In the summer of 2008 Donia was living in Brooklyn with a couple friends, including a guy named Alex Baumel. Unbeknownst to her, Noah, who was home in DC for summer break, was on the chinatown bus for a quick visit to NYC.  Noah and a couple friends arrived at the home of an old high school friend of theirs, with whom they were staying. His name: Alex Baumel!

So it was that Noah walked into Donia’s apartment, and though neither one knew it yet, the other had taken notice.  After getting to know each other a little bit, Noah, upon discovering that they were throwing a 4th of July party the following weekend, made up a story about already having plans to return to the City then.

Noah continued to visit Donia in Brooklyn two or three times a week (yes, that’s right) for the remainder of the summer.  And by the end of August, Noah and Donia had fallen in love and were lamenting their separation as Noah returned to Wisconsin for school.

Long distance was short lived.  By March of 2009, Donia had moved to Madison, Wisconsin where the pair froze their butts off for over a year, as Noah finished his Undergrad and Masters programs.

May of 2010 Noah and Donia returned to NYC, finally settling back in Brooklyn, only about a mile from where it all began, and where they still reside.

As the years passed, Noah and Donia grew together and their love flourished.  And after an appropriate amount of time (hey, 8 years IS an appropriate amount of time considering how young they were when they met), Noah popped the question on a beautiful and secluded volcanic beach on the Big Island of Hawaii.

They are both looking forward with great anticipation to committing themselves to one another for the rest of their lives, in NOLA, May, 2017, and can’t wait to share in this celebration of their love with all of you, their family and friends.