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JOYCE WISWELL SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
PHOTOGRAPHS BY SAM WOLSON AND MAX COLLINS

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aura Flusty has just one regret about
her marriage to Jake Smilovitz: She
wishes there were more pictures.
She has a video and hundreds of images
(shot by two photojournalist friends, one
of whom flew in from Kenya), but “I wish
I had even more because I just want to
remember it more,” says Flusty of her May
28, 2016, wedding day.
The event “was exactly what I wanted and
more,” says Flusty, a marketer at American
Express. Smilovitz (son of the WDIV sports-
caster Bernie) manages mergers, acquisi-
tions and venture capital at the New York
Times. The couple reside in Manhattan.
The two grew up just four miles apart
and both belonged to — and were b’nai
mitzvah at — Temple Israel in West
Bloomfield, but did not meet until they
were in the elite Order of Angell organiza-
tion at the University of Michigan.
“It was instant respect for each other,
and we knew we wanted to marry within
a few months,” Flusty says. “But it wasn’t
until three and a half years later that he
actually proposed.”
And what a proposal it was. The couple
were on their way to a work function — or
so Flusty thought — when they “bumped
into” a friend who gave them access to a
private section of Madison Square Park.
The next thing Flusty knew, Smilovitz was
on one knee and family members were

LEFT: The chuppah was designed from the fabrics of
the couple ’ s mothers ’ wedding dresses.
ABOVE: Bouquet of white peonies, white
ranunculus, blush astilbe, burgundy peonies, seeded
eucalyptus and succulents

jn

January 26 • 2017

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