David and Ruth Gomez: Valentine’s Day wedding: ‘corny,’ but good enough for us, too
David and Ruth Gomez met on Valentine’s Day, 1976 at a wedding in the San Fernando Mission. Ruth thought it pretty “corny” that her former roommate, David’s cousin, was getting married on Valentine’s Day, but one year later did the same. On Valentine’s Day, 1977 Ruth and David married on the rocks above the cove of Leo Carrillo Beach, just 10 miles from their current alpaca ranch residence on Mulholland Highway in Malibu.
The couple accredits their 26-year marriage on their many commonalties, ranging from the graduate work they did at UCLA to their commitment to equality in their relationship, respect for each other’s feelings and values, and complete dedication to their family.
David, a second generation San Fernando Valley native whose roots are in Spain, and Ruth are especially proud of their only child, Caitlin, who is currently at UCLA pursuing a career in medical research on the Space Station.
This year’s Valentine’s Day began as most of their anniversaries do, with a champagne breakfast on the sand in the cove where they were married at Leo Carrillo. The serendipitous nature of the way the couple met and the joy in their journey together as life partners is something both say they will never take for granted.
Roy Gifford and Cecile Billauer Gifford: A match of destiny
Cecile and I were just married on Oct. 10, 2002 at our home in Sunset Mesa, exactly four years after we met. Our story is amazing, symbiotic and magical.
We met on Oct. 10, 1998 through the Love@AOL.com personals Web site. During our initial meeting/dinner date, we had that familiar feeling that our paths had crossed before. “The title in his AOL personal ad was ‘Hopeless Romantic.’ It’s definitely fitting!” Cecile says.
We found out that five years earlier, on Oct. 10, 1993 we had both attended the “Making Love Work” seminar in West Los Angeles to help improve the relationships we were in. Life is interesting. It takes some time to understand what the word “coincidence” means in this busy environment we live in. Our situation is similar to other couples. It took a chance meeting over dinner to allow us to slow down and reflect on what is important to us both. Our relationship includes our enjoyment of good friends and travel, as well as wonderful moments at home together.
This year’s Valentine’s Day marked the “four years, four months and four days since we met, which also happens to be Roy’s birthday,” Cecile adds.
Cecile is a Realtor in Pacific Palisades. Her sons, Josh, 26, and Jesse, 24, Billauer, live in San Diego. Roy is a senior vice president, principal at SMW, an engineering firm. His daughter, Tricia, 21, lives in Arizona.