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This Chicago Couple's Love Story: Meeting - And Marrying - at Curling Club

By Justin Breen | November 2, 2015 6:12am | Updated on November 3, 2015 10:10am
 Sara and Adam Miller met and were married at the Chicago Curling Club.
Sara and Adam Miller met and were married at the Chicago Curling Club.
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DNAinfo/Justin Breen

NORTHBROOK — Sara and Adam Miller's love story comes straight out of Canada, except it happened in Chicago's suburbs.

The Albany Park couple met — and were married — at the Chicago Curling Club in Northbrook. By chance they were paired on the same curling team on Jan. 13, 2013. This past July 4, they wed in front of 175 family and friends, including more than a dozen fellow curlers.

Their ceremony featured a large arrow pointing down to the spot in the curling club's lobby where they first shook hands. Their wedding photographer, Chris Neseman, was their team captain for that fateful first meeting in 2013.

"I always say curling has been very good to me," said Sara Miller, who also has a job as the marketing manager at Bailey Edward Architecture Downtown because she met the founder, curling junkie Ellen Dickson, at the club.

 Sara and Adam Miller met and were married at the Chicago Curling Club.
Sara and Adam Miller met and were married at the Chicago Curling Club.
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Adam Miller

Curling is probably Canada's second most popular sport behind hockey, but there are only about 100 clubs in the United States, including three in the Chicago area. The sport features eight ends (similar to innings in baseball), in which each team tries to place 42-pound stones closest to the button (the center of a target) on the opposite end of the ice sheet.

Adam Miller, an English and theater teacher at Warren Township High School, was fascinated watching curling on television during the Winter Olympics, so he ventured to the club in October 2012 as part of its Learn to Curl program. Sara, whose parents are Canadian, also participated in the program because she wanted to learn the sport.

"But, also, at the time I was single, and I was kind of like, maybe I'll meet someone there," she said.

They did not have an instant connection, but were friends for a few months before starting to seriously date.

"She was very against it at first," Adam said, laughing.

Curling has become a huge part of their lives. Adam is in three leagues; Sara is in a pair. This month, they're traveling to a tournament in Arizona. Last year, Sara even tried out for the Israeli National Curling team.

"Both Adam and I are pretty competitive," Sara said. "It’s nice to have a sport you can play with your significant other."

Adam and Sara stressed that others should try curling. The club's next Learn to Curl event is Nov. 14.

"I always tell my students to not be afraid to be a little wacky," Adam said. "I tried this wacky sport and was fortunate enough to find someone who shares the same sense of silliness I do. So don't be shy about trying something a little off the wall. You never know what might come of it."

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