we're making it official!

Temple Beth Sholom Roslyn Heights, NY

Amanda and I first crossed paths on Coffee Meets Bagel, a dating app where connections are fleeting and conversations expire after seven days. Our exchanges were slow, consisting of only a message or two per day. As the ticking clock edged us towards expiration, I found myself intrigued by this woman — a vegan, redheaded, zero-waste speaker — completely different than anyone I had pictured myself with. With just hours to spare, I decided to take a chance, sending her my number in hopes that our conversation could continue beyond the app. Just as I was losing hope, thinking our match had vanished into the ether, a message from Amanda arrived. Our conversation was rekindled and quickly led to our first date at The Raines Law Room. There, our night flowed effortlessly and organically. I knew instantly that I wanted to see her again. The universe, however, had other plans. A planned trip to Nashville on my part and an unexpected bout of COVID on Amanda's saw our second date delayed by three full weeks. While the wait was long, it was worth it, serving as the foundation for our love story.

The year 2021 was coming to an end, and I had one last date on my calendar before my New Year’s resolution – to quit online dating for good and meet someone “in the real world” – was set to begin. Little did I know then that December 22nd would be my last first date ever. That evening, I met Moshe at a speakeasy in Manhattan. Over drinks, we discovered that we came from two different worlds. No, not Iran and Long Island, but Brooklyn and the Upper West Side (a long-distance relationship, by NYC standards). Despite our differences – me, a zero-waste vegan writer, and Moshe, a steak-loving engineer – our conversation flowed naturally. It felt like talking with an old friend, albeit a handsome one with dark hair, olive skin, and a good sense of humor. By the end of our first date, I knew I would see Moshe again. The next day, Moshe headed to Nashville on a solo trip for the holiday break. His shared love of travel did not go unnoticed. Unfortunately, he returned just in time for me to come down with COVID, postponing our next meeting by nearly a month. After getting to know each other over texts, Facetime calls, and far too many memes, we finally made plans for our second date…and then our third, fourth, and so on. Since that first date, Moshe has adopted composting, and I've adopted his two cats. We've traversed three continents together, spent countless hours commuting on the Subway, and recently traded our NYC apartments for suburbia. On a trip to Portugal in November 2023, Moshe got down on one knee and posed the question that would lead to our greatest adventure yet. We are absolutely thrilled to share the news of our upcoming nuptials with our beloved family and friends and look forward to having you on our special day.