Mike and Marinda

Mike and Marinda met for the first time November 23rd, 2002 at the wedding of the daughter of mutual friends. Mike and Marinda sat at the same table for dinner, but Marinda was up and down so much (she was the wedding planner) that she didn’t remember Mike at her table. Mike and Marinda met again at brunch in May 2004 at the same mutual friends’ home in Sausalito.

Marinda grew up in the north suburbs of Chicago along Lake Michigan. She was baking at 5, making dinner at 8 and made her own clothes in high school inspired and taught by her artist mother, her aunts and grandmother. “I thought everyone knew how to cook and sew until I got to college,” Marinda said. She moved to New York City in 1967 to fashion merchandising school and then on to a career in fashion retailing, living in NYC, San Francisco, Tokyo, and Phoenix.

In the early '80s food was fashion and Marinda shifted to her other love – food and cooking. She started teaching cooking classes and then was hired by Martha to manage Martha Stewart’s catering company. Marinda left catering and opened her own event planning business in 1985 while living in Connecticut. In 1991, Marinda moved back to Marin County near her brother and his family. Divorced since 1994, Marinda focused her time building her event planning company, MF Productions, and caring for her daughter. She also participates in a local church community, volunteering, taking classes, serving on their board and is now a licensed spiritual counselor and teacher.

Mike’s life could be a story. Born in Egypt (Mike’s dad was a Suez Canal pilot), he spent his school years at a Jesuit boarding school not too far from his parents’ home in Liverpool, England. Most summer holidays found Mike and his sisters visiting his parents in Bahrain and Nigeria. Mike learned to cook as a child from his mum and loved to cook and entertain his friends – wherever he lived. In 1981, Mike emigrated to Canada and became a Canadian citizen (still a British citizen, too).

Mike’s 28-year career in the oil industry, working for Phillips Petroleum, Shell and Fluor has taken him from the wilds of Northwest Scotland to Thailand, from Venezuela to Saudi Arabia, and from Calgary to Houston. All this traveling, staying usually 2 to 3 years at an oil construction project location, didn’t present Mike with many opportunities for dating and he never married. Three years in Saudi Arabia with no women did not add to his prospects. Women do make a huge difference, he declared.

With his years of experience, Mike and a friend created a project management software program for the Engineering & Construction industry. A few sales were made to big companies and then the dot com bubble burst and no one was buying software. So in 2003, Mike decided to take a sabbatical, moved to Marin County where he had friends, and started an 18-month Cordon Blue Chef course at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco.

That brings us back to that brunch in May where Mike and Marinda were reintroduced after which Mike called Marinda about a business proposal. He had to do an internship to complete his degree at the Culinary Academy. “Would you consider having me come work for you for three months, and you don’t have to pay me?” Mike asked Marinda. “Yes!” she said. There were several big events coming up and she welcomed the help. So Mike came to work in Marinda’s home office every day Monday through Friday.

After a couple weeks of working with Marinda, Mike told his friends that he was attracted to her. Marinda told her friends she had a very lovely man working with her – it was a wonderful manifestation that men were coming into her life. There was one in her house (with no clue that “man” was Mike)! Over the summer, Mike and Marinda had some dinners together, Mike cooked several times and a friendship developed. After his 3 months internship was over and his graduation from culinary school, Mike asked Marinda out for a date.

In March, Mike asked Marinda to marry him – and to try on his mother’s diamond solitaire (which Mike had carried around the world with him for 25+ years). It fit Marinda’s finger perfectly. “It’s like the glass slipper!” Mike said. "It’s meant to be," said their friends. “I feel like I’m marrying my best friend,” Marinda said.

So Mike and Marinda got engaged. Then the attorney recommended that Mike get married before he left the states (Mike’s visa ran out in October 2004 and he was required to leave the U.S. by May 5, 2005). Mike called Marinda and said that they needed to get married right away. So Marinda (& Mike) organized a perfectly lovely wedding ceremony & celebration for 24 family and friends at Marinda’s brother’s home that included a catered delicious (of course) seated dinner, live music, and chocolate wedding cake. Friends commented that no one but Marinda could have done this in just one week.

The immigration lawyer started the paperwork for Mike to be sponsored by his wife. This process takes months to go through channels, so Mike worked on a project in Calgary for Fluor. Marinda visited Mike about once a month and focused on construction of a second story master bedroom suite addition. After a year, he was back working for the company in the US. Marinda and Mike enjoy their newly remodeled home - and their new life - immensely. And they lived happily ever after.
- Marinda F