When Peyton Curlee met Greg Gerstenecker through mutual friends during the 2004 baseball season, she struck up a conversation about the Cardinals - whether they won that night’s game and were there any home runs.

“I thought he was attractive, so I tried to ‘Wow’ him with my sports knowledge,” Peyton said.

“She wouldn’t leave me alone,” Greg said, recalling their meeting. “She just continued to talk to me and just kept pestering me at the bar.”

But her persistence paid off.

“Finally, after I left the bar, I started thinking about her,” Greg said.

A week later, they ran into each other at a country festival, and, following that encounter, Greg called and asked her to go see the movie. They enjoyed the summer together, and, unlike many couples, did not have to part ways in the fall. Peyton had just finished college and Greg was in school in St. Louis.

A year and a half later, they both knew this was a serious relationship.

“We could see settling down with each other for the rest of our lives,” Peyton said.

So, Peyton was surprised, but not altogether shocked when, on New Year’s Eve 2006, Greg popped the question. Since her mid-December birthday, he’d been telling her he had another birthday present in mind. On Dec. 31, as they were getting ready to go out, he handed her tickets to see a concert featuring Billy Joel, one of her favorite performers.

“And there’s one more thing,” Greg said, just before he asked her to marry him.

“I said, ‘Of course! Yes!!’ ” Peyton said, remembering back.

Greg was happy and relieved.

“We had talked about it a little and I was fairly certain it wasn’t going to be a ‘No,’ but still it was nerve-racking,” Greg said.

The couple spent the next year planning their Oct. 13, 2007, wedding at First Presbyterian Church in University City, to which they invited 180 guests. A reception followed at the St. Louis Club. The day’s events were highlighted by a tribute to Peyton’s late grandfather.

“We had a bagpiper there,” Peyton said. “My grandpa played the bagpipes and he’s no longer with us, so his friend came and played for us when we left the church and again when we entered the reception.”

The couple waited until 2008 to leave for their honeymoon in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Now living in Wentzville, Peyton and Greg enjoy taking care of Kodiak, the Shepard-mix dog they got from the Humane Society. Soon, they hope to get another dog and then to have “a couple of children.”

Their long-range goals are simple.

“Having a good life and staying together,” Greg said. It’s a vision that includes continuing to work, live and raise their children in their hometown, the Gateway City. “I don’t see us leaving St. Louis,” Peyton said. “Our families are around here and we like it.”