We initially connected online, though Michael’s first message went unnoticed; Sarah admits she “seldomly checks the app.” Two weeks later, he followed up with, “Shalom. I prefer to leave no stone unturned and wanted to reconnect.” Sarah was hooked.

After several dates, we visited Shenandoah National Park just in time to catch the changing fall colors. Sarah even went hiking, to the amazement of her family, who were "plotzing.”

Sarah brought Michael home for Thanksgiving, already certain he was “the one.” Sarah's Mom, Debbie, is pictured here, sitting behind an embarrassing photo of Sarah.

Michael also knew Sarah was “the one” and brought her to his company’s holiday party.

Our first major trip together was to Paris. Sarah had a feeling a proposal might be coming soon. She even thought it was a perfect moment being alone in the bell tower overlooking a beautiful backdrop. Michael dropped to one knee, only to jokingly pretend to propose, much to Sarah’s annoyance. He had other plans in mind for the real thing.

One year to the day after we sat on the same bench and made our relationship official, Michael planned to recreate the moment. He tried to take Sarah back to the same art fair in Old Town Alexandria before heading to the marina but she bailed the first day and nearly sabotaged the plan again the next. Michael began a heartfelt speech while Sarah felt a small box in his pocket but couldn’t recall buying anything like that at the art fair. Slowly, it started to click before Michael got down and popped the question.

Even though Sarah knew a proposal was likely at some point, she was still a hot mess. A few nearby families noticed what was happening, applauded, and even helped capture photos for us. After about half an hour, once Sarah had made some calls, we headed to dinner at one of her favorite restaurants, where Michael had made a reservation months in advance.

November was a busy month spent visiting family, beginning with Michael’s. Although Sarah had met his parents, Steve and Brenda, over video calls, this was her first time meeting them in person. Since the proposal hadn’t happened in Paris, she assumed it would come after meeting them. Everyone was overjoyed.

We returned to Akron for Thanksgiving and attended Sarah’s 20th high school reunion. It was an opportunity to reconnect with her bestie Leora and, of course, show off the ring to everyone.

Another major vacation followed, this time to Cancun. It was a much more relaxing trip and, as luck would have it, the hotel helped us take engagement photos. These came in handy as Michael, Sarah, and her brother Bobby continued planning the wedding.

Planning!