Several couples get engaged at Steel City Con

Steel City Con at the Monroeville Convention Center is known for providing people an opportunity to meet celebrities, get autographs and find comic and pop culture memorabilia of all sorts.

Within the past year, it has been a place for something else for at least three couples: romance.

Shawn Savage, 26, proposed to his girlfriend, Kelly Kording, 28, at this month’s show.

The Crafton couple have been together about a year and shared their moment with friends outside the conference room April 10. He was dressed as Green Arrow and she was Black Canary, superhero love interests in DC Comics.

“This is something we both like,” Savage said about the convention. “We’re both nerdy, and I figured this would be the best place to do it. It’s something we both enjoy.”

Kording said she previously worked at RJ Rhodes Transit Ambridge with Savage’s mother, Cindy Savage, and she introduced them to each other. They bonded over various interests, including comics, and now both work at UPS in Moon Township.

The 2022 convention was the second that Kording and Savage attended together. They had come to see celebrities Nick Castle, Cristina Ricci, Christopher Lloyd and others.

This past show was the biggest for Steel City Con with both celebrity lineup and attendance.

Co-owner Bob Stein said more than 12,000 people came through the convention center’s doors April 8-10.

Stein was busy with convention business at the time of the proposal, but wanted to congratulate the happy couple.

“That’s awesome they got engaged,” he said. “There are special memories and joint interests around movies and pop culture, and coming together to see their favorite celebrities or childhood idols seems to be a great time to pop the question.

“It’s not just about love, but ‘The Con’ seems to create many friendships with people who share these similar interests.”

Mike Schultz and Rachel Ferrio of St. Clairsville, Ohio, got engaged in the center’s parking lot at the Aug. 13, 2021 show. They have been together since 2015.

The pair dressed as Nancy and Freddy Krueger from the “A Nightmare on Elm Street” film series.

Schultz said they made the hour and 45 minute trip so he could propose to Ferrio in front of Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger), but thought otherwise when another couple made the same move.

“We try to go to the Steel City once or twice a year, and also Living Dead Weekend at the (Monroeville) Mall,” Schultz said. “We are both horror fanatics. I collect a lot of horror memorabilia and make custom props as a hobby.

“This was her first time meeting Robert, and Freddy is her favorite horror slasher. She didn’t want a romantic proposal but a dark one when we originally discussed it.

“Our costume choice I pre-planned, even her to be Nancy. Freddy is the man of Nancy’s dreams, so I figured I could use some funny puns like Freddy to add to the experience and make it memorable.”

Aug. 13 was a Friday, and “Friday the 13th” is one of Schultz’ favorite horror movie series.

The folks who got engaged just before them were Payton Jackson Milhollan of Washington and Kaylyn Shearer of Carnegie. They’ve been together for about a year and a half.

“Deciding to propose at ‘Con’ was actually a very spontaneous decision,” Milhollan said. “I had bought her the VIP pass for Robert Englund for her birthday and decided the day before we went that I was going to do it that day, with Robert’s help. It had been talked about a little with my friends and her friends, but I fully made the decision the day before we went.”

Milhollan, 24, and Shearer, 30, also share a love of films and found the Steel City Con to be the perfect place to be with similar folks.

“You get to share your love for the things that bring you happiness and comfort, whether it be video games, movies or comics,” Shearer said. “It’s great for couples to experience their individual interests and memories together.”

Schultz agreed.

“I’d say definitely a place for lovers to get closer,” he said. “However, it’s not just that. Steel City Con is a place for people who may have different lifestyles to get together and appreciate their love they have for the same interests. Being able to chat with strangers about something we mutually have interest in is a big part in why my fiancée and I attend.”

Both Milhollan and Schultz said they are planning Halloween-themed weddings in October, with Milhollan set for this year, and Schultz aiming for Oct. 13, 2023. Kording and Savage still are working out their plans.