Elisabeth Röhm and Peter Glatzer met in 2015 at the Venice Beach, Calif., home of their mutual friend, the producer Robbie Brenner. If it wasn’t an immediate love connection, there was certainly a strong like.
Ms. Röhm, 48, had been talking about Yaddo, the artist’s retreat in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Mr. Glatzer, 57, a film producer and hotel developer, went to neighboring Skidmore College and had visited the retreat several times.
“I couldn’t get in, even with Sam Waterston being on the board,” said Ms. Röhm, an actress known for her performance in the TV series “Law & Order,” and in movies like “American Hustle” and “Bombshell.” She is also the director of the recently released Lifetime movie, “Switched at Birth.”
Mr. Glatzer was beguiled by both Ms. Röhm and her interest in the East Coast art community. “I just was like, Who is this gorgeous woman talking about Yaddo?” he said. “I was stunned by her.”
They were both dating other people at the time, though, and even though Ms. Brenner told Mr. Glatzer that Ms. Röhm’s relationship wasn’t serious, Mr. Glatzer decided to pursue a friendship instead.
“I was like, no, no, no, no, no, I’m just going to get to know her and be her friend,” he said.
For four and a half years, Mr. Glatzer and Ms. Röhm saw each other socially, and shared occasional lunches and dinners alone. But there was no romance.
“There wasn’t really a feeling from either of our side that the other one held a flame for the other one,” said Ms. Röhm, who graduated from Sarah Lawrence with a bachelor’s degree in writing and European history.
Then the pandemic hit, and the two friends found themselves part of the same social bubble. At the end of a dinner party last December at Ms. Brenner’s home, Mr. Glatzer’s lips found Ms. Röhm’s.
Despite either’s claims to have had no idea that the other harbored any amorous feelings, they discovered that they had misjudged the situation. “When we kissed that night, it was the kiss to end all kisses,” she said.
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That they had been friends for so long before, Ms. Röhm said, made it obvious that their romantic relationship was not a fly by night affair.
“There was a seriousness to it,” she said, adding they entered the relationship “with a sense of responsibility. There are many other fish in the sea. You don’t need to date one of your friends unless your intentions are really true.”
Ms. Röhm was engaged twice and has a 13-year-old daughter, Easton, with her former partner. But neither she nor Mr. Glatzer had ever been married. (He had never even been engaged.)
“We weren’t in a race to get married, we both felt marriage was sacred and that there was no reason to do it unless we felt that we wanted to be with somebody forever,” Ms. Röhm said. “It was a very big life decision for both of us, especially at this age.”
The couple took a big step toward a future together in May, when Ms. Röhm moved in with Mr. Glatzer at his Beachwood Canyon home. The couple had “absolutely” decided to marry, “But we wanted to live together first,” said Ms. Röhm.
They were wed Oct. 5 in the backyard of their home, before Ms. Röhm’s daughter and Mr. Glatzer’s brother, Jonathan Glatzer, and his family. Their friend Doug Budin, a Universal Life minister, officiated.
After the 30-minute ceremony, they sipped Champagne and then ate roasted chicken and grilled vegetables. “It was almost like a Thanksgiving dinner,” she said.
The couple are planning a larger celebration in January with about 150 guests. Their intimate wedding, though, made sense for many reasons.
“We’re coming off a Covid world and we’ve lived for the last almost two years a more simple life, a life where we’re cooking at home and nurturing each other and recognizing our values,” the bride said. “I think that had a lot to do with Peter and I recognizing each other.”
