Sarah and Jake met as so many modern couples do: on a dating app during a global pandemic. They both had their “Jewish” filters on as they browsed Hinge for matches. Jake started the conversation by commenting on one of Sarah’s pictures from a college dance performance, revealing a shared love of swing dancing. From a video call to multiple outdoor dates, to finally going inside together, Jake and Sarah quickly bonded over not only their shared love of dance, but also their years at summer camp, the role Judaism plays in their lives, the desire to travel and have new adventures, and so much more.

One of Jake and Sarah’s favorite date night activities is attending live theater. Sarah is a bit of a musical theater nerd; she has a wall of Playbills and a brain full of lyrics to prove it. Jake grew up going to theater performances with his family, and he has loved seeing more shows since meeting Sarah. When Jake was ready to propose, he knew a special trip to New York was the way to do it. Sarah would never turn down the idea to go see a show on Broadway.

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Jake and Sarah took the bus from Baltimore to NYC to enjoy a fun night out and a Wednesday matinee. After a fun day exploring the city, they had a delicious dinner at Delice & Sarrasin, a fully vegan French restaurant in the West Village. After dinner, Sarah introduced Jake to Marie’s Crisis, a nearby acoustic, sing-along, showtunes piano bar. Despite the cold and rain, Jake stopped Sarah just before reaching the front door of Marie’s Crisis, got down on one knee, and asked her to marry him. Sarah gave a quick nod while in utter disbelief.

“Is this real?” Sarah said.

“Yes,” Jake replied. “I mean, the ring is fake, but everything else is real.”

When they discussed going ring shopping together, Sarah expected the ring shopping to come before a proposal. Instead, Jake proposed with a $20 placeholder cubic zirconia ring and managed to genuinely surprise her while still ensuring that the two could pick out the perfect ring together.

Elated and newly engaged, Sarah went with Jake into Marie’s Crisis where they got to celebrate at the ultimate show tunes sing along. It turns out the next day’s Broadway show wasn’t the highlight of their trip!

Sarah and Jake are so excited to be with their family and friends as they get married and start the next chapter of their lives: life-long commitment and filing taxes jointly.