Jenny's View

Dear Friends,

I always enjoy hearing the stories from our Wedding Specialist, Samie Doerfler, about how couples first met. Samie has put together the perfect day for hundreds of couples, and she says it’s uncanny how the universe often seems to conspires to bring couples together—and to our doors at La Fonda.

There was the couple from different countries who first met on a church trip abroad in junior high. Twelve years later, they ran into each other in a third country—what are the chances? Another great matchup tale is the two college friends, male and female, who each had a sibling they thought would make a perfect date for their friend. It wasn’t until graduation that everyone finally met, and guess what? Both friends ended up marrying the other’s sibling!

And then there are the couples who have met while working at La Fonda, like Desi and Greg. Desiree says she knew the moment she first laid eyes on Greg Quintana in Accounting that this was the man for her. But it took a year for them to overcome their qualms about workplace etiquette and go out on a date—which even former owner Sam Ballen was rooting for. Twenty guesses where she ended up having her wedding shower. Sixteen years later, Desi and Greg are still married and still work at La Fonda.

Samie tells me that practically everyone who weds here already has a deep connection to La Fonda—that they fell in love with the hotel first. In fact, a matchup being watched by millions, The Bachelor, held its Santa Fe Rose ceremony at the hotel to help handsome Chris Soules court his would-be wives. When I met The Bachelor, he turned out to be just as sweetly nervous as any groom who’s walked through our doors—which made me love him immediately!

Happy Valentines Day,
Jenny