A Valentine’s Day to never forget

Published 11:45 pm Friday, February 13, 2015

By Monique Roth
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — Flowers, special romantic plans, getting dressed up and love declarations are integral parts of many couple’s plans every Feb. 14 as another Valentine’s Day is celebrated.

For one local couple, however, the day holds even more meaning — it’s their wedding anniversary.

Jeff and Tiffany Brown of LaPlace are celebrating their sixth wedding anniversary today, and their decision to choose Feb. 14 for their wedding date shouldn’t have come as a surprise to many people.

“Ever since I was little and would think about marriage, I always said I wanted to get married on Valentine’s Day,” Tiffany said. “I just thought it was special because the day represents love.”

Jeff said since the day is about celebrating the one you love, “we were both excited about getting married on this special day because we were meant for each other, and our love is strong.”

Tiffany’s dream of a Valentine’s wedding became a reality in 2009, when she wed long-time love Jeff in a ceremony at the Carriage House in Gonzales.

“I’m a sucker for love,” Tiffany said laughing, adding their wedding featured red bridesmaids dresses and red roses, among other Valentine’s Day décor.

Jeff and Tiffany, who were each born and raised in the River Parishes, met when Tiffany was 13 and Jeff was 15.

“He was friends with my brother,” Tiffany explained. “So we always hung out.”

Romance between the two didn’t blossom initially, she said, but they became good friends. Such good friends, in fact, that Tiffany said she used to try to set her friends up with Jeff because he was such a good guy.

One day when she was 17, however, Tiffany said she started to look at Jeff as more than just a friend and decided to ask Jeff, who was 19 at the time, to her senior prom.

They went to prom and have been together ever since.

Unlike some young love stories, Tiffany said “we never broke up, not even one time.”

Because Jeff and her brother were such good friends, Tiffany was initially hesitant to learn about her brother’s reaction to her dating Jeff, but any apprehension was quickly squelched.

“My brother told me, ‘if there was any of my friends I would want you to be with, it would be him,’” Tiffany remembers.

The couple welcomed their two daughters Jayda and Jazmin into their family before getting married, and their engagement was celebrated on a holiday as well.

“He proposed on Christmas Day,” Tiffany said, adding she loves the fact their relationship milestones are marked with holidays, all of which she loves to celebrate.

“I decorate for every holiday,” Tiffany said laughing. “It comes straight from my momma.”

She loves holidays so much, especially Valentine’s Day, that she even convinced Jeff to celebrate their anniversary on Feb. 14 long before they were married, in spite of the fact it wasn’t their real anniversary.

Despite some people saying their wedding day of choice was cliché, Jeff and Tiffany said they have no regrets.

“He always seems to make it special no matter what,” Tiffany said, adding Jeff always has surprise plans for their Valentine’s Day/anniversary celebration.

“I like to plan a surprise date because it’s a very special date for both of us, and she is really special to me,” Jeff said. “So for me to treat her with a lovely night is special because it brings back memories of us being a young teenage couple who can go enjoy ourselves as a loving married couple.”

Now adult parents and no longer dating teenagers, Jeff and Tiffany seem to find a way to keep their romance and marriage, sealed on a Valentine’s Day six years ago, young and fresh.

“She is a very pretty, caring, strong-minded and has a heart of gold,” Jeff said of his bride. “She is a wonderful mom, one who puts her children and family first.”

Tiffany also doesn’t mince words about her partner.

“He was my best friend before anything else, so it’s been sharing my life with my best friend,” she said. “He’s the best. He’s everything I could ask for as far as a father to my girls.”