A rockin' engagement tale

So not too long ago we went out for dinner with a very special friend of mine and her amazing fiance Jake.  She - being the fantastic foodie friend about whom I have blabbed previously - obviously had an amazing and eccentric restaurant recommendation for the four of us: Aziza - home to the most divine Moroccan food you've ever treated your mouth to.

  

Since Deb and Jake moved to the city last fall, I snatch up any time I can steal on their fully-booked social calendar. She's in law school and volunteers to help Iraqi refugees gain legal status on the side, he works at a top VC firm and trains for his plethora of Bay Area races before he heads into the office at 6am, and they each have several Rolodexes of friends in every city imaginable, so they've got their hands a tad bit full.

Some of their friends at the club where they first met

Back in late August, I made the horrible mistake of not pre-booking and confirming a coveted time slot on their agenda, so we lost touch for a brief few weeks.  I didn’t think too much of it at the time.  Of course I deeply missed their cheery and sidesplitting story-telling and Deb’s unreal, Cordon-Bleu-trained cooking, but they’re the kind of friends you can go without seeing for years and then see them and just pick right back up where you left off.  When we finally did make time to get together however (a foggy Monday evening since their weekends are often spent in Vegas, NYC, and sometimes Sao Paulo), I learned I had missed out on some pretty darn exciting and life-changing news – they were getting hitched!  Before they even finished the sentence, my mouth was off the races with questions eager to get the full scoop.

Oh my goodness!  How did he ask?  What did he have planned afterwards?  When’s the wedding?  Where are you two having it?  What will you wear?  What type of ceremony?

If you know Deborah and Jake, however, you’d know these were all foolish inquiries.  I should have known better.  Deb had once told me over a delicious glass of rose bubbly at Bin38, that they would in fact never be engaged.  I was told I would be at a big barbeque dressed in red checks and ketchup with a hot dog one hand and a beer in the other, and then suddenly the two of them would ascend from the stairs announcing that they’d just signed the papers in the back room.  No engagement.  No wedding.  Just husband and wife.
 

When they did tell us the story of the whole thing that night at Aziza, it was in true Deb and Jake style – their voices escalating rapidly as they each tried to out-speak the other racing to see who could get the real juicy details out first.  When out to dinner with the two of them, you never have to worry about having things to talk about – just one of them can fill the air with the most delicious stories you’ve ever heard told at a volume level that has gotten them kicked out of refined (and perhaps not-so-refined) establishments.     

The story of the engagement was anti-climactic to say to the least.  Apparently they had gone hiking eventually reaching a beautiful, but very large field filled with wild flowers.  Deb – who prides herself in never having run more than a few minutes at any one time – announces that she will sprint across the clearing to the other side in order to cut down on the time needed to cross it.  Jake humors her – letting her take off at as fast a rip as she can manage – but unsurprisingly she has collapsed within 38 seconds.  Her hair is tasseled, she’s sweaty, she can’t get a good breath in, and she has trouble lifting her arm to wave her man over, let alone call to him for help.  Jake decides this is the perfect time to pop the question.  “It was the only time I could get her to really shut up and let me say a few words,” he told us.

Hiking while in Jordan

So he asks, she says yes, and they’re happy.  But then what?  Well, that’s really all he had planned.  They found some quality chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches and enjoyed those with a bottle of bubbly.  Exhausted from all the excitement, they went home to watch Clifford ("a ridiculously stupid Martin short movie" - Deborah) before attempting to dine at an extravagant restaurant.  Being totally adverse to pretenious, over-priced fancy digs they immediately decided to ditch it and head to a brewery instead.  They had beers and burgers before heading back to their hotel room to watch Mrs. Doubtfire.  Super romantic.


To Jake’s credit, almost all of his time had been spent picking out The Ring.  Jake’s original plan was to go with something modest, tasteful, and elegant, but one night while grabbing a beer with a hot, single buddy of his he asked the friend what he thought of modest rocks on a married gal’s finger.  “Oh my god, dude.  Totally, totally love ‘em.  As soon as I see that tiny little thing on that finger, I know it’s going to be easy and I waste no time getting to work alluring them home with me.  TOTALLY LOVE hitting on girls with small rocks.”
 

The next day Jake scratched all his previous planning and went out to find the biggest rock he could afford.  And boy did he do good.

Deb and Jake’s engagement story wasn’t the kind you’d typically write a story about (unless you’re me of course), but it actually couldn’t have been more perfect for their lovely, eclectic, totally Deb-and-Jake relationship.  Nothing they do is by the book but it always ends up better than you could have possibly imagined.

While they aren’t officially hitched yet, they’re planning to do it Town Hall style any day now.  Every time I hear from Deb, I always have to ask if I’m speaking with a Miss or a Mrs.  Anyway, I promise to keep you posted on their marital status as this fun-loving and uproarious pair will most certainly be back on this blog soon – I’ve only just scratched the surface of outrageous stories from this twosome.



xoxo

KK