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PrintRebekah Gee & David Patrón
Amy Martin Photography
Rebekah Gee, daughter of Ohio State president Gordon Gee, married David Patrón, a New Orleans-based attorney, on Oct. 2, 2010. The bride says 130 guests attended the ceremony and reception at the Houmas House Plantation and Gardens in Darrow, Louisiana, which is located about an hour from New Orleans. (Guests were bused to and from the event.) “If they were going to be in New Orleans, I thought it would be nice for them to see another part of the state,” she says of her choice of a country venue.
Nearly two years ago, a mutual friend suggested Gee and Patrón meet while Gee was visiting New Orleans from Washington, D.C., where she lived at the time. “We met and fell in love that day,” says the bride. Six months later, in September 2009, Gee took a leap of faith and moved to New Orleans to be close to Patrón and his three children. “I didn’t even have a job totally worked out, but I realized that love is rare,” she says. (The job worked out—Gee, an OB-GYN, is an assistant professor at Louisiana State University and director of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals’ Birth Outcomes Project.)
On April 25, 2010, at 8 pm, exactly one year after they met, Patrón proposed to Gee during a vacation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The groom says the ring was “burning a hole in my pocket” since he didn’t ask Gee until their trip was almost over. And he not only planned the visit to Mexico, but before their vacation, he also scheduled a flight to Washington, D.C., to meet with Gordon Gee, who was there on business. “We spent a wonderful day in Georgetown. We walked around town and talked about why I wanted to marry his daughter, and he was very kind to give me his blessing,” says Patrón.
At their reception, the newlyweds started the party with a dance to “Let the Good Times Roll.” Gee’s favorite memories include seeing their friends and families in one place for the celebration, as well as having a close friend pronounce them husband and wife. At the end of the night, Gee and Patrón left through a tunnel of guests waving sparklers, which the groom says was “wonderfully romantic” contrasted against the night sky. The couple took a two-week honeymoon to Italy and Spain.
Gee can’t say enough about her new husband. “We’re best friends. We’re both adventurous. He’s a wonderful father,” she says, adding they love to travel, cook and share stories of their work, about which they’re both passionate. Patrón says of his wife: “One of the things that attracted me to Rebekah is she has such a joy of life. We share that together.”
And, as it turns out, “I love New Orleans,” says Gee of her new home. “It’s the Columbus of the South. There are the nicest people, and it’s an absolutely fabulous place to be.”
