There are plenty of ways to meet a mate, but let’s not forget about the good old office romance.
Defne Altan and Cameron Crowe (not the Hollywood film director) met over a cubicle in an office building in downtown San Francisco in the fall of 2010.
The public relations firm she worked for shared office space with the tech PR firm he was at.
When he walked in with his bicycle the first day on the job, she couldn’t help but notice the strapping young man with a smile on his face.
“She has this kind of crazy brown hair that would stick out from under her helmet when she came in on her scooter,” Crowe said.
The two were immediately attracted but played it cool, after learning that Defne had worked for the wife of Cameron’s boss at a previous job.
Over drinks, they flirted, which led to brunch a week later, at a bar in the Castro, where Sneaky’s barbecue, Defne’s favorite, was served.
Cameron’s boss at Impress Labs, Dave Richardson, had hired Cameron after being impressed by his honesty and diligence (the newbie once spent seven hours transcribing notes, deleted them by accident and stayed up all night so the task would be done by morning).
The truth slipped out at a trade show a year later, when Cameron said he’d let the girl he was dating bring her scooter into the event.
The pair moved to an apartment in the Mission District in 2012, and enjoy museums, hiking and traveling.
Defne also opened her own firm, Made PR, with clients such as Blue Bottle, Timbuk2 and Goorin Bros. hats in the fold.
In 2014, on the eve of a trip to Istanbul, where Defne’s parents and extended family are from, Cameron suggested a walk with their terrier mix to the top of Bernal Heights.
At the apartment, another surprise awaited: A Champagne dinner on their terrace, set up by Jamie and planned by Cameron, featuring Sneaky’s barbecue, the same as the first date.
On June 27, they wed at Foreign Cinema restaurant before 145 friends and family, in a ceremony officiated by the groom’s boss, with a feast that included Turkish flavors in a nod to the bride’s heritage.
Whether the officiant gets full credit for the match is open to question, but the couple has learned one thing for sure:
Carolyne Zinko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.
