When Jordana and Bram Goldstein met for the first time is up for debate – he just might have been the DJ at her bat mitzvah. But since their potentially second meeting, it’s been a match made in heaven. Bram is the founder of bespoke golf bag design company Custom Sevens in partnership with former Raptor Kyle Lowry and owner of an award-winning event management agency. Jordana is a longtime fitness trainer and founder of JEM Salads. Bram shared the details of their meet-cute and a proposal to remember.
How they met
I was at a busy restaurant in the Spadina Village in August of 2005 when I heard Jordana asking me if I was Bram Goldstein across the room. She thought I DJ’d her bat mitzvah back in the day. I smiled and told her that might be possible. (It was possible… as we were 7 years apart and I was once the best MC in the city). I remember leaving a really nice tip, saying my goodbyes and when I walked away, I turned my head around and we both locked eyes and smiled. She was checking me out and I did the same (she had very defined shoulders). After a sweaty “hello” exchange at a spin class, another meal at the restaurant (plus another generous tip), and then a little help from a nosy friend, I proceeded to ask for her number.
The first date
Our first date was the evening of Aug. 14. I liked her right away because she lived 25 minutes north of the city and both had a car and offered to drive downtown to me. We took a walk down Bloor Street and went to the Sky Bar, but it was on the first floor.
In one part of the long night of conversations, Jordana told me that her parents had a cottage in Haliburton, a place where both Jordana and I spent our entire summers in our youth. I was going to propose right then and there, but first needed to see the place.
The courtship
We started out dating long distance (after the cottage checked out) as Jordana was living in New York City studying for her Master’s degree. I remember many nights sleeping on a single mattress staring at both Jordana and the Sex and the City poster she had on her wall. Â
We travelled to Costa Rica within months of starting to date, noting that we both travelled with carry-on luggage only (another sign of finding the right girl). We had an incredible time together and even witnessed a friendly couple get in engaged right beside us on New Year’s Eve. There was starting to be no doubts about our future.
The proposal
We always enjoyed waking up Saturday mornings to do the crossword in the National Post together. It became our thing. When I was ready to propose, I called up a crossword puzzle creator and gave him 62 answers to clues. I then had the fake crossword turned into a printed contest that he put inside the National Posts Saturday morning paper. Â I think it was a $5,000 Roots and Indigo gift certificate that we could have won. We were at the cottage, and we got up for breakfast I took out the crossword section from the paper. Â I remember being so nervous and Jordana had no clue.
It took about 20 minutes or so as we worked through answers to pretty easy clues, including “Sex and the _____ (TV show)” or “Wizard ___ Oz.” We finally had the words, “Will You Mary Me,” (and yes, I knew Mary was spelled wrong) and I jokingly said, “Hey, would you look at that, it reads ‘Will You Marry Me.'” Jordana laughed and said, “Yeah whatever — show me a ring.” I got down on my knee, took the ring out of my pocket and popped the question.
The wedding and honeymoon
We were married in 2007 at The Richmond Hill Country Club. Apparently, RHCC still talks about (or so we are told). We had the legendary George St. Kitts band perform and our first dance song was to Angels by Robbie Williams. We were both smiles from ear to ear all night.
We loved to travel together and loved being newlyweds so we went on not one, but two honeymoons (or so we told the airlines and hotels). We landed in both Brazil and Thailand for unforgettable adventures, once again accompanied by only a carry-on.
The kids
We are blessed with two amazing girls, Samantha (13) and Leigh (11).Â
Balancing a career and relationship
We have maintained a healthy 15-year relationship because we are both so supportive, patient, understanding and rewarding of each other. We share in our successes and failures together but continually root for each other to succeed. Â We both have the right set of family values (thanks to great folks) who taught us about tradition, to appreciate what we have in life and to understand that not every day will be perfect.
Marriage Tip 101: If you have kids, it is important to book a date night once and while so you can spend time alone.
Shared hobbies and interests
We love going to the cottage and detaching from our sometimes busy work/life balance. We love to travel, hike, bike, talk to our dog in funny voices and, like most normal couples, live to declutter together. (Right?) Our love for watching Young and the Restless sadly came to an end after decades of a filling up the PVR and now it is filled up with CityLine and SNL. Â
The secret to success
Knowing what each other wants out of life, knowing that there are going to be lots of good days but there will also be some bad ones too. We know that when we are really busy with work and family duties, we can find the escape and the means to unplug — and tune it out for a bit.
Plus, she puts up with my sarcasm and I put up with her watching Jeopardy every night at 7:30.
Fun fact: it took us six months to get through the first season of Yellowstone because Jordana can’t stay awake past 9 p.m.
The future
Being up north in our happy place surrounded by family, our kids and hopefully our grandkids. Continuing to be on a journey of self appreciation, love and respect for one another.
The world has a strange way of bringing people together but that fateful day when we first met was 100 per cent meant to be.
