There’s nothing quite like sharing something you love with the people you love. And in Atlanta, that something just might be… Waffle House. Of course, everyone in Atlanta knows that nothing hits quite like an All-Star Special or a classic waffle with a pile of chocolate chips on top (or a slice of pie… yes, a slice of off-menu pie! But shhh, you didn’t hear that from us)! But this couple took it one step further–they had the Waffle House Truck come to close out their perfect night: their wedding!
A Waffle House Love Story
Mackenzie and Sam Grippando met in college in 2018, while she was at Oglethorpe, and he was at Kennesaw. Their love story starts with a right swipe and a first date to Mackenzie’s favorite coffee shop: Rev Coffee Roasters. And after their second date to Ponce City Market ended, the pair just had to make it last longer. Naturally, they went where we all go when we don’t want to go home quite yet. Waffle House. Mackenzie Grippando says, “before taking me home we stopped at Waffle House to extend our date a little longer.”
And their Waffle House love story began. Mackenzie Grippando explains, “Oglethorpe University has two Waffle Houses within a 2 mile radius of campus so we always had an excuse to go when he was staying at my dorm. We ate a LOT of midnight waffles in those days.”
A Waffle House Proposal
The couple writes on their wedding website, “One night, Sam woke Mackenzie up from a couch nap and announced he was craving Waffle House and that they needed to leave immediately. His urgency was normal for the occasion– they take their Waffle House cravings very seriously.”
But instead of taking her to their usual, nearby Waffle House, they ended up at the “park that they had snuck out to once when she was still living at home (sorry mom). The night they snuck out, they spent hours talking about the future, their dreams, and both believed that was the moment they knew their fate was sealed.”
Flash forward five years, and this is where the Grippandos got engaged.
A Waffle House Wedding
The couple married on March 16th, 2024, and to close out their reception, they hired the Waffle House food truck, of course. Mackenzie Grippando says, “It was a hit and some of our traveling family had never heard the lore of the post-party Waffle House experience but were thrilled to participate with hats and everything. We couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate this next step in our lives!”
She adds, “[Sam] loves the hashbrown bowls and I’m an All Star girlie myself.”
We are sending so much love to the Grippandos, and wishing them the happiest of lives together, complete with as much Waffle House as they want!