While Katitia Marietta and Michael Wade Smith recall their first meeting a little differently, one thing is certain: It was a speech and a conversation in the parking lot after that ultimately brought their worlds together.
In January 2023, Marietta, then a financial coordinator at Penn State, attended a university-sanctioned banquet at Hershey Lodge, a resort nearby. The banquet was to commemorate the life of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Smith delivered the keynote speech, connecting his own experiences with social justice, racial equality and inclusion as an Afro-Latino with King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. (Smith’s father is Black and his mother is Mexican American. )
Marietta was captivated. When Smith left the stage, she made her way to him with an introduction, praise and a lot of questions.
“Then later on, we happened to meet at the same time, leaving the event,” she said.
As Smith recalls it, however, he was followed to his car. “I think that she was already attracted to a tall drink of water and waited in the hallway for me to come out,” he said. As they walked to his car, she peppered him with questions.
The next day, she emailed him, writing that as she listened to his speech, “I was smiling as if I knew you personally.” He didn’t respond.
Three months later, Smith, a senior vice president for external affairs and chief of staff at Penn State, was organizing a Sunday night mixer at his home in State College, Pa., and remembered the woman who had “accosted” him, as he later joked, in the parking lot at Hershey Lodge. He extended an invitation.
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At the mixer, their conversation flowed naturally. There was a lot of laughter, touching and playful banter over who was better at Scrabble. They exchanged phone numbers and, two days later, started playing the game Words with Friends. “It was the most humbling assault on my ego of all time,” Smith said.
Marietta and Smith continued to text, where their conversations became intimate and deep and the laughter was plentiful.
For their first date, Smith took Marietta to Faccia Luna, an Italian restaurant in State College. The next day, they set off on a weekend trip to Asheville, N.C., and Marietta soon found herself spending less time at her home in Harrisburg, Pa. She officially moved into his place in State College in August 2024.
Smith became everything Marietta said she “needs, wants and more.” She, in turn, became his “ride or die,” as he put it. His nickname for her became “Bun” for “abundance”; his “Boo.” Smith became close with Marietta’s son from a previous marriage, and Fitz, his mini Bernedoodle, wasted no time switching allegiance.
Marietta, 39, is now a financial analyst at Penn State, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in leadership psychology. Before settling in Pennsylvania, Marietta, a military child of divorced parents, lived all over the country.
Smith, 37, was also raised by divorced parents, splitting his time between Goodland, Kan., and downtown Chicago. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature and American studies at the University of Kansas and obtained an M.B.A. in marketing and supply chain management from the business school. He also has an Ed.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. In 2022, he moved to Pennsylvania for his job at Penn State.
After months of discussing their future together, Smith decided that on their next trip to New York City, he would propose at the Divine Egypt exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with a ring inscribed with “Bun.”
“We both love Egypt and Africanist art and history,” he said. “Proposing under the eyes of the gods felt particularly auspicious.”
On Oct. 25, 2025, Smith got down on one knee in front of a statue of Amun and asked Marietta to marry him.
Wearing custom Nike Air Force 1 sneakers, the couple married in a private ceremony on July 11 at Hershey Gardens, with Marietta’s son as their only guest. Britney Walker, an officiant ordained by the American Marriage Ministries, officiated.
Smith finally responded to Marietta’s email after the wedding: “I see now that I never got back to you and this kind message. It does seem, though, that in the time since this message we’ve gotten married. So that’s great. My apologies for the delay.”
The post It Took Him Three Years (and Their Wedding) to Respond to Her Email appeared first on New York Times.
