They Do

While the answers are all the same,
the way they ask is different every time.

MICHELLE COHEN

waiting for their meal. Since the
Susan Knoppow and
puzzle usually related to something
David Saperstein
they had just seen or discussed, fig-
Married: May 28, 1995
n _Jewish tradition, when a
uring our the answer was never too
It was definitely David
baby is born, the family plants
challenging
Saperstein's lucky day — or
a tree. When a couple
One Monday, Brown called
weekend for that matter.
becomes engaged, their par-
Gertsmark at work to ask her to
Saperstein told his girlfriend,
ents chop down the trees that were
meet him for dinner that evening. It
Susan Knoppow, to dress up
grown in their honor and use them
was unusual for them to make din-
for a nice dinner for her birth-
as poles to hold up the couple's wed-
ner plans during the week, yet she
day. What she didn't know was
ding chuppah.
was so busy at work "that I didn't
that Saperstein had planned a
But for a religion so rich in wed-
even think twice about it,"
weekend getaway to celebrate
ding tradition, there are few tradi-
Gertsmark recalls.
their soon-to-be-engagement..
tional ways to propose marriage.
At C p.m. sharp,
"I decided her birth-
While some say it's customary for a
Gertsmark walked
day
man to give his bride a pie.c. of jew-
into Seafood
would
elry from his family, there is no one
Tavern in West
be a good
_Jewish way to get engaged.
Bloomfield.
time
to
Here are the ways five metro
Brown was
propose,
Detroit couples did it — proving
already tucked
said
that a lot more goes into the engage-
away in a private
Saperstein.
ment than just getting down on one
booth in the
"But there
knee and popping the question.
back with a
was
the
glass of wine.
problem
of
Diana Gertsmark Brown and David
What she did
surprise
Brown
not know was
because I
Married: June 27, 1998
that he had
knew
she
Whenever David Brown and
already been
would
expect
Diana Gertsmark are out, the couple
at the restau-
it."
always played - hangman" on a
rant for 20
They drove to
place mat or napkin
minutes
Toledo,
to
while
and given
watch
the
Mud
the wait-
Hens
play
(the
ress a
Detroit
Tigers'
dozen
minor league
roses to
Susan
f(noppou.
anc
/
DavidSapestei
club).
Not
deliver
r
n
thrilled
to cele-
to their
brate her birthday
table when he
at the ballpark
gave the thumbs up.
feasting on hot dogs
After ordering, Brown mapped
and peanuts, Knoppow was pleas-
out a hangman puzzle.
antly
surprised when Saperstein
Gertsmark started guessing
kneeled
in the parking lot and asked
letters. Unlike past games,
her
to
marry
him.
though, this one wasn't easy.
After
she
said
yes, Saperstein
With each incorrect guess
whisked
Knoppow
away for the
— and another step closer
major league plans: a romantic din-
to a hanging man — she
ner, followed by a drive the next day
looked up at Brown with a
to the Kentucky Derby. The rain-
baffled expression. Finally,
drenched day didn't spoil the cou-
she got, "Will _ _ _
ple's fun — particularly after betting
Marr_ Me?" As she solved
rk Brown and David
on a horse named "Weekend
the puzzle, he pulled out
a ring.
Madness" that won them $100.

Special to The Jewish News

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Dr Brian and Stephanie Go

Dr. Brian and Stephanie
Goldstein
Married: August 25, 1996
The dock leading into the lake
behind Stephanie Kane's home was
always a special place to her, espe-
cially since it was built by her late
father. That was where Kane
watched her father fish. It was where
she enjoyed feeding ducks and
swans. And it was there that Kane's
husband, Brian Goldstein, proposed.
Without her knowledge,
Goldstein arranged for his sister to
pack a weekend bag for Kane. He
asked her to meet him after work
one Friday on the dock at her par-
ents' house. Standing in a mild driz-
zle, Kane was feeding the swans
when Goldstein walked toward her,
dressed in a suit.
"I looked up at him and won-
dered what was happening," Kane
recalled. "The way he was looking at
me as he walked down the hill, I
thought to myself, 'Could this be
it?' But, I didn't want to get my
hopes up."
As he asked Kane to be his wife,
the mild rain turned into a down-
pour and the swans encircled the
couple. "We were sopping wet," she
remembered. "It was the most beau-
tiful moment of my entire life. It
was the most romantic thing he
could have done.

THEY DO on page 116

12/18

1998

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