Stacy Wanerman & Jake Vitrofsky

    On January 18th, 2019 Jake Vitrofsky made a decision that would change his life forever. Jake had just returned to John F. Kennedy international airport from a 2-week sojourn to Israel for a taglit trip led by Israel Free Spirit. That night, longing to extend his Jewish connection, he downloaded the OneTable app on his phone and found a Shabbat dinner to attend that week when he returned to Miami.

    Meanwhile, in Miami Stacy Wanerman and her roommate Tori Greene had recently been approved to start the first-ever Moishe Pod in the downtown area of Brickell to host events for young Jewish professionals in their community. They posted on OneTable a pajama-themed Shabbat dinner for January 18th as a means to draw young Jewish professionals to their newly formed space. On the night of the 17th, Tori responded to a request to attend the dinner and confirmed Jake’s attendance.

When Jake arrived at the dinner, not wearing pajamas, he entered the decorated apartment in which he knew not a single soul and introduced himself to the first person he saw. A beautiful young woman wearing a Cookie Monster onesie was standing by the counter greeting people and facilitating introductions between new and existing guests. Jake walked up to Stacy and introduced himself, told her about his interests, and was subsequently passed off to another guest to discuss the intricacies of illuminating a space properly. 



Later that evening as Jake and Stacy were on the balcony playing card games with soon to be friends, they would discover a shared set of interests, humor, and a magnetism that immediately drew them to be enamored with one another. Alas, the night came to an end they parted ways with little knowledge of what was to follow. Soon thereafter Jake invited Stacy to dinner, which she did not think was a date, and they further learned what that magnetism would develop into. They went to the Gyu-Kaku restaurant in Brickell, a favorite restaurant of theirs to this day, and learned more about each other over a hot grill. After dinner, the couple went on a walk and learned of their shared desire to help others, their mutual interest in finding community, and their shared feelings for each other. 

Soon thereafter they attended Stacy's next Moishe Pod event, a blacklight Havdallah where the couple didn't leave one another's side the entire night. 

After the Moishe Pod blacklight Havdallah event, Jake and Stacy became inseparable and returned to their favorite restaurant, Gyu-Kaku with their soon to be best friends. Up until this point, nobody else knew of the budding relationship that was emerging between the young couple. They had met earlier this particular morning for a book club being hosted at Stacy's apartment.

Later on, they would find out from friends that they are terrible at hiding their feelings for one another. One of Stacy's best friends could immediately tell that there was some reason they were always sitting next to each other and Jake was always the last person left at every event.

Months later and the word was officially out. Stacy and Jake were openly dating each other and everyone was so excited. Date nights became a regular occurrence, dinners were attended as a couple, but one thing had not yet happened....PARENTS!

As their love for each other grew it became apparent that this would be the next important step if what felt like a forever love was destined to last. On March 18th, Jake went and met Stacy's parents for the first time at a dinner for her father's birthday. The dinner was a HUGE SUCCESS! A few months later their families began to meet as the couple knew this love was a forever kind. 

As the couple grew to knew more about each other, they found they share a common love for Disney, and what later on Stacy began to love - running. Jake begins the couple's addiction to RunDisney Races by running the 10k and half-marathon Star Wars themed races. Stacy had so much fun getting up at 3 am to cheer him on that when they returned home she quickly purchased running sneakers and began training with him.

The couple quickly developed a habit of going on runs together and pushing each other to be their very best. This was an amazing physical exercise but it also helped them to bond over another shared activity. Stacy thought that she would never be able to become a runner, and Jake having previously felt the same way showed her that anything is possible.

Soon after Disney, the couple celebrated Jake's birthday with a surprise getaway trip to Jupiter, Florida at a container home camping site. They both enjoyed their love for the outdoors by kayaking, biking, and building a campfire together. While on their trip they explored Jupiter and found a restaurant that caught them by surprise as the inside was decorated with everything Philadelphia. Jake quickly learned how much Stacy LOVES Philadelphia and she insisted he try scrapple. She knew he was the one because he knew not to ask what's in scrapple, and to just enjoy it. 

After Jake's birthday, there wasn't a moment where the couple was apart and soon after the Jupiter trip, Stacy invited Jake to his first-ever Daybreaker. They are a monthly themed morning dance community of 500,000+ members in 28 cities around the world that inspires people to start their day by waking up and dancing in iconic spaces, first thing in the morning. Each one with a different theme, start with a one hour yoga and fitness experience and then dance for two hours before ending with a community meditation.

The couple would go on to attend Daybreaker events all throughout Miami and even got to experience the first Daybreaker event held at Night (interesting concept.) 

Stacy and Jake were blessed to embark on a once in a lifetime VIP trip to Disney for her 27th birthday. What could be better than a perfect birthday dinner in the perfect birthday place?  Jake surprised Stacy by taking her to the Aventura Mall to purchase the perfect birthday outfit. While at the mall the couple found a LOVE sign, which always reminds Stacy of home. Though Jake has still never been to Philadelphia (at the time of writing) Stacy has always wanted to show him the sign in person. After her first trip to Philly shortly after the couple began dating she returned home with a gift for him, a scale replica of the LOVE sign that is also a pencil sharpener.

Stacy turns 27! Her parents and Jake drive to Disney World for the trip of a lifetime! It began with a backstage tour of Disney World filled with an up-close look into the artistry, technology, mechanical marvels, and backstage secrets that go into producing all the magic of Disney World. While on this trip Stacy & Jake got to explore the new land of Galaxy's Edge, which would become a staple of every Disney trip after many nights of Jake catching Stacy up on all things Star Wars.

Jake and Stacy love to do everything together including COOKING. when Sur la Table opened up nearby their apartment in downtown Brickell the couple was chomping at the bit to sign up for one of the very first classes. This would soon become a go-to date night with the couple booking their next class at the end of every session. On this particular visit, we were celebrating more than just date night, it was our first anniversary from when we had our first date and the day we officially moved in with each other. After cooking class, we rode the nearby elevator to the rooftop bar called Sugar and spent the night enjoying the vistas of downtown Miami. 

After watching from the sidelines for so many months, Stacy finally worked up the courage to join Jake for the Disney Princess Half Marathon weekend. Stacy ran the 5k and 10k, and Jake ran the 10k and half marathon. Stacy's parents even came along for the ride and woke up early in the morning of the first day to cheer Stacy on from the spectators' section. It was a major accomplishment for the couple as a team and as individuals. 

The couple left that weekend with a shared appreciation for the jingle-jangle of running medals, A newfound sense of awe inspired by the iPhone camera's Night mode, and a desire to run many more races together in the future.

March 2020 brought with it some serious new challenges with the spread of COVID-19. We however saw this as an opportunity to keep growing our relationship. One day Jake had a crazy idea to take advantage of plummeting interest rates and we bought our first home! After long talks with our parents and many days crunching numbers, we made the big decisions and never looked back.

Our new condo has amazing amenities such as free kayaks, bikes, and a racquetball court (did you know Jake played racquetball in college). We also practically live in a state park! Of course, we love to host guests, and when COVID-19 troubles subside we would love to invite you over for dinner...if you aren't afraid of heights. Did we mention that the condo is on the 31st floor?

There was one more piece of the puzzle that needed to be completed. What love story doesn't have a happy ending and I wanted to make sure that Stacy had the happiest one of all. She has always told me that her dream wedding venue would be a place with historical significance. The first time I ever met her parents was for Larry's birthday dinner at the Biltmore and I immediately knew that this was where it had to happen.

I spent months designing the engagement ring (the first round was a flop but I got it right on the next go around, see for yourself). After much planning, many visits to the venue, and lots of conversations with every conceivable party the plans were set. On September 4th, 2020 I managed to convince Stacy that COVID was pushing couples to look at wedding venues ahead of their engagement dates, especially when they had been in longstanding committed relationships. Of course, she believed me and I told her to pack a bag for a romantic getaway that weekend after a quick jaunt to the Biltmore for a short tour. What she didn't know was that this tour would turn into a proposal she would remember forever and that her romantic getaway was really a staycation in beautiful Coral Gables.

To be continued in 2022, Miami, Florida.