When I was working for Novartis Pharmaceuticals, the first time, we used to go on quarterly trips to Toronto, Vegas, Montreal etc for meetings. Planning these meetings was a faceless office employee by the name of Natalie. Her email always had a skip and a quirk to them that made me laugh and while I had never met her, I knew I liked this woman. For months on end she would send me flight itineraries, hotel bookings, agendas etc and for months I always looked forward to meeting her. I assumed she was in her mid 50s, maybe married with a few kids and had been w the company for years.
A few months into my time at Novartis (the first time) I got to a meeting in Montreal, met a bunch of head office people, shook some hands, kissed some babies and went about my business. I think it was at some pre dinner mingle that I finally met Nat. “Oh hi Natalie, nice to meet y…..WAIT A MINUTE! You’re THE Natalie!?” I’m pretty sure I actually said the words, “You’re not an old lady at all”. Perhaps this explains why I was let go from Novartis, twice. Regardless, Nat and I hit it off immediately. Eventually she left her office job and became a sales rep as well and we’ve stayed in touch after all these years.
She was single for a while but I told her that when she got married, I was shooting her wedding, like it or not.
Then I saw the photo on Facebook. It was of her and her then boyfriend, Marco, at a wedding. Absolutely freaking adorable is the only way to describe these two. So when she called me and said they were getting married in Montreal I was stoked. It just so happened that I had the one weekend available that fit their schedule and that was it. It was done.
After flipping through the images from the wedding I’m telling you, I could friggin squeeze the cheeks off of both of these guys. I loved every single second of it. I don’t think there is anyone in this world that will love Natalie more than Marco. A true Italian gentleman with a heart and soul of gold is what he is. Not many dudes can pull off a white top hat…but Marco’s got moxy (and a kick ass, award winning mini cooper, Skeeter).
I could ramble and blather all day about these guys but if you ever happen to have the good fortune of meeting them, trust me when I tell you your life will be better for it.
Thanks so much for your hospitality in Montreal Nat + Marco. We miss you guys already and we looking forward to seeing you in Toronto sometime soon.
