Our Story
FRANCESCA & JEFF
How we met
In June 2017 in San Francisco, we both went to a house party thrown by a friend of friends. While on the terrace, Jeff first met Francesca’s friend Matilde, who shortly after introduced the two and effectively gained the title of “Accidental Cupid” (and now of one of our “Witnesses”). While Matilde could immediately tell there was a spark between the two, a linguistic misunderstanding led her - and consequently Francesca - to mishear that Jeff already had a “vegan fiancée” and was thus off the market.
Jeff, who was unaware of that misunderstanding but rather aware of the spark, was surprised when Francesca unequivocally declined his invite to go dancing and seemed uninterested in further conversation. Undeterred (but not enough to ask for her number), he sent Francesca a professional email proposing to have lunch in the cafeteria at the Google office, where they both worked.
Francesca & Jeff with Mati, our "Accidental Cupid", in Dolores Park, San Francisco, CA.
Early days meeting in the Google Office in San Francisco, CA.
Francesca accepted (and then almost postponed), thinking Jeff was simply trying to network within the company. However, as Jeff offered to help with her move that weekend and invited her to go out with his friends, she began questioning his real motive (as well as the very existence of this “fiancée”). It didn’t help that Jeff had no social media presence that could support an investigation, and that Matilde was absolutely positive of what she had heard.
Ultimately, Francesca took the bull by the horns and asked a visibly confused Jeff to clarify his status. Jeff and Matilde are still trying to figure out what he actually said to her at the party but, at least to this day, we can confirm no vegan fiancée has shown up at our doorsteps.
Our Journey…
Since then, in these 5 years, we’ve shared quite a number of adventures: we moved to four different apartments, traveled to 10 countries and countless cities, changed jobs and went back to school.
Jeff discovered Italian food and finally abandoned coconut oil in favor of Sicilian olive oil. Francesca got introduced to baseball and came to terms with Chicago deep dish pizza.
Together, we’ve made a lot of pasta from scratch, ran and biked lots of miles, hiked steep hills, attended many concerts and way too many wine tastings. We’ve also spent considerable time arguing about politics, especially when on an empty stomach.
Strolling in Sausalito, CA. Ph. by our friend Alessandro Cannas.
One of our first trips together in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Hot air balloon ride in Teoutiochan, Mexico City.
Outside Lands music festival in San Francisco, CA
Paris '19. Ph. Francesca's mom.
Wine tasting whenever we can, in Napa.
Park Güell in Barcelona, Spain. December '21.
Francesca's 30th birthday in Sicily.
One of the two was forced to take this picture.
SaPa, Vietnam '19.
Hiking to a waterfall in Iceland.
One of the many meals we've cooked together. Thanksgiving '19 in our home.
In July 2021, Jeff proposed to Francesca in her hometown, Santo Stefano Quisquina, at Teatro Andromeda, a mountain top amphitheater, bravely deciding to do so in the midst of a historically high heat wave and at noon. Likely due to the heat, Francesca could not say anything but “Sure”, which Jeff didn’t accept as a valid answer. Eventually, though, she said “Yes”.
We’ve covered a lot of ground already, but this is just the beginning. We can’t wait to see what the next chapter holds for our Italian-American (and a little Polish) family.
