Zan and Daniel met at Georgia Tech while doing overlapping dual master's degrees. They bonded over a mutual love of Judaism and bicycling, striking up a friendship during Zan's last year in Atlanta. Then they went their separate ways for jobs on opposite coasts, but kept in touch. Two years later, Daniel came to Seattle, where Zan was then living, to visit his cousins. They got together for lunch, and Zan felt a "spark." About six months later, they decided to think about being more than friends, and Zan flew out to visit Daniel in Maryland. They stayed in touch all summer, keeping a weekly Skype date. By that Fall, Zan's next visit to the DC area, they agreed to start dating over a Shabbat dinner of keftes (Sephardic dish of fried meat balls and tomato sauce). Zan moved to Maryland a few months later. The rest is history!

In spring of 2017, Daniel brought Zan to the Alhadeff Passover Seder, where he introduced Zan to his dad's extended family for the first time. Some of Daniel's mom's extended family and friends also visited the house during the last weekend to meet Zan. Zan says that this is the time she knew she and Daniel were getting "really serious." When Zan first visited Daniel in Maryland a year before, Daniel was telling Zan about the Alhadeff seder and Hagaddah and she thought to herself “I’ll know this is ‘real’ if next year I’m at the Alhadeff seder!” Later that summer, Daniel also had the opportunity to meet some of Zan's extended family. It was finally dawning on Daniel in the late summer, early fall that Zan was the “one” - and at some point in the next few months - he would be figuring out the proposal business! That fall, Daniel's family and friends were delighted to see Zan and Daniel together during the High Holiday services. David Franco, wholesale diamond dealer and jeweler, asked Daniel multiple times during the day of Kippur when David will “get a phone call from me”. Zan says that it was during the High Holidays that she knew she wanted to marry Daniel.

Zan and Daniel traveled to the Chicago area for Thanksgiving with her father, sister, and her sister’s boyfriend and family. Before the trip, Zan told Daniel she thought Joe would propose to Gillian during the trip. Daniel respond saying “I don’t have anything for you yet” – with what he hoped was a twinkle in his eye. After Gillian’s engagement, Daniel had a conversation with her father about strategies for proposing (Zan went on a short walk so they could talk!) . At this point, Daniel started asking Zan about what kind of ring she would want. In January, ostensibly for his birthday, Daniel traveled to Atlanta and visited the diamond wholesaler. He picked out a diamond and setting, and began plotting for the big proposal. In typical Daniel fashion, he started by making lists, calendars, and spreadsheets to figure out how and when to propose. The Maryland winter refused to go away, and Daniel was getting nervous about finding time outdoors on a Sunday afternoon to present the ring. On Friday, February 23, Daniel decided to stop waiting, and took the ring home from his locked office desk drawer and hid it in his Shabbat luggage. Zan had suggested a hike in Harper's Ferry, which fit right into Daniel's plans! On Sunday morning, they drove up to Maryland Heights, and walk a up the trail to the overlook - "since the rain had stopped, and we surely want to explore this interesting trail". At the top, Daniel 'took a knee', and with other hikers looking on, finally asked Zan to marry him.