How did the two of you meet?
My parents met him a year before we did. They fell for him hard and didn’t care that I was already in a relationship. A lot of friends and family members felt we needed to meet so we finally did a year later. I was now single and he was on the outs with someone he was dating. We were celebrating the holiday of Simchat Torah with our community, IKAR. (The same community that hosted the event where he first met my parents). I heard he was in the room and was excited to meet him. He heard I was there and due to girlfriend reasons, wanted to keep his distance. Toward the end of the event, I made my way to him and we stood shoulder to shoulder not saying a word but both reveling in the amazing energy between us. One of the final moments of the ceremony, the Kallat Torah (bride of the Torah) is called up for an honor. I turned to him and finally broke the ice by asking him to translate the Hebrew. All he heard me ask was, “what is bride”?
Mika Gurovich
Give us the proposal details! When? Where? How?
My birthday is August 22nd, this year that fell the day after the solar eclipse. So, I decided to celebrate the following weekend. I planned a hike down malibu creek park and invited friends and family to join in the fun. Jeremiah was really excited about the event and made it a point to follow up with everyone to make sure they were coming. This definitely made me a little suspicious that something special might be happening. The night before the hike, my best friend showed up on my doorstep from Colorado and convinced me that she was my surprise. It completely threw me from thinking anything else might happen! The hike kicked off on Sunday morning with friends and family and the plan was to meet those who weren’t up for it, at the swimming hole at the end.
Bill Kennedy
It was 107 degrees that day and there’s barely any shade on this hike. What was meant to take 2 hours took 5 and a comedy of errors ensued along the way. A photographer friend was with us snapping photos casually which made me think nothing of his ask to grab a shot of us when we reached the end. I was super sweaty, had taken my shirt off so I’m only in a sports bra and rocking a paper birthday crown one of my nieces had made me. As we posed for a picture I didn’t even realize that Jeremiah had given the go-sign. Behind us on the beach friends and family (who had been hiding behind trees and under towels when we arrived) popped open parasols spelling “WILL YOU MARRY ME?” in bright bold letters. As we turned around my heart skipped a beat just as Jeremiah got down on one knee on top of that rock. As he did, our soundtrack began to play and a drone that had been tracing our steps came into focus. When I said yes, cheers filled the canyon. Jeremiah turned to me, offered his hand and asked, “Will you take this leap with me”. I said, “Yes” and we jumped off the rock into the swimming hole together. We swam to shore and were met by friends and family, champagne toasts, sweets, and tears. A truly impromptu engagement party like none other!
Bill Kennedy
What has been your favorite experience planning the wedding?
Finding the artist who designed our Jewish marriage contract (ketubah) has been really rewarding. This is a piece of art that will hang in our home forever so it was really important to find someone that felt like our style. This is a challenge when the market of artists doing this type of art, is rather limited. But we prevailed and found someone truly special.
Mika Gurovich
How do you stay sane under the pressures of wedding planning?
I’m fully aware that we’re just planning a big party (in our case, a weekend of partying!) So, I’ve been trying to learn as much as possible from every aspect. The thing that has kept me sane, is realizing that my partner and I are very different when it comes to making decisions about things like flowers and napkins. I insist on doing all of the research to know what’s out there and what price points are available and he’d rather have limited options to choose between. This has proven very successful for us as we get things done.
Mika Gurovich
What is your favorite part of using Joy for your wedding?
I love that it’s free and love how easy it is to customize and make beautiful. It’s wonderful! I’ll recommend it over and over again.
What piece of advice would you give couples to ensure that they use Joy to its fullest potential?
Don’t let great be the enemy of good. Just get started, put something on the page, and edit as you go. It’s always easier to edit something you’ve already started than to begin from scratch.
Mika Gurovich
At Joy we believe that even though a wedding lasts a day, joy lasts forever. What does that mean to you?
Joy has given us the opportunity to tell our story and share ourselves with our family and friends, allowing them to view our relationship and know us as a couple in ways they may not have already! What we create here will always be a piece of how our loved ones see us, we love that!
