100 Scenarios for Potential Meet-Cute Moments

All great romantic comedies, whether you’re watching one with A-list movie stars or those cheesy but highly addictive Lifetime and Hallmark movies, have great meet-cute moments.

To help get your creative meet-cute juices flowing, here we present 100 potential locations and scenarios where your meet-cutes can happen. Some may have been done before. Others may be fresh and new. Regardless, you can use this list to brainstorm your own or create variations of what the list offers. 

But before we get to the list, let’s go over what a meet-cute is and how to write one!

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What is a Meet-Cute?

Meet-cutes are those awkward, comical, and, well, cute scenes where Character A meets Character B. They usually happen in creative and, let’s be honest, often cliche ways that either jump-start the romance from the get-go or create fun tension between the characters that we all know will eventually fall for one another despite their differences. 

Different Kinds of Meet-Cutes

We’ve written about the four different kinds of meet-cutes in movies. 

1. Pull/Pull Meet-Cutes where the two characters are instantly drawn toward one another. 
2. Push/Push Meet-Cutes where they are opposites that push away from each other at first. 
3. Push/Pull Meet-Cutes where one character falls for someone with no reciprocal interest (at first).  
4. Neutral/Nervous Meet-Cutes where neutrality and nervousness create a cute scenario for characters destined to fall in love. 

Read More:  4 Ways Characters Can Meet-Cute in Your Romantic Stories 

How Meet-Cutes Can Serve Your Story

While meet-cutes easily fall under the cliche or trope umbrella, the key is to find ways to create those moments in new and unique ways.

Options include: 

• Subverting audience expectations by making them believe a cliche meet-cute is coming, and then adding a creative twist to make yours stand apart. 
• Placing meet-cutes in unique locations. 
• Putting characters in different scenarios and situations. 

And sometimes you can have the meet-cute moment be very self-aware of itself as a wink to the audience.

100 Meet-Cute Scenarios

1. Coffee Shop — Bumping into each other while reaching for the same coffee order.
2. Bookstore — Both reach for the same book on a shelf.
3. Airport — Sitting next to each other during a flight delay.
4. Subway — One falls into the lap of another as the train jolts.
5. Dog Park — Each of their pets runs after the other.
6. Art Gallery — Having different opinions of a painting.
7. Music Festival — Dancing the same awkward way to the music.
8. Wedding — Catching the bouquet and the garter.
9. Gardening Store — Both reaching for the last bag of soil.
10. Food Truck — Ordering the same unique dish.
11. Charity Event — Volunteering side by side.
12. Escape Room — Working together to solve puzzles.
13. Hiking Trail — Being lost on the same path.
14. Farmers’ Market — Both reaching for the last ripe tomato.
15. Yoga Class — Accidentally knocking each other over.
16. Karaoke Night — Being forced to sing a duet together.
17. Dog Shelter — Wanting to adopt the same dog.
18. Antique Shop — Haggling over the same vintage item.
19. Picnic in the Park — The wind blows their picnic blankets together.
20. Film Premiere — Spilling popcorn on the other.
21. Food Truck Festival — Being last in line for closing food truck.
22. Bike Ride — Colliding and falling in a heap.
23. Outdoor Concert — Dancing next to each other in the rain.
24. Museum — Discussing a historical artifact.
25. Train Station — Both missing their train.
26. Pet Store — Playfully arguing over which fish to buy.
27. Costume Party — Wearing complementary costumes.
28. Ferry Ride — Being seasick next to each other on the deck.
29. Carnival — Being randomly seated next to each other on a Ferris wheel.
30. Board Game Night — Competing in a heated game with friends.
31. Bakery — Both reaching for the last croissant.
32. Rock Climbing — Helping the other who is frozen in fear.
33. Thrift Store — Discovering they both bought the same vintage clothes.
34. Salsa Dance Class — Becoming dance partners.
35. Photography Workshop — Discovering that they took pictures of one another.
36. Ballet Class — One is there for balance as a football player while the other is a true ballet dancer.
37. Food Competition — Both judging the same dish.
38. Hotel Bar — Sharing travel stories.
39. Scavenger Hunt — Teaming up to find hidden clues.
40. Beach Volleyball — Competing on opposing teams.
41. Film Set — Working together as troublemaking extras.
42. Piano Lessons — Mistaking the other for a fellow student when they’re actually the teacher.
43. Movie Audition — Auditioning for the same role.
44. Paint and Sip — Painting side by side.
45. Campground — Accidentally going into someone else’s tent.
46. Cooking Class — Being partnered to make a dish.
47. New Year’s Eve Fireworks — Needing someone to kiss.
48. Trivia Night — Going up against each other.
49. DIY Workshop — One is teaching and the other is learning.
50. Christmas Tree Lot — Reaching for the same tree.
51. Protest or Rally — Debating different sides but with instant attraction.
52. College Orientation — Being paired as roommates by mistake.
53. Tennis Court — Hitting a ball into the next court.
54. Bike Race — Crashing into each other.
55. Beekeeping Workshop — One freaks out while the other calms them.
56. Comic Convention — Bonding over shared fandom.
57. Photobooth — Squeezing into a small booth together by accident.
58. Choir Practice — Being paired together for a duet.
59. Ice Skating Rink — Both trying to regain balance.
60. Ski Resort — Riding the same ski lift.
61. Underwater Scuba Dive — Exploring the depths together.
62. Botanical Garden — One dealing with an allergy attack while the other helps.
63. Sushi Bar — Sharing a laugh over a sushi mishap.
64. Zip Line Adventure — One freezing in fear while the other helps them.
65. Sailing Mishap — Boats nearly crash into one another.
66. Food Festival — Rival jam selling.
67. Local Theater Production — Overbearing director versus lead actor.
68. Jazz Club — Playing jazz together as strangers.
69. Dog Obedience Class — Training their unruly dogs.
70. Hot Air Balloon Ride — Surviving an accident.
71. Camping Trip — Seeing each other from one fire pit to the next.
72. Paddleboarding — Trying to balance on paddleboards.
73. Horseback Riding — Going out of control as another rescues them.
74. Wine Tasting — Sitting at the same wine bar.
75. Aquarium — Admiring colorful marine life.
76. Pottery Class — Creating art from clay together.
77. Restaurant — Requesting to meet the chef.
78. Indoor Skydiving — One instructing the other.
79. Meditation Retreat — Being the only two that can’t relax.
80. Zoo — Divorced parents taking their kids to the zoo and meeting.
81. Rock Concert — Saving someone from a mosh pit.
82. Dance — Being partnered by chance.
83. Uber Ride — A glitch scheduling two rides at the same time.
84. Local Park — Single parents see their kids playing together.
85. College Library — Both reach for the same book.
86. Martial Arts Class — Being partnered to spar with each other.
87. Apple Orchard — One falls from a tree while the other saves them.
88. Sailing Regatta — Competing against each other.
89. Science Museum — Exploring interactive exhibits.
90. Amusement Park — Riding a roller coaster together.
91. Art Class — A nude model falls for one of the painters.
92. Book Club — Debating the quality of an assigned book.
93. Poker Tournament — Going all-in against each other.
94. Kids Soccer Game — Coaching against each other.
95. Potluck Dinner — Bringing the same dishes.
96. Community Class — Student mistaking instructor for a student.
97. Bowling Alley — Throwing bowling ball into someone else’s lane.
98. Water Park — Lifeguard saving a person who doesn’t swim well.
99. Street Corner — Bumping into each other and mixing up their things.
100. Spa — Going into the same massage room in the nude by accident.

Use these one hundred meet-cute scenarios as writing prompts. Have fun with brainstorming more options. And remember, all they need to do is meet in cute ways. It’s not rocket science.

Read More: 101 Romance Story Prompts

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Ken Miyamoto has worked in the film industry for nearly two decades, most notably as a studio liaison for Sony Studios and then as a script reader and story analyst for Sony Pictures.

He has many studio meetings under his belt as a produced screenwriter, meeting with the likes of Sony, Dreamworks, Universal, Disney, Warner Brothers, as well as many production and management companies. He has had a previous development deal with Lionsgate, as well as multiple writing assignments, including the produced miniseries Blackout, starring Anne Heche, Sean Patrick Flanery, Billy Zane, James Brolin, Haylie Duff, Brian Bloom, Eric La Salle, and Bruce Boxleitner, the feature thriller Hunter’s Creed, and many Lifetime thrillers. Follow Ken on Twitter @KenMovies and Instagram @KenMovies76

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