I had been on JDate for many years, met many nice people, but was just about giving up on finding someone. I am from New York and had decided, at the last minute, to go spend the first nights of Passover 2010 in Florida with my parents. A couple of weeks before I left for my three-day visit to Boca Raton, I decided to go online and see if I could find someone in that area who would want to go out for a quick coffee or something before the holiday. I found one girl in my search – a Brazilian gem living in Florida – and wrote to her. 

I really was not interested in a long distance relationship, and frankly was not expecting much when I went online. But, it turns out it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. On our very first date, we ended up playing ping pong after we went for gelato (the only kosher restaurant we could find that was open the day before Passover). Her birthday was coming up and when I was driving her back home I had asked her what she wanted for her birthday. She didn’t answer (apparently she thought it was a strange question at the time because we just met).

But soon after I returned to New York, I got an email from her saying that she was thinking about my question and decided what she wanted for her birthday, “I would like to go on a date with Steve in NY.” 

She flew in a few weeks later and I took her to one of my favorite restaurants in Manhattan. For the next five months we flew back and forth every few weeks to spend time together on weekends. Six months (to the day) after our very first date, on the day before Sukkot, we got engaged.

Despite warnings from almost everyone (from the caterer to my mother) not to attempt an outdoor ceremony in the middle of January, (Andreia’s dream was to get married outdoors) we decided to try if it was at all possible. We were married last January in Florida with an outdoor chuppah under the stars on an absolutely perfect night!

Andreia and Steven
Bronx, New York