They say that you'll fall in love when you least expect it, and for Toni and Jesse, that turned out to be true. They first met in Sonoma, CA in August 2018. Their mutual friend Jennifer Grace had organized a wine, women, and yoga retreat. Toni was attending for a fun weekend with her girlfriends, while Jesse was working as the chef. Neither of them anticipated that this excursion would change their lives forever.

While the romantic connection took some time to develop, they quickly found mutual respect and admiration for each other through the retreat workshops and group activities. This culminated in Jesse booking a card reading with Toni on their last day in Sonoma. In an unexpected turn of events, Toni saw herself in Jesse’s future, and was so surprised she could barely finish the session! She was vague with Jesse, only sharing that she saw him falling in love with a dark-haired, dark-eyed woman.

After the retreat, they both returned to their busy lives on opposite coasts and got caught up in their day-to-day routines. A year and a half passed, and Toni began to think she had misinterpreted what she saw in the cards. Meanwhile, Jesse was focused on building a business.

Fortunately, a higher plan was at work! Jesse received a job opportunity in Florida and reached out to share the news. When he moved to St. Petersburg in January 2020, their connection was impossible to ignore. They were inseparable from then on, navigating the pandemic and lockdown while being on opposite coasts of Florida.

After a year of dating, chef Jesse relocated to Miami and adjusted to city life, happy to explore a new food scene. Three years later, while visiting Jen and Sev, on their anniversary in St. Augustine, the same friends that introduced them, they went out for a special dinner in the Old Town district. Despite the rain and a few nerve-racking moments (including a sudden rainstorm and Jesse hiding the ring box inside his folded umbrella), the rain finally cleared. As they walked along the historic waterfront, he asked if she would like to write the next chapter of their lives together. She happily said yes!

Thank you for being part of their lives and sharing in the beginning of their history.