The main problem with teenagers is that they’re just like their parents were at their age. -anonymous
Here’s a handsome young “M” at his Bar Mitzvah party at the Jewish Community Center. His family was so wonderful to photograph and they were all so much fun!
I’m a sucker for a good story. Check out this great story of how Marissa and Avi met. We are shooting their wedding at Firestone Vineyard in Paso Robles in April of next year. Read on…
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Our love story began three generations ago with our grandparents. Our mother’s fathers were both from Poland. Our families traveled the same path. When the Germans invaded Poland our grandfathers both survived death camps and were both transferred to Dachou in Munich, Germany. Our grandfathers survived six years of the work camps and were liberated from the same place and at the same time. They both eventually came to America and settled within five miles of each other. Our grandparents started their lives over, married, and had children. My mother & father and my fiancé’s mother and father married in the same place, same month, and same year.
On the day of my 27th birthday I made a wish on a cupcake to meet my soul mate and have someone special to share my life with. I prayed the hardest I ever had before. There must have been fairy dust in the sky because the night of my 27th birthday Avi and I met at a bar. I was resistant to go to this bar but my best friend insisted. My best friend spoke to Avi first and knew within seconds we should date. By the time Avi turned around to ask me out I was in a conversation with his friend. His friend beat Avi to the punch. For two months I hung out with his friend but every time we went out Avi made sure he was there. At first I was annoyed with him and then one evening Cupid hit me. I couldn’t believe the words coming out of my mouth. I told Avi I was so sorry that I hadn’t noticed him before and he could please forgive me and give me a second chance. Avi didn’t think twice and invited me outside for a walk. As we spoke we were very surprised how much we shared. Then he went to kiss me and it started pouring down on us. I later found out that we were both born on a rainy day.
The next few months got even stranger as I discovered more of our past crossing. His downstairs neighbor was my mothers dear friend and bridesmaid. His mother and I shared the same manicurist, we went to the same sleep away camp on the same year. My first apartment was across the street from the house he grew up in. I worked with one of his friends. My babysitter married his best friend’s cousin. We both worked for a family on the same street the same year. My therapist office was next door to the school he taught at.
Three years before we met were the hardest for both of us. I moved away from the person I thought I would marry and Avi lost both of his parents with in 18 months of each other. We were both searching for the right love in our lives. From the moment I decided to give him a chance, I changed my future forever. We traveled to Europe for the first time together and visited where our grandfathers were liberated. We took a train all over for thirty days. It was the most memorable experience of our lives.
The last two years have been the very best in my life. I have truly met my soul mate. We read each others minds, get each other on a level I have never experienced with anyone else, and tell each other daily how grateful we are to have met. He truly is my soul mate because he just understands me before I even speak. His heart speaks to me first. I am truly blessed to have the one in my life. If I think back to all the people I could have married I know now why they broke up with me. God was saving the best for last.
On June 30, 2008 Avi took me away to Santa Barbara and under the stars asked me to marry him. I accepted and we are set to marry on his father’s birthday.
