For Valentine’s Day 2024, we made a map of local places where our readers have made memories.
We asked for your help compiling everything from proposals to making friends. You did not disappoint.
Explore these local love stories by clicking on the hearts, but there are just a few love stories that we just had to share:
- “My husband, John, and I met in Bangkok, Thailand, when we were both working there with the same organization. Shortly after we met, I moved to a different city in Thailand to work, and we started writing letters. When I came back to the US, John was already working in Chicago (he’s from the Midwest), but decided to move to Columbia, which is my hometown, to continue dating me so that I could stay close to my family. We got married in 2004, so this year we will celebrate 20 years of marriage and 20 years of being in Columbia together!” – Anonymous reader
- “On our first Valentine’s Day together in 2015, my husband and I put a love lock on the fence of the Lake Murray Dam. We’ve since made it a tradition to add a new lock every year on Valentine’s Day. This year, we’ll add our 10th lock!” – Anonymous reader
- “My husband proposed to me on December 8th, 2018. It was a rainy night, so we were a couple of the few who ventured out. We took our time taking in the lights and even wrote letters to Santa. We got to a tree in front of what was the Elephant exhibit at the time. The lights had a twinkle effect. I asked for the map and he handed me a letter from the Letters to Santa table asking me to marry him. When I looked up from the letter there he was with the ring! We already loved Riverbanks Zoo, but it’s even more special to us now!” – Anonymous reader
- My husband and I had our first date at Villa Tronco when he was a student and the University of South Carolina and I was a student at Columbia College in September 2014. We recently celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary by having dinner at Villa Tronco again! – Anonymous reader
Now we’re really feeling the love.
