Campus Love Stories

Happy Valentine's Day, Sooners!  In honor of this truly lovely holiday, I give you a post chock-full of campus love stories.  From couples who met on campus, to couples engaged on campus and even couples who married on campus, OU has been home to many-a-romantic encounter.


David and Lea Ann Quirk

Lea Ann and David ('92 Journalism)

David and Lea Ann Quirk met while both working for OU.  They dated for 10 months before getting engaged.  They got engaged right before Christmas.  Because they would be apart for the holidays, they decided to celebrate Christmas together on the evening of December 23, 2006.  David decided this would be the night he would propose.  At the time, he was working for the Gaylord Family of Journalism and Mass Communication in their brand new building, which features a large news ticker screen on the outside that runs news headlines 24 hours a day.  After dinner in Oklahoma City that evening, David told Lea Ann that he needed to stop by his office to pick up something before continuing on with their evening. When they stopped at his office, David's friends had set up the news ticker on his building to scroll "Lea Ann Fannin, will you marry me?" David dropped to one knee and took the ring out of his pocket and asked Lea Ann to be his wife. She didn't keep him waiting and said yes right away!


JP and Ally Audas

Ally ('98 Education) and JP ('87 Business and '98 Master of Human Relations)

JP and Ally decided to have their wedding on campus to celebrate their love for all things Sooner.  On May 14th, 1994 at the Gimeno Garden-just outside the Price College of Business, they tied the knot in front of a small group of friends and family.  JP even sported a crimson and cream tie!


Christopher and Amy Beaudoin

Christopher ('05 Health and Sport Sciences), Amy ('05 Journalism) and their future Sooner!

Amy writes:  "Christopher Beaudoin and I met during Homecoming Week of our sophomore year at OU.  Our fraternity and sorority houses were partnering in the week's competitions to "win homecoming."  I guess you could say he had me at "five, six, seven, eight..." because I first saw him in a dance  competition and was struck by his dancing moves!  We hit it off very quickly and made a good friendship, but it wasn't until a year or so later that we went out on a date (he was shy and I was actually with someone else when we met!).  We both knew of the Spoonholder myth and had to give it a try on our one-year anniversary.  We dated for three years and he proposed on my 25th birthday by leading me on a scavenger hunt all over OU's campus.  On the day of my birthday, I came home to find a note and a rose on my bed asking me to go to the place we first met (the OU Fieldhouse).  From there, I received another rose and a note to head to the clock tower where a gift will be waiting.  At the clock tower was another rose, another note and a ring box (empty...of course).  It instructed me to head to the place where we first declared our love and places for marriage.  So, I kicked off my shoes and ran to the Spoonholder, where I found Chris, on one knee with a ring and another rose.  We will celebrate our six-year anniversary this June and we have a beautiful baby boy who will turn two in June (big month!)."

Speaking of the Spoonholder...

Students on the University Spoonholder, 1950s

Perhaps no place on campus has more significance to love than the Spoonholder.  One of the oldest monuments on campus, the Spoonholder was a gift from the Class of '10....as in 1910.  A traditional fixture of the North Oval, brought back to campus in the late 1990's, this setting holds memories for many.

One Saturday night in 1909, juniors - the Class of 1910, spent the night excavating and pouring concrete to construct this monument.  The builders then had to stand guard for 24 hours to ensure the cement had completely hardened and to keep other students from demolishing their work.  It is a big part of campus life-especially night life, which is how it got the name Spoonholder.  It held spooners...or so I am told.

Today, Spoonholder lore maintains that if you kiss someone while inside, you are destined to be married!  It has also proved to be the perfect place for a proposal or engagement photo shoot.  See here, here or here for some more examples of this!

Everyone has a love story, what's yours?  We'd love to hear it.  Leave us a comment below!

And it's not too late to enter for your chance to win some awesome Sooner swag in the I {Heart} OU Alumni Giveaway!  Click here for more details!  Contest ends tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. CST so don't miss out!