What Happens in the 90-Minute Couple Interview

Every Love Dispatch package begins the same way: with the two of you, sitting down with me for 90 minutes, telling me your story.

I call it an “interview,” but that's not quite the right word. There's no checklist of questions we need to power through. No pressure to perform or say the right thing.

It's more like a conversation. One where I ask the questions, sure, but where you both get to do most of the talking.

I got into journalism because I loved hearing people’s stories, pondering them, and finding the thread that connects their words all together. Wedding journalism allows me to do just that, in a context of celebrating love in its infinitely unique forms.

How It Actually Works

I've been interviewing people for over ten years, first in newsrooms, then over Zoom, and now in cafes and over Google Meet. What I've learned is that the best conversations don't come from rigid question lists. They come from following the lede—a journalism term that essentially means the core story.

So that's what we do. I guide us naturally through the arc of your relationship, from how you met through where you are now, letting the conversation breathe and bend depending on what feels important to you. If you want to spend twenty minutes on your first trip together because that's when everything clicked, we spend twenty minutes there. If the proposal story is short and sweet, we don't drag it out.

I'm listening for the details that matter: the ones that make your story yours. The joke only you two understand. The moment one of you knew before the other. The thing your partner does that used to annoy you and now you can't imagine living without.

I know how to find those moments. I know how to ask the follow-up question that gets you past the surface-level answer and into the thing you didn't even realize you wanted to say until you said it.

What Couples Tell Me Afterward

A lot of couples find the interview surprisingly therapeutic. Not in a heavy way, but in a "when's the last time we actually sat down and talked about this stuff?" way.

You're busy. You're planning a wedding. You're fielding questions about centerpieces and seating charts. You probably haven't spent 90 uninterrupted minutes walking through your relationship's greatest hits in a while.

So when you do, it feels good. Couples tell me they leave the interview a little lighter, a little more connected, a little more excited about the person they're marrying. They've just spent an hour and a half remembering why they fell in love in the first place. It’s more common than not for my couples to tear up during our interviews (which jeopardizes my professionalism, because I’m a sympathy crier).

Honestly, the 90 minutes flies by. There's so much history, so much context, so many small moments that add up to the big picture of who you are together. By the time we wrap up, it always feels like we had just enough time to cover it all.

Why This Interview Matters

For my wedding coverage packages, the couple interview gives me everything I need to recognize your love story playing out in real time on your wedding day.

When your best man mentions the road trip where everything changed, I'll know what he's talking about. When your mom tears up during the father-daughter dance, I'll understand the weight of what she's feeling. When your partner looks at you a certain way during the vows, I'll catch it, because I'll know what that look means.

The interview turns me from an observer into someone who gets it. And that's what lets me write about your wedding the way it deserves to be written about.

For my interview-only pre- and post-wedding packages, these conversations help me understand what to highlight in your publication. What threads to pull. What moments your future selves will want to read about decades from now.

Questions I Might Ask

I don't follow a script. I interview purely on vibes. But depending on where the conversation takes us, here are a few open-ended questions that might come up:

• Tell me how you met.

• How did things progress from that first date onward?

• Describe your partner to me, in your own words.

• Tell me about the proposal.

• What are you most looking forward to about being married? (Or, if you're already married: What have you learned so far?)

Some of these you'll have answered a hundred times. But the way you answer them with me, in the flow of a real conversation, with your partner sitting right there, tends to bring out something different. You might surprise yourself and your partner with what comes to mind during our talks.

What You Need to Prepare

Nothing.

Seriously. Bring your rawest selves. Don't rehearse. Don't worry about saying the wrong thing or forgetting a date or telling the story "right."

There's no right way to tell your story. There's just your way.

I'll guide us onto the right plot points. All you have to do is show up and talk about the person you love. You've been doing that for years already. This is just the first time someone's going to write it all down.

A lot of couples tell me they come to me because they’re bad at talking about themselves, but want their story recorded anyway. What’s interesting about that is that during my interviews, the natural cadence and flow of our conversation brings forth words you might not have even known you had in you. (That’s just the magic of wedding journalism, bay-bee!)

I look forward to “interviewing” you soon!