S1 EP 14 | Romantic DC proposal...in an alley?

Jonathan Mervis and his wife Marni lived on opposite sides of Meridian Hill Park until they met on a cloud.

Jonathan Mervis and Sara Alepin in the studio at Full Service Radio, The Line Hotel, AdMo, DC.

SHOW NOTES

Wedding Date: September 02, 2018

Wedding Location: Marni’s parents’ backyard in Frederick, MD

Approx. number of guests who attended your wedding: 200

How did you two meet?

We met on an app called "coffee meets bagel" ... Since I assume apps are all hosted on a cloud computer in the sky, I say we met on a cloud!

What was the first thing you noticed about your partner?

Her smile and sense of humor.

Tell us about the proposal!

We went on a walk through Blagden Alley (right behind our apartment and it's our special place we go for walks all the time)... and I proposed on our walk to the restaurant. I had told her we we had a double date at a fancy steakhouse so she should get dressed up a bit. After the proposal we actually did go to dinner there. We had dessert and drinks back at our home with her family and friend waiting for us. The next morning we flew to South Africa to go on safari. It was part of the Mervis Diamond safari group triip --so both my parents were on the 10 day trip as well as her parents signed up. So it was an family-style engagement-moon. She got to meet dozens of more family, cousins, etc. in South Africa.

What were your top 5 favorite moments from your wedding?

1. when the dancing in the tent got too raucous and I led people out to the open grassy area. It was jubilation. Then we get lifted up on chairs, the sun was setting, and it was just magical to look out over all our family and friends.

2. Hearing the speeches from friends and family and feeling so loved

3. After the ceremony, there's a Jewish tradition for the bride and groom to be alone for 10 -15 minutes and just relax, take it all in. That was surprisingly really special. Because the rest of the day is going by like a whirlwind of activity and in that time we finally had a chance to talk and appreciate whats going on.

4. The photos of Marni and I in a little garden behind our Airbnb we had rented. Aside from loving our photographers, it was a gorgeous space, peaceful, and I got to see how gorgeous Marni looked in her white dress and how radiant her face was beaming.

5. Me running around the dance floor giving everyone such happy sweaty hugs (hot summer day outside) and thanking everyone.

What was the planning process like? Did you run into any obstacles? How did you overcome them?

I have to be super appreciative and acknowledge that Marni is so understanding and took the twists and turns of wedding planning in stride. We both knew that we weren't going to have a smooth planning process or actual wedding because it was put together in 4 months and it was in her parents backyard for 200 people and they clearly have never done that before. We knew it would be an adventure and we tried to enjoy the ride.

What advice do you have for engaged couples?

I think weddings are really such a special slice of life to celebrate. There's a ton of attention on the planning and the details but I think more attention should be placed on what it means to actually be married. We met with a rabbi a few times to discuss what our lives would be like as a married couple. I think if we as a society are going to be honest -- we should have required classes and training before you can get a marriage license -- similar to a driver's license. At the very least couples should be forced to discuss important topics like how to handle disagreements, how to reconcile different tolerances of risk, differing appreciation of family, religion, there's so much to talk about! I want to thank my sister who gave us as a wedding gift a book about healthy marriages and the advice that the sooner we learn to speak the same language about our relationship, the better we'll be later when issues and challenges do come up. My sister is very wise!

Jon and Marni Mervis. Photo by Photos from the Harty.