Sometimes, what you’re looking for is right under your nose.
When Melinda Munoz Reppert started as a waitress at Johnny’s Hideaway in Buckhead about six and a half years ago, she didn’t know how much it would affect the rest of her life. But Johnny’s is where she met her now husband, Stephen Reppert. The two hit it off as friends immediately, but it took a while for a romance to bloom. Still, Melinda’s first impression of Stephen was memorable.
“The deep voice to me, was very shocking,” she said over the phone, laughing as she recalled the first time she heard Stephen’s booming voice. “I feel like we are both kind of smart asses in a way. That’s probably why we got along so well.”
As for Stephen, he didn’t immediately have any thoughts about Melinda’s voice. It was her hair that first caught his attention. When Melinda started at Johnny’s, her hair was dark but tinged with a hint of red. He and a coworker used to argue about its color.
“That’s my first memory of her – arguing over what her hair color was,” Stephen said. “Before I got to know her, we used to just call her, ‘The Possible Red-Headed Chick.’”
For about two years, the pair’s friendship steadily grew. They were both seeing other people at different times throughout that period, but Melinda’s friends were certain Stephen was harboring feelings. The two had a little joke – every time a romantic song played over the speakers at Johnny’s, Stephen would get Melinda’s attention and point upwards, signaling for her to pay attention to the song that was playing. She thought it was just a joke, but after about two years, things changed.
“I just got to a point where I wasn’t dating people that were good for me,” she said. “My friends were like, “Well you know that [Stephen’s] in love with you right?’ And I said, ‘No he’s not, he’s just my best friend!’ And they said, “No. He’s in love with you. He would do anything for you.’”
That revelation changed things for Melinda, and she decided to do something about it. One night she had some friends over at her house, including Stephen. She point blank asked him when he was going to ask her out.
“He looked at me – shocked, like a deer in headlights – and said, ‘Whenever you want,’” she laughed.
That was five years ago. Now, the couple has been married for almost a year. When talking about their first date, Stephen recalled that their Johnny’s coworkers seemed to know about the relationship brewing between them before they even figured out what it was.
“On our first date, after we went to a bunch of different places, we ended up going to Johnny’s,” he said. “Everybody started clapping when we walked in.”
Those Johnny’s coworkers featured heavily in the couple’s wedding, which took place on July 16, 2022. Although it took years to pop the question, Melinda said she knew the two would get married after just a month of dating. Even so, Stephen was still able to surprise her with the timing of his proposal.
The couple had a few trips planned in 2021, including one to Charleston for Stephen’s best friend’s wedding. He knew that Melinda expected him to take that trip to propose, so he decided to switch things up. In April, just before the trip to Charleston, the couple took Melinda’s mother to Key West for a couple days of vacation.
“I had her mom be my ring smuggler. She carried it around in her purse the entire time we were doing stuff until I let her know it was time,” Stephen said. “We were down at Mallory Square right after sunset. The box had a light in it, so it would literally shine a spotlight onto the diamond.”
That spotlight on the ring was mesmerizing. So mesmerizing, that Melinda tried to reach for the ring without actually saying yes first.
“It was like a moth to a flame situation,” Melinda said. “With the light in the box on the ring? It was like, wow!”
The couple had their wedding at Factory Atlanta in Chamblee. Melinda’s brother officiated, and the reception included a live band, cornhole, and of course, three bars. One of the regulars at Johnny’s, a caricature artist, even showed up to draw cartoons of the guests. As soon as the reception was over, a charter bus took those who weren’t ready to go home yet to – where else? – Johnny’s Hideaway.
“I definitely never expected to be with somebody that I worked with,” Melinda said. “But, I mean, I didn’t care, obviously, because this is my soul mate.This is my person. It had to happen.”