My beautiful bridesmaids:
MAID OF HONOR: CAROL BORGES
I met Carol in 2001, when she moved to California from Brazil. A few years later, we were both looking for a place to live and decided to give it a shot at being roommates. That was my first place out of my mom’s house and Carol was really patient with me, specially when I decided I wanted an orange wall and made our apartment look like an Ikea catalog. Those were the years I was literally growing up and getting by on my own and Carol was always there for me. We went through so much when living together and have collected quite a large collection of great stories over the years. Besides a bunch of great local trips, we also had delicious gelatos in Italy and had a blast in Switzerland, where we went paragliding together. After so many years of friendship, we are each other’s support system for good and bad times. Carol is the psychologist of the group and is always the voice of reason in every situation. She is currently going to school at Stanford for her PhD. (You go, girl!)
DEIA MAZIERI ROBINSON
Deia is my cousin, my friend, my sister. We grew up together and can definitely say we have been through everything together. She has been part of just about every moment in my life and is always there for me no matter what. We are the first ones to learn about anything that happens in each other’s lives and no question or issue is ever too absurd to bring up to each other. She has the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever known and has done more for my mom than I could ever thank her for, specially during my mom’s current battle against Breast Cancer. Whenever someone asks me how many siblings I have, I can never say just 1, because to me, Deia simbolizes the true meaning of the word family. :) She lives in Marina Del Rey with her husband Todd.
CINTHIA SANCHES
Cinthia is the funniest and most energetic person ever. She always makes me laugh so hard it hurts my jaw. Growing up, I have always admired and looked up to her, since she is my big cousin. We have great stories from our childhood together and I was so happy when she decided to come along when we moved to the U.S. in 2001. She is a great dancer and is always ready for fun! She lives in Culver City, CA.
CRISTIANE COLETA MONTEIRO
Cris is another cousin that I looove. (If you know Brazilian/Italian families you know they’re filled with cousins! Haha). We are very close in age and spent countless hours playing when we were young. At first, she might be a little shy in front of other people, but once she’s comfortable in her environment you can see that she is a sweetheart and just as crazy fun as the rest of the family. :) Cris has given us the new addition to the family, Leonardo, who is the cutest thing in the world. She lives in São Paulo, Brazil, with her husband Luis and I miss them terribly, like I miss everyone back in Brazil.
VALDECI DE JESUS
Val is the kind of friend that you can simply always count on. She’s a real trooper and great company at all times. We have been roommates since 2008 and she is probably the one who knows the most about Sean and I, since she has been living with us for so long. She has seen me with crazy hair in the morning, she has heard Sean yelling at the TV when watching football and is always taking good care of our apartment. I believe I have even seen her pet Buster a few times. Hehe…We have “adopted” her into the family and can’t imagine any family gatherings without her. She is from Bahia, Brazil, a beautiful place that brings us the best cultural things, like good samba and traditional food. And she has been in the US for 11 years.
FABIANA GOES
Fabi joined our family in 2000 and I love her to death. She tagged along in my crazy idea to move to the US and she has been here ever since. It has been a great journey and we have “become adults” together over the years. We know we can count on each other for anything and she has been with me through difficult times and fun ones too. She lives in Santa Monica, CA and works as an Interior Designer.
PAOLA FRANCO
I met Paola through her brother on my second year in the U.S. Over time, we became close friends and have been in each other’s lives for many years and through many different experiences. She is also currently engaged and getting married in June, 2013, so we are going through all the planning together. I can’t wait for both of our weddings to be here already. :) She lives in Redondo Beach with her fiance Todd.
LILY BIRCK
One day Sean came home and said he had met a Brazilian girl that he thought I would love. A few weeks later he introduced her to me and sure enough, as she usually describes “it was love at first sight” and we became inseparable ever since. She also invited me to join her Girls Night Out group, which gave me a whole set of fun new friends. Lily and I don’t go a day without talking to each other and have made lots of fun memories together. She is the sweetest with all the little animals, that is why she is Buster’s Godmother :)… and she has lots of energy, which makes it always fun to be around her. She lives in Redondo Beach, CA.