A Wisconsin couple who met in line at McDonald’s celebrate their 27th anniversary at the same fast food joint
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A Wisconsin couple who met in line at a McDonald’s, while ordering a Quarter Pounder with cheese and fries, celebrated their 27th anniversary at the same restaurant.
Cindi and Mark Franceschina first caught sight of each other at the McDonald’s on Green Bay Road in Racine on February 9, 1996. Mark, who was 25 at the time, said he was in love with Cindi’s dark hair and smile as the two they lined up.
After she got her order and ran out the door, Mark followed her to where she was parked, eating her lunch. In that moment, he mustered up the courage to ask her out of her, and three years later, they were married.
Each year, the couple spend their anniversary lunch at the same McDonald’s, sharing fast food as they celebrate decades of wedded bliss. They even offered a Happy Meal at their wedding in 1999.
The couple, who share three children, manage to pull it off, even if they have to divert to drive-thru, as they did during the pandemic.
Earlier this month, the couple were feted by McDonald’s, who decorated a table just for them with 27 long-stemmed roses and provided them with candy and their favorite food.
The couple, Cindi and Mark Franceschina, meet at McDonald’s, located in Racine, for their anniversary lunch at noon on February 9. This year, McDonald’s even gave the lovebirds a table with a red tablecloth, red roses, and candy.
The couple, who act like newlyweds more than an elderly couple, were as stunned as ever when Mark presented his love with a bouquet of flowers and a big mac at the house and talked about how in love he was when he He met.
The couple enjoyed their quarter pounder of cheese with fries and a soft drink as they celebrated 27 years of wedded bliss.
Rain or shine, the couple manage to meet at noon on February 9, no excuse.
‘There were years where I was like ‘Oh, I better show up. If she forgets! But we never have,” Cindi said. “Without fail, the two of us would always show up and have lunch without reminding each other of anything.”
The couple, who act like newlyweds rather than an elderly couple, were as stunned as ever when Mark handed his love a bouquet of flowers before sitting down to their anniversary meal.
They got married on May 30, 1999, and McDonald’s even made an appearance at their wedding ceremony.
Paying homage to the place where they met, the pastor at the altar used the Happy Meal anecdote to explain how they had spent the rest of their lives keeping each other happy.
Cindi told DailyMail.com that when the pastor talked about all the fun they would have in their relationship, Mark brought out a stuffed animal, which was inside the Happy Meal, which she still has to this day.
Mark had just moved to Wisconsin from Pennsylvania a few weeks before their first meeting. The lovebirds found themselves ordering McDonald’s for lunch just one day after his birthday.
Cindi jokingly told DailyMail.com: “I always joke that I was the best gift she ever got.”
cindy told CBS 58 that although his orders may change over the years, their love for each other hasn’t and continues to grow stronger.
The happy couple, photographed after years of marriage. They have made it a tradition to always return to the same McDonald’s to celebrate the first day they looked into each other’s eyes.
The McDonald’s on Green Bay Road in Racine, Wisconsin.
The couple, who act like newlyweds rather than an elderly couple, were as stunned as ever when Mark handed his love a bouquet of flowers before sitting down to their anniversary meal.
Mark and Cindi in a family photo. The couple have been married for 27 years.
Mark repeated the story of how he met his blushing girlfriend.
He said that Cindi was standing in line next to him on February 9, 1996, and he was instantly smitten with her beauty.
Cindi said she normally stops by the drive-thru, but remembered that the line stretched for miles and decided to go in and order her food in person. In the same line, also waiting to place an order, was Mark.
He recalled: ‘She said ‘Hello’ and then followed the greeting with a smile.
“I was like ‘man… wow… she’s beautiful,'” Mark said, “I need to talk to her.”
Cindi finally left the restaurant and Mark grabbed her order and followed her. He was determined to see her again.
‘Wherever she goes, I’ll follow her,’ he said. ‘I don’t care if she goes to Chicago, Milwaukee. Wherever she stops, I just have to stop and talk to her.
The couple were married three years after first meeting in line at McDonald’s.
Cindi laughed: ‘Some people swipe right. We only went to buy fast food’
Images from their wedding day in the 1990s
Mark finally caught up with Cindi, who was sitting in her parked car eating her Quarter Pounder and fries at a car wash. He moved closer to her surprising her, at first.
“I hadn’t seen him stop,” Cindi recalled. ‘I was like ‘Oh my gosh, this guy. Serial killer? I don’t know. The amazing line from him, the first words he said to me were ‘Hi, do you remember me?’
He ended by asking her if she would like to ‘go out sometime’.
Cindi wasn’t sure if Mark was kidding and when they both found out they had never done anything like this, they laughed and exchanged numbers.
Mark joked that Cindi called him that night. He laughed, ‘She couldn’t wait.’
The rest is history.
Cindi laughed: ‘Some people swipe right. We only went to buy fast food.
Mark added: “The older we get, the more we laugh, the more fun we have.”
They hope their love story will help inspire others.
‘Commitment works. Relationships work if you work at it,’ said Mark. ‘If you put in the effort and choose to make it work.’