13 Unplanned Dates Turned Extraordinary Love Stories

We often wait for a romance like those in Hollywood movies — the kind that gives us butterflies in our stomachs, makes us sigh and laugh during a casual chat. And yes, real-life love can be just as magical as on the silver screen. Rest assured: many cinematic romances were inspired by true stories, complete with adorable dates and unforgettable moments.

• Met up for Greek food. In ten minutes, I had realized that I had never met anyone like her. Interesting, interested, smart as a whip, funny, and gorgeous. We ended up hanging out for the next six hours, just walking around, eventually going to her buddy’s shop, where I met her friends (who were all cool).
  The next date, we ended up hanging out for most of the night, and neither of us wanted to drive home, so we set up a hammock in a park and fell asleep. I still have a picture of her head poking out of the hammock the next morning with the sun rising behind her, making her smile glow even more. She even said that my chest was like a perfect pillow (which really meant a lot to me). © BlueComms / Reddit

• I took my now-wife to Steak ’n Shake for the first time, then drove her out in my truck to a cornfield in the middle of nowhere to see the stars and lightning bugs rising from the field. She’s an LA girl and had never seen so many stars or lightning bugs before. Seeing her face light up as I walked her to the field and she looked up at all those stars was the moment I fell deeply in love with her.
  Then a wave of lightning bugs emerged from the corn, and she gasped with this huge smile — I fell even harder. It was absolutely adorable. We went back to Steak ’n Shake for shakes afterward.
  I still take her to the darkest spots I can find to see the stars. Her face still lights up the moment she looks up. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my life — I end up staring at her more than the stars. © fireinvestigator113 / Reddit

• An all-day date. Back when I was in high school, I had a crush on this guy for a few months, and he finally asked me out. He texted me the night before and said, “Hey, I have rowing later in the day. Can we do a movie at like 10am?” I was totally fine with it, so that was our plan.
  He came, picked me up, and we saw the movie. Afterward, he looked at me and said he wanted to blow off the rest of his plans for the day and spend it with me. Our second activity was bowling, which I’m atrocious at. I told him this, and he said he was super good at bowling and maybe it would rub off on me. I joked that maybe I’d be lucky this time.
  So every time we took our turns, after his, he would make a BIG show of “wiping off” his body and “rolling” all of his luck into a ball and throwing it to me (it was actually the best I’ve ever bowled). From there, we went to dinner and then visited every dock around the lake where we live.
  On the final dock, we were skipping rocks when he kissed me — it was my first kiss, and I was literally shaking with excitement and nerves. It wasn’t anything SUPER special, but I’ll always remember it. © cvssies / Reddit

• My love and I were very poor one Christmas. She is a huge Walking Dead fan (this was back when Walking Dead was a very ’it’ show). So I bought a Walking Dead-themed gingerbread kit. We made an apocalyptic gingerbread house and zombie nativity. It was fun, and it was all we could afford that year. © Onepopcornman / Reddit

• I went on a date with a guy I’d met online—when we saw each other, right away we both knew it wasn’t going to work out. We were at dinner, and I said, “Hey, I’m not really feeling any sparks here, but I do really enjoy your company. You feel like going for a drive?” And he said he wasn’t either, but he enjoyed my company too.
  He grew up in the city, and I grew up in the country, so I knew some awesome spots, and he let me drive. We ended up driving 1.5 hours northwest to this gorgeous, clear pond—there’s no light pollution, and you’re surrounded by mountains and pine trees, so the sky over the pond kind of looks like a planetarium.
  It’s in rural Maine, so we have all kinds of wildlife. I keep camp chairs in my vehicle, so I grabbed a couple and a blanket from the truck and set us up nicely on the shore.
  We stayed there talking all night and watched the sunrise. It was really cool because there were like five different owls, two above our heads, just chatting so loudly for over two hours. There were loons too, and a deer drinking from the water only about 50 feet from us.
  We didn’t talk again after that day, but I’ll always cherish that as my favorite date experience. © frasierandchill / Reddit

• Our second year dating, we celebrated Valentine’s Day by staying in our PJs, buying a giant box of CT Crunch at Costco, and watching all the Star Wars movies. It was one of my favorite days. © jusejackie / Reddit

• The day I got proposed to. We had saved up to celebrate 6 years together and went on a trip to Hawaii. We wanted to go on our 4-year anniversary, but we couldn’t afford it whatsoever. He took me to the beach, and we had a picnic while watching the sunset and drinking out of coconuts.
  As time went on, and I was full of one too many lukewarm sandwiches, he rolled over to my towel and asked if I wanted to marry him. I said yes, and then we went out to a very nice restaurant and proceeded to eat 2 platters of seafood and shrimp cocktail, which is going to be served at our wedding because I am a Dyson around shrimp.
  Also, another cute date we went on was for my birthday last year, and he took me to see alligators, which are one of my favorite animals. I mentioned it like once, but he remembered. We even got to see baby ones! © latteamericanoxo / Reddit

• We walked around the zoo, it started to downpour, everyone left except us, and we kept on walking around, soaking wet. I told him how romantic it was that he shut down the whole zoo for our date. Loved him. It was super cute. © viking*****r / Reddit

• He knew I liked period costumes, so for our third date, he took me to an after-hours museum event, the theme of which was the Roaring 20s. For a few days before the event, we planned our costumes over text, and he showed lots of enthusiasm, even though I’m sure it was boring for him.
  I remember that he joked, “Well, you know what they say about the third date...costumes!” He took me to the roof, where we chatted and had drinks, and then he asked me to be exclusive. Afterward, we went inside and walked to a catwalk that was suspended over the main hall of the museum, and he asked me to dance.
  The following year, we had our engagement photos taken there, and the photographer asked him to dip me while on the catwalk, and he nearly passed out; for whatever reason, he had asked me to dance that night on the catwalk despite a profound terror of heights. © MarianneDashwood / Reddit

• He took me out for pie. I had a piece of the best-ever strawberry cream cheese pie. Fast-forward a couple of weeks, and I’m sitting at home the day after a minor surgery, recuperating. The doorbell rings, and at the door is someone from the restaurant with a whole strawberry cream cheese pie for me that my then-boyfriend (now husband) had ordered for me. © Manicknitter8 / Reddit

• It was hardly a date. We both just decided to meet in the city. We rode the tram and went to the Saturday Market. I don’t remember where we ate or how the date came to a close.
  I just remember her.
  She had that spark from the first moment; we both really laughed with each other and acted like we had known each other our whole lives, even though we were complete strangers hours beforehand. Never could plan something so perfect. © IWearBones138 / Reddit

• Soon after meeting him, I fractured my pelvis while exercising. I was really sad because I was on crutches and couldn’t do much, but it was summer, and I still wanted to go to the beach.
  He was really in shape, so he told me to meet him outside. He told me to follow him. So I crutched alongside him, and when I got to the hill, he picked me up like a princess and carried me down the hill.
  Then I crutched along longer, and we got to the sand. I couldn’t walk with crutches in the sand, so he picked me up and carried me to the water. I was medically cleared to swim, just not walk. It was so much fun.
  We broke up, but he was a super sweet guy. © KellynHeller / Reddit

• My first girlfriend and I had the classic relationship issue of always wanting the other to choose what we did, which usually resulted in lying in bed watching TV. She was particularly stressed the day I went to pick her up. I asked what she wanted to do, and she just annoyedly groaned at me and said, “Whatever you pick.”
  She was expecting our usual bickering and just going to watch TV, but no — I had a plan. I said, “OK, but you probably can’t wear those sandals.” She asked why, and I told her to open the glove box because we were going to Warped Tour to see those bands you love and I hate. Despite the music, it was still my favorite date because she was so happy. © DragonStangFlyer122 / Reddit

These stories prove that love can blossom at any moment, just like we see in romantic movies and fairy tales.