By Hannah Barricks
Photos courtesy of Kathryn and Scott Bennett
When Kathryn Bennett first came to Fort Worth, she was searching for opportunity. Fresh out of college during the height of the 2009 recession, she moved from Florida to Fort Worth, drawn by family ties and the promise of a booming job market. She quickly accepted a position in Sundance Square, where she spent eight formative years working downtown — through Super Bowl crowds, ice storms and the area’s steady transformation.
For Scott Bennett, Fort Worth was never a stopover. Raised in Cleburne, he grew up visiting the city with his family, then stayed for college at TCU and never quite let go. “It’s the biggest small town in the world,” he says — large enough to grow, small enough to feel known.
They met through a mutual friend from church named Mary, but what followed wasn’t immediate romance. Instead, there were Ginger Man nights, group hangouts, and what Kathryn later recognized as dates in disguise.
“Looking back, it was obvious,” she laughs. “Everyone would bail at the last minute but us!”
Scott caught on early, however, and wasn’t mad at their meddling. One evening, while he and Kathryn were once again with friends, this time at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden during its “Concerts in the Garden” series, he leaned over to his roommate and quietly admitted that he was interested in Kathryn. Still, he waited to make his move, and a friendship developed between them.
As the two became a pair, they came to lean on each other, and on one particularly windy day, Scott white-knuckled his way through an IKEA run to Frisco with a borrowed van.
“I was basically looking for any excuse to spend time with her,” Scott laughs, cringing at the memory.
His efforts would pay off, however. The turning point came far from Texas. While on a ski trip in Colorado, Kathryn had a dream where Scott kissed her.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” she says. And while slightly surprised, once she was back home, Kathryn confessed the dream to their friend, Mary, who smiled and replied, “What if I told you Scott’s felt that way for a long time?”
Their first official date followed soon after: a Dallas Stars game, tickets offered casually but accepted with intention. Scott remembers asking, mid-conversation, if it was OK to call it a date. Kathryn said yes.
From there, everything moved easily. The couple dated for a year, became engaged the following February and married six months later, on Aug. 17, 2013, a number that doubles as Fort Worth’s area code.
“A true 817 love story,” Kathryn laughs.
They were married at Robert Carr Chapel at TCU, followed by a reception at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center. By 8 p.m., the party had wrapped — classic Fort Worth efficiency.
Today, the Bennetts live on the city’s west side, near Benbrook, raising two children — Harrison, 7, and Maggie, 3. Their days are busy and ordinary in the best way: school drop-offs, birthday parties, familiar restaurants and church on weekends.
“We’re a go-home, eat, sleep, repeat family,” Kathryn says.
And in a city that values roots and rhythm, that feels exactly right.