One Monday evening on a brisk January holiday weekend, a girl in a yellow peacoat, tired of all her plans falling through, walked to a nearby bar, sat down alone and ordered a neat pour. One Monday evening on a brisk January holiday weekend, a boy in a dashing suit, with his wrist in a cast, stopped at a local bar after work to have a post-shift drink. From four empty seats away, Ryan opened a conversation with Hadas by simply 'What are you drinking?' Turns out the two were drinking the same rum. Over the next few hours Ryan and Hadas talked, moved a little closer, talked, moved a little closer, until they were side by side. He walked her home. That was the start of forever. And many, many more nights at Sparrow.

After partially planning our wedding during a vacation to southern Utah, it was finally time to propose! Thanks to Wendy Schiller, we were able to secure a family ring from Hadas' grandmother, featuring an emerald stone. As I pondered when and where to execute this moment, I noticed that our three year anniversary was on the horizon and got to planning. A favorite restaurant of ours, Gibsons Italia, nestled along the famous Chicago River, was the ideal spot for this beautiful moment, so I called a close friend, Susie, for her unrivaled assistance in helping to execute memorable occasions. As I got the ball rolling, their was one small hiccup, Hadas had an aeriel trapeze audition that same night, so she would be rushing from the studio to dinner. This actually was to my advantage and I was able to get to the restaurant early and pick out a few bottles of wine for dinner and plan my kneel. After getting our ducks in a row at Italia, I told Hadas to meet me at Porter for drinks with our friends Matt and Jess, a short walk from our final destination. This setup allowed for me to get Hadas outside without much suspicion. After a cocktail, we started our stroll along the river; a cold, brisk January evening. As we neared the spot, I made sure the "photographer" was outside, a host from Italia, tucked away on a bench near the restaurant. At that point in time, I got down on one knee and asked the love of my life to marry me, "Three years ago, you changed my life forever and I can't wait to celebrate for the rest of our lives!" The night commenced with champagne, steaks and a final stop at Sparrow...let the good times roll.