Cindy Kent and Keith Gregory both work in health care in Nashville, but that’s not where or how they met. Cindy has been an executive at a Nashville health care company since 2020, and Keith has led radiation oncology operations for a Nashville hospital system since 2021. But the two met in July 2021 on a blind luncheon date arranged by Cindy’s aunt, the real estate agent who’d sold both their respective houses. “We dated for almost three months before making it official and deciding to become exclusive,” said Cindy. 

In October 2022, the couple joined friends in London for an NFL game. Afterward, they took a high-speed train to Paris. And Keith planned — with a friend’s help — the perfect surprise proposal on the right bank of the Seine across from the Eiffel Tower. 

The couple married July 15, 2023, on a hill next to the Diana statue at The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. “We both wanted something small and intimate,” said Cindy. “And Keith wanted something scenic with mountains as a backdrop.” The day was warm and clear, with blue skies overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains. “It was perfect and magical in every way,” said Cindy. Stuart Turner, Esq., officiated, and Dean’s Duets played violin and harp selections. 

Cindy wore a mermaid gown by Pronovias Austin with a mantilla cathedral veil. She carried a bouquet containing items personally meaningful to her. “My parents’ original wedding bands, my aunt’s infinity ring and a crystal cross from my mother’s favorite brooch were all subtly affixed to the flowers,” said Cindy.

The wedding luncheon for four included the newlyweds, their officiant and his wife. They dined on the Belvedere Terrace at The Inn on Biltmore Estate overlooking the estate grounds.

The date of the wedding was particularly meaningful to the couple, as it was the birthday of Cindy’s late mother, Jessie W. Smith, and Keith’s late father, Charles Gregory. The groom’s mother, Virginia Gregory, is deceased. The bride’s father, Larry E. Smith, lives in Kingston Springs, Tennessee.

After a wedding trip to Barcelona, Spain, for three days and to Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco in Tuscany, Italy, for six days, the newlyweds returned to their home in Franklin. Cindy studied industrial engineering at Northwestern University before earning master’s degrees in business administration and divinity from Vanderbilt University. Keith studied health care management at Southern Illinois University and received a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Memphis.