows, their officiant had referenced Kerri's dislike of the term 'my other half.' 'Why are you splitting yourself in half?' Kerri explains. 'You should be a whole person, and so should your partner.' After all, the 'whole person' is whom each had fallen in love with nearly a decade prior. In May 2015, both were starting roles at Kerri, then an undergrad at Boston University, was a second-summer intern. She'd become known for writing experiential features — including ranking every ride at the Barnstable County Fair. Advertisement Neither was searching for romance. Sam was focused on his first reporting job, Kerri was prepping for her senior year at BU. But soon, colleagues noticed some flirtatious banter exchanged from their face-to-face cubicles. Following a sizing mishap, Sam originally proposed with a diamond ring that had belonged to Kerri's grandmother. The ring that eventually made its way onto her finger had been designed by the couple and inspired by Princess Diana's diamond-framed sapphire engagement ring. Solare Wedding Photography The younger newsroom staff was friendly, frequenting happy hours after work. Kerri, a Sagamore native, volunteered her deep Cape knowledge as Sam got his bearings from his new Hyannis apartment. They drove to Provincetown one Saturday in July. Kerri tallied signs of 'friendship' versus 'something more,' throughout the afternoon — it rapidly tipped toward the former when Sam suggested splitting the lunch bill and asked if she'd pay for parking, since he had covered gas. Despite a parting hug, 'I was like, 'I guess I just misinterpreted this whole month. Clearly he just wants to be friends.'' On Monday — when Sam was off — Kerri found a letter on her desk. ('I thought I [was] getting fired for going on Facebook too much.') It was a handwritten note from Sam, confessing his interest in her and asking for a date — and 'if you don't feel the same way, just pretend like I never wrote this letter.' 'I get a lot of credit from people for that romantic gesture,' says Sam, who had the idea after Kerri had told him she loved handwritten mail. 'But I'd say 70 percent of it was being really nervous to ask Kerri out in person.' Their first date was days later at Advertisement While the proposal was not a total surprise — the two had plans to marry — Kerri surprised her betrothed with a watch that features the phases of the moon. On the back is an inscription, "To the moon and back" — a sentimental phrase for the couple. Solare Wedding Photography Future dates mixed work and play — they attended concerts at the Cape Cod Melody Tent, taking turns writing reviews for the paper for the following morning. It was after a Rick Springfield concert that Sam told Kerri he loved her for the first time. Related : While their evenings were filled with reporting and rapport, summer's end loomed. 'It definitely could have had really classic 'summer fling vibes' since there was such a specific location and time [for it to end],' says Sam. But neither wanted that. And after seeing David Sedaris — Kerri's favorite writer — at the Melody Tent, they agreed to try 'quasi-long distance' once the school year began. The following years brought similar crossroads — Sam began a reporting fellowship with environmental policy outlet E&E news in Washington, D.C., in November 2016, while Carrie explored a research opportunity with the Suffolk County House of Correction. They relied on 48-hour visits, once a month, via inexpensive Spirit Air flights. She moved to D.C. in April 2018, eventually deciding on Boston College for grad school and a career in social work. And in late spring of 2021, Sam joined her, moving into their first shared apartment in Coolidge Corner, where the couple currently resides. 'That's a theme in the last decade of our relationship,' says Kerri. 'Sam and I always making the choice to be together. ... we've had a lot of points where we've looked at our relationship and said, 'You're worth the work.'' The couple describes their wedding as a Jewish ceremony with Catholic traditions, representing Sam and Kerri's upbringings respectively. They walked down the aisle to 'Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis and exited to the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love." Solare Wedding Photography The milestone ushered in a foster-turned-family tabby named Smokey and talk of marriage. They felt settled in their careers — Kerri is an ICU Social Worker at Boston Children's Hospital, Sam is a founding editor of local news startup, Advertisement 'Our careers and living situation were in a good spot, and we could really have a wedding that we wanted to have, like [the one] that we had always envisioned,' says Kerri. Sam proposed at Ladies View, a scenic spot on the Ring of Kerry in Killarney, Ireland, where they were vacationing in fall of 2023. 'A ring for Kerri in the Ring of Kerry,' her subsequent Instagram post had said. The couple arranged for a Yyichud, a Jewish wedding tradition that allows the newlyweds a brief time in private after the ceremony. The couple remembers their 20-minutes fondly; they spent them eating appetizers and relishing the newness of being married. Solare Wedding Photography They chose the Guests flowed between three spaces for the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception. The couple arranged for the Their wedding coordinator Leslie Cregg-Hyder of Sam -gria before diving into stations for tacos and short ribs. The couple arranged for a Yyichud, a Jewish wedding tradition that allows the newlyweds a brief time alone after the ceremony. The couple spent their 20 minutes eating appetizers and relishing the newness of being married. Solare Wedding Photography Their favorite moments were too many to count — when Sam's grandfather's tallit that was draped over their shoulders during the ceremony, or when Sam's mom and dad performed Don Williams and Emmylou Harris's 'If I Needed You' during the speeches. Or when both sets of parents read the same prayer, Kerri's in English, Sam's in Hebrew, during what she deemed their 'Jew-ish' ceremony. Advertisement Both remember spying on their guests from the second floor balcony above the dance floor, before the reception began, waiting for their entrance song to play. '[It was] peeking out and seeing all of our favorite people in this room,' says Sam, 'and the anticipation that we're about to go start the biggest party of our lives.' Read more from , The Boston Globe's new weddings column. Rachel Kim Raczka is a writer and editor in Boston. She can be reached at