Inspiring Fashionable Couples
February 15, 2008
Marie Green is a fashion stylist and writer from San Diego California. She is the former Fashion Editor of FINE Homes and Living Magazine and her column, “Fashion Focus” has appeared in FINE Magazine as well as LaJolla Light, The Del Mar Times, Del Mar Ink, The Carmel Valley Leader, Rancho Santa Fe Record, and The Solana Beach Sun. Marie is also the co-founder of SheWants.com.
I have always been intrigued by the way couples met. Having just celebrated a romantic Valentine’s Day, I’ve decided to present three fascinating stories of how some of my favorite fashionable couples met.
Jeannette & James Handson: Jeannette is the L’Auberage Resort spa manager in Del Mar and James is retired from the military. What makes their 25 year relationship so special is that they broke through cultural, language and racial barriers to find true love.
When Jeannette was 18, she met Sergeant James Handson in Ecuador, where he was stationed at the American Embassy. Jeannette, a local, was helping welcome guests at an Embassy party. Although she spoke little English, she tried to explain everything from food to dancing in Spanish and sign language.
With some persuasion, James got Jeannette on the dance floor and as they communicated through loud music Jeannette somehow surmised that James was an African man named, Jumbo, who was getting ready to go to Germany. After the dance, Jeannette ran eagerly to her sister, who at the time was writing her thesis on African culture, to give her the news about this African she met.
The excitement turned into embarrassment after her sister spoke with James. “You made me look bad,” her sister said. “He’s not from Africa, but America. He’s not going to Germany, he just came from Germany. Furthermore, his name is not Jumbo, it’s James—his friends call him Jimbo!” Jeannette, feeling awful about the confusion, tried to avoid him the rest of the evening. James, realizing she was taking things hard, decided to break the ice by inviting her to another party. Jeannette was a little reluctant and told James in her culture they did not go out with people they just met and insisted on bringing one of her sisters. After a few “group” dates their friendship grew and two years later they were married. They soon had two children, Anita and Joshua, and eventually settled back in the United States.
Adriana & Cort Carpenter: Residents of Rancho Santa Fe, Cort is the CEO of Citywide Electric and Adriana is the bookkeeper. Adriana, from Mexico, was a 21 year old college student when she and her sister, needing summer jobs interviewed with Cort’s company. Although she was in a serious relationship, the moment she saw Cort, she knew she wanted to marry him. He hired both of them on the spot. Soon after, Adriana broke up with her boyfriend and Cort who had been waiting on the sidelines saw his opening. He showed up with flowers and took her to La Strada and Mr. A’s on a romantic first date. Three months later he proposed and six months after that they got married. They had an amazing honeymoon in Hawaii and then took a year long extended honeymoon in Mexico. When it was time to get back to reality, they moved back to San Diego and started Citywide. Four years later they started having children, which include Andria, Sebastian, and Mia. Adriana and Cort have been married 14 years. She says in addition to being a great dad and husband, he is very protective and loving and she thanks God for their amazing relationship everyday.
Adriana & Joel Mack: Joel, a partner at Latham & Watkins, and his wife Adriana reside in Carmel Valley and are a perfect example of a successful blended family. Joel, Adriana’s senior by 12 years, has two daughters from his first marriage and Adriana has a son from her first marriage. They met when they were working at the same law firm. It was a rainy day about six years ago when Joel asked Adriana to lunch at the Dakota Grill to “discuss some business”. They ended up talking about their favorite books. For both of them this included, “Four Agreements,” a beautiful story about compromise and unconditional love. When they returned from lunch, he got on the elevator first (as to not cause office gossip) and as the elevator was closing, he asked her, “Do you still believe in romance and chivalry?” She replied, “More than you know.” Soon he asked her out on a real date. She hesitated knowing if she dated him, she’d want to marry him but didn’t want to lose her job. She realized her job took a distant second to finding the love of her life and acquiesced. They were married in Hawaii two years later and will soon celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary.
