In early 2017, Aaron and Kara were both working at synagogues as youth directors (Aaron in Baltimore, Kara in Atlanta), and their professional organization was having its bi-annual youth conference in February. Neither of them were expecting to attend until weeks prior to the event, and they are so grateful that all the stars aligned (ugh, so cheesy)! They met at the conference, hung out a few times, and...that was it. A beautiful friendship that spanned the next 6 months began. During that time, Aaron got a job that moved him to Detroit while Kara got a new job that moved her to Baltimore. That’s right – she moved to his city the exact same week he moved away. The timing was not ideal, to say the least. Despite the distance and starting new jobs, they knew that their friendship was special, and that what they felt for each other was unique. On August 18, 2017 they ventured into a long-distance relationship, and for two years made the 8-hour trip as often as possible to see one another. After two years of long-distance, Kara and Aaron knew that things needed to change in order for the relationship to grow. Aaron took the leap of faith and found a new job outside of D.C. Kara and Aaron recently moved to South Florida, are learning to love the beach, and looking forward to a time when it is safe to travel again.

Kara spends a lot of weekends on the road for work, so she had an idea of when the proposal might take place. They had been planning a weekend together to explore their (then) new home city of D.C. and surrounding areas to hike. Aaron cooly suggested that Kara ask her boss for the weekend of October 12th off. She, of course, said, “yes”, as she’d been in cahoots with Aaron for months as he designed the ring and planned the proposal. The two set off to Catoctin Mountain Park. After an hour’s hike up they arrived at the top of the mountain’s gorgeous peak. As none of their friends were available to hike with us, Aaron was anxious to find someone at the top to take THE picture. As it turns out, there was about 30 people he could ask, including 3 men who were lounging on the rock where they wanted to take a photo! Eventually, Kara and Aaron decided to climb up and see if the loungers would move aside. Cleverly, Aaron had typed a note into his phone so that the fellow hiker who agreed to take our photo knew what was about to happen. Having joined the 3 loungers on the rock, Aaron was clearly getting nervous. After hesitating for a minute, Kara looked up at him and said, “I know what you’re about to do.” Aaron smiled, looked down on her, and replied, “Do…do you want to do it elsewhere?” After laughing, she said, “no” and he finally got down on one knee and asked her to marry him! Everyone on the mountain clapped (including the 3 rock-loungers). The proposal itself was amazing, but it doesn’t compare to the real surprise that happened later that night. Aaron told Kara that he’d made reservations at a restaurant that his parents recommended and that she had to be ready by 8. When they walked in, she was blown away to find both of families and her closest friends waiting to surprise her. They spent the weekend all together and could not imagine a better way to celebrate the next chapter of our lives!

We look forward to celebrating with all of you while keeping everyone’s health and safety in mind. Therefore, we respectfully ask that all guests in attendance for the weekend’s festivities be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Choosing to get vaccinated is a deeply personal decision and we respect everyone's individual choice. If this poses a challenge for you, or you have decided, for whatever reason, to not get vaccinated we ask you celebrate with us virtually. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.