Ashleigh and Brett met in August of 2016 at the University of Central Florida. Both had coincidentally recently returned from living in Israel; Ashleigh after her summer abroad in Tel Aviv and Brett after three years in the country. They both became involved with Israel affairs group on campus after each being offered the one position of President by different faculty members. What could have been the start to an awkward working relationship ended up becoming the exciting start of the rest of their lives together. After graduating from UCF, Ashleigh and Brett moved to Denver, Colorado. Their next chapter brought into their lives their sweet dog named Jozie, a law school graduation, and ultimately, a proposal in the picturesque Colorado mountains. The rest, as they say, is history. Ashleigh and Brett are delighted to celebrate their next chapter together with their loved ones in Palm Springs on October 29, 2022

When planning a proposal during a global pandemic, flexibility is key. It seemed each time Brett came up with a plan, life threw him a new curve ball, including, but most definitely not limited to, a record-breaking blizzard. Finally, after forming his newest plan, Brett asked Ashleigh to clear her schedule for the weekend for a surprise date and naively hoped that it wouldn’t be too suspicious. However, when Ashleigh was able to finally secure a then-elusive appointment for her COVID vaccine that same day in Colorado Springs, an hour and a half away, Brett decided again to roll with it. He picked up sushi in Colorado Springs and brought Ashleigh to the picturesque Garden of the Gods for a picnic. It was a full circle nod to their first date, a sushi picnic at the Reflection Pond on UCF's campus in 2016. When they arrived at the lookout point of the picturesque Garden of the Gods, there were tea lights and rose petals positioned everywhere. Thinking that this was probably left over from another couple, Ashleigh innocently commented to Brett, "aw look, someone did something romantic over there!" Unbeknownst to Ashleigh, Brett's friends had driven all the way from Denver to help him set up the most beautiful proposal. Moments later, Brett got down on one knee and asked Ashleigh to marry him!

Growing up, I was fortunate enough to live in a multigenerational home with my grandmother, Sandy, (...but she was best known as Ma). My grandmother was one my very best friends in the world and who I ultimately attribute my love of food and adventure to. After dealing with serious illness as a teen, Ma moved to Orlando to take care of me during my entire freshman year of college. There are not too many 18 year olds who willingly want to live with their grandmother, but Ma and I were two peas in a pod. When she passed away shortly after I graduated college, I was completely devastated. However, if Ma's heart belonged anywhere in the world, it would be the desert. I cannot name another place on earth that she loved more. When it came to picking a wedding location filled with meaning, it felt like a no brainer--it had to be the desert. I look forward to sharing such a special & symbolic place with all of you. -Ashleigh