Wedded Bliss Begins with KC Ballet Season Tickets

It was the summer of 2006 when Mark Grunewald began his love affair with Kansas City. The mortgage banker from Minnesota visited the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art while staying at the historic Hotel Phillips, downtown. While he was there he picked up a brochure for Kansas City Ballet's 2006-07 season.

Mark was enjoying his visit and, intrigued by the brochure, decided to plan another trip to Kansas City in the fall to see the Ballet's performance of Twyla Tharp's Deuce Coupe. But when he called to order tickets, the box office agent talked him into buying two tickets to the entire season-three shows in all.

Mark thought it would be fun to road trip and expected to find fellow Minnesotans willing to make the trek with him. But, none of his friends bit at the offer.

Undeterred, Mark placed a listing on the Kansas City page of Craigslist. He simply asked for companionship to dinner at Phillips ChopHouse followed by the Ballet's performance of Deuce Coupe on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2006.

He received several replies, but the one he received from Jill McLaughlin that day struck a chord with him.

Jill had just moved back to the Midwest to be closer to her family. So far she didn't know anyone in Kansas City who enjoyed arts events the way she did. When she read Mark's posting she thought, "What the heck? He sounds normal and I’ll probably never see him again."

On the Friday night before the show, Mark had plans to eat dinner with some relatives in Topeka. But, as he made the drive down, he received a call that dinner would have to be rescheduled.

"I didn't know anyone else in town, so I decided to call Jill to see if she'd want to meet for dinner a day early," Mark remembers.

The two met for an informal dinner at Hotel Phillips and quickly noticed a chemistry. "We both were attracted, and a little nervous and anxious," Mark recalls. "But there was also a comfort that was there-an easiness to being together."

"I think it's important to note that even before we met, Mark was smitten with Kansas City.," Jill adds. “He was pleasantly surprised and really drawn to explore the city.”

"I told Jill, 'Everyone in Kansas City loves me. Everywhere I go I have a delightful time,'" Mark says.

The following night, Mark and Jill ate at the ChopHouse at Hotel Phillips before heading to see the Ballet. "Deuce Coupe was fun and wonderful, and we loved it," Mark remarks. "It was everything that had attracted me to the Ballet's brochure-an amazing and beautiful ballet and great reason to come to town."

"We became a couple that weekend. No question," says Jill. "What followed were daily phone calls and every couple of weeks one of us drove the seven hours to see the other."

By the last show of the Ballet's season in May, Mark and Jill had decided that they should be in the same city and Jill was packing for her move to Minnesota. In April 2008 the couple became engaged. They married on Sept. 19, 2008 at Powell Gardens, staying several nights at Hotel Phillips after the wedding.

"It was important for us to get married in Kansas City. It's where we met," says Jill.

"I still can't believe it," Jill exclaims. "I am married to the guy I met on Craigslist. It's crazy! What are the odds?"

Mark Grunewald is a mortgage banker and Jill (McLaughlin) Grunewald is a certified holistic health counselor and wellness writer and works for a nonprofit that certifies farms and ranches for sustainable agricultural practices. They live in Minneapolis, Minn.

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