 |
|
|
| How we met |
| The Engagement |
|
On a cool March night, Aviva and Brett first laid eyes on each other at a shabbat dinner hosted by the local Chabad house. Aviva had just returned to Boston after her trip down to Miami to see her Granny and to defrost in the Florida sun. Brett was in the throws of his last year of grad school and was looking forward to a meal of gefilte fish and home-made matzoah ball soup.....well he found more than that! Brett was enchanted with Aviva's glowing (Florida tanned skin..um) personality, and Aviva was equally impressed with Brett's boyish charm and geo-political-religious-comedic banter. |
Self-described as 'the experiment', Brett is the eldest of 3 brothers. A graduate of Hadley, Pingree, Boston University, and the Fletcher School, he has tended to bounce back-and-forth between Boston and the nation's capital. Brett enjoys politics, spent last year trying to keep our homeland safe, and will have (hopefully) completed his 1st year of law school by the time the wedding comes around... Aviva is a temporary transplant to the Eastern seaboard. She is far from the swaying palm trees of her undergrad school UC Santa Barbara, and is now finishing her degree in Speech Language Pathology at Northeastern University.
|
The Engagement
Brett's version: Nothing could've prepared me for my nerves or how perfect it all turned out to be. Ok, the story, how it happened...the 'Cliff Notes' version. The groundwork was laid a couple of months earlier when my mother and I happened to 'stumble upon' a jewelry store in Boston where I found the engagement ring, purchased it, and was able (thanks to Uncle Charlie!) to head off to LA to visit Aviva's family and formally ask for her father's blessing. (Steps #1 and #2 - Completed) Now, Aviva and I had planned for some time to head on up to Boston for my old grad school, Fletcher's, graduation at Tufts. About a week before, when flights were booked, a light went off in my head telling me that this would be the perfect time to pop the question. The plans went into full swing - dinner reservations, hotel, flowers, ring, logistics, etc.... I opted to do it Sat. night during dinner at Argana's, a Moroccan restaurant in Inman Square where we went on our first date. Long story short, during Aviva's trip to the Ladies Room, I informed the tables around us of my intentions then went to the Men's Room myself (as some might say, 'my second home'). At this point, I realized that there was a belly dancer performance scheduled for 8:30pm. So, on my way to the bathroom, I introduced myself to this woman (we will call her 'Miss Bellydancer') who promised to incorporate me into her show. Of course, I trusted her, after all, I had met her all of 30 seconds ago. Returning to the table, the performance began. Three songs and a good amount of shimmying later, my heart racing and Aviva fending off the dancer's invitation to have her join in, the music stopped and Miss Bellydancer announced, 'May I have your attention, Brett would like to say a few words' or something to that effect - excuse me for not remembering exactly what she said, I was about to pass out. Aviva's jaw dropped as she wondered how in the world this woman knew my name. I then got up in front of the restaurant where I recited a poem, said a few words, and asked in both Hebrew and in English, 'Will you marry me?' while on one knee. By this point, Aviva knew what was going on and started to get a bit teary eyed while the restaurant began to clap and cheer. Needless to say, as I placed the ring upon her finger, Aviva was no longer 'too tired to go out' as she had been arguing since we'd finished the main course. We were then able to stop by Rudy's where we met up with a bunch of our friends and family to celebrate. This made it really special as many of the people who are credited with introducing Aviva and I were able to make it. No details will be offered on the remaining events other than to say that, if given the chance, try and stay in a suite at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge. It's worth every penny. One thing is certain (warning - about to be corny) - I never felt so certain about anything in my life and am so lucky to have met Aviva. |