Aaron Cohen met Miriam Schneider on a blind date at a New York City restaurant in the spring of 2006. Earlier that day, Aaron’s grandmother had passed away, but he chose to keep the date. “She had been sick for a long time, and my family knew it was coming,” says Aaron, 30, a television sports writer and producer. “But we had the dinner scheduled, and the last thing—literally—my grandmother had said to me was to go find a nice Jewish girl and get married. So I figured it wouldn’t be right to cancel.”
His grandmother might have had a premonition, because less than three years of dating later, Aaron was ready to pop the question to Miriam, 30, an attorney. “We had been talking about marriage, so I needed to find a way to catch her off guard,” he says. So he told her that a last-minute work event had come up—a cocktail party—and she should come.“I left work a little early and met Aaron downtown, where he told me he would take me to the press entrance for the event,” Miriam remembers. “He led me to the Hudson River with a view of the Statue of Liberty. I was clueless. He then told me there was no banquet—I still remained clueless. When he got on his knee to propose, it finally clicked.” Her answer? Yes!
Then Aaron confessed one more detail: “I’d hired a photographer who was crouched in the bushes ten feet away, so the whole proposal was preserved with some phenomenal pictures.”
When: June 20, 2009.
Where: Andrew Mellon Auditorium in DC’s Federal Triangle.
Ceremony: “Jewish and romantic,” Miriam says.
Cake flavors: Still being decided, but the cake will definitely include chocolate and vanilla.
Music: The band Round Midnight
First date: Miriam and Aaron went on their blind first date with the mutual friend who had set them up and a few others. “The table was round, and we sat next to each other,” Aaron says. “I tried to make her laugh and succeeded maybe half the time. Afterwards, I walked her home and was able to get her number.”
First impression: “Aside from noting that she was a fox, probably my biggest impression was that she was all class,” he says. She first noticed his “wonderful dimples.”
Silliest fight: Arguing over who was and wasn’t cool in high school, Aaron says. Or whether the concept of brunch is a good thing or a bad thing, Miriam says.
Most romantic gesture: When Miriam was studying for the bar exam, Aaron made her music mixes “Fast ones for when I needed energy, slow ones for something more relaxing, and one to give me confidence right before the exam,” she says. When he went to China for a month to work at the Olympics, she made him a calendar with a sweet thought written on a Post-It for every day he was gone.
Sweetest nickname: Aaron calls Miriam “Frog”; she calls him “Love.”
One thing others would be surprised to know about Miriam: “If you catch her at the right moment, she loves watching a good boxing match.”
One thing others would be surprised to know about Aaron: “He likes to sit at the beach for hours and do nothing, despite the fact that he’s wearing long sleeves, lathered in sunscreen, and under an umbrella.”
When Miriam knew they were meant to be: “I can’t remember the time when I didn’t. It was early. I do remember that on our fourth date, he took me to dinner, and I was so impressed with his confidence—it even came across in how he sat. I later learned there was a big hole in his sweater, which he was trying to cover up.”
When Aaron knew they were meant to be: “Oh, many times, but most definitively on a trip to Spain, when we had about five consecutive absolutely perfect days in a row.”
Check back here every Tuesday for new Save the Date columns showcasing fun, local couples who are getting married. Are you getting married—or know someone who is? We’d love to hear from you. E-mail lshallcross@washingtonian.com with a love story you think is worth telling.
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