FATE & FAIRY TALES – Simone’s Love Story
Our Love Story: How It All Began
As the owner of OC Beach Weddings, I spend countless hours listening to my brides share their love stories — so it’s only fitting that I share mine with you.
Being Brazilian, I’ve always believed in passion, fairy tales, and fate. And fate is exactly what brought Jeff and me together.
In 1997, I was working at the Hilton Hotel bar in St. Petersburg, Florida. I wasn’t scheduled that day — I was simply filling in for a coworker. As I was cleaning glasses behind the bar, he walked in. Blond hair, blue eyes, still glowing from a workout — I thought, if Brad Pitt had a brother, this was him.
His name was Jeff. He lived in Dallas and, noticing my accent, asked where I was from. When I said Brazil, he lit up and started speaking Portuguese fluently! That’s when the unbelievable part came out: he had just returned from Porto Alegre — my hometown — and had been working across the street from my mother’s building. We had been in the same place at the same time and never knew.
It felt like destiny was gently stitching our lives together long before we met.
Jeff left a few days later, and I never expected to hear from him again. But a few weeks later, he called me — from Brazil. And from that moment on, we communicated every day through nearly 400 faxes that we still have today.
Our first date was in Dallas for Easter — he sent first-class tickets and had roses waiting. It only took a few dates before we both knew. He proposed soon after, during a candlelight dinner overlooking San Francisco. We married six months later in Las Vegas.
Today, we’re celebrating 27 beautiful years of marriage, and we have two wonderful children, Yasmin and Gabriel. Our passion and commitment are stronger than ever. The secret? We put God and each other first, always.
This is why I love what I do.
Marriage is a journey — a forever promise. And I’m honored to be there at the very beginning of yours, creating a wedding day that feels just as magical as the love story that brought you here.