Jacob was living in Hyde Park after graduating from college and Gideon had just moved to Forest Park to start medical school at Loyola. Practically speaking, they were in a long-distance relationship by Chicago standards. They matched on Hinge (sponsor our wedding, please) in early December 2018 but both went home for the holidays before they could schedule a date. Gideon asked Jacob if he wanted to text in the meantime and Jacob said no because he was trying to unplug over the break, and then proceeded to message every day on the app until their first date on January 2, 2019. They tried going to a drag bar, which was closed, and went to the brewery next door (and both establishments closed during COVID womp womp). They discussed their shared childhood experience of getting in trouble for talking in elementary school but not having friends in their class, their obsession with Brandy Cinderella and going to musicals with their grandmothers, and Gideon guessed Jacob’s middle name on the first try. Multiple Chicago Snowmageddons later, Jacob quarantining with the Levinsons for 4 months, one MD, one Master’s in Urban Planning, half an anesthesiology residency, four apartments, multiple non-profits, and moving across the country to Denver it was clear we had found our besheret, our destiny.

On April 22, 2023, in their shared Google Calendar, Gideon had put a trip to Chicago’s Adler Planetarium (he told Jacob got free tickets from work; total lie) followed by seeing the Alanis Morisette jukebox musical 'Jagged Little Pill' with their friends Leah and Jacob (Straight-cub to avoid confusion). Jacob met Gideon at the planetarium and they watched shows until it closed. After that, Gideon forced Jacob to walk around the beach along Lake Michigan while it started to get colder and colder until it eventually was snowing sideways. After an hour of complaining about the weather and begging to leave, Jacob said to Gideon, “You are not considering my basic physical needs, which makes you - by definition - inconsiderate.” Gideon ignored him and insisted they walk to a rock with a panoramic view of the lake and skyline. He then launched into a speech, starting with a note he had written to himself a month and a half after their first date about how he had fallen in love and Gideon discussed the importance of the day’s Gematria and its holiness. Jacob realized mid-speech that Gideon was proposing, and to avoid blacking out, he yelled multiple times, “I’M BLACKING OUT!”, which did not work at all. The last thing he remembered Gideon saying was, “You’re the best and I’m the best, and we both deserve the best, so I think we should get married.” Gideon got down on his good knee and gave Jacob a ring with his fingerprint engraved inside, then handed Jacob a ring with Jacob’s fingerprint inside, and Jacob proposed to Gideon with it. Not that you asked, but Gideon took Jacob's prints from a wine glass using an at-home fingerprint kit. Gideon called them an Uber, and while inside, he told Jacob of his elaborate plan to propose in December, but people’s calendars weren’t lining up and the rings came early so he thought, why not propose? (Total lie.) He said that he’d gotten them an Airbnb with a private chef to cook them a gluten-free meal, after which they could call their parents and tell them the news (another lie). They pulled up to the apartment building and took the elevator to the rooftop, and Jacob heard jazz music coming from inside the amenity room. They opened the door to 60 of their best friends and family, having traveled in from across the city, both coasts, and multiple states in between, and they had a surprise engagement party catered by Jacob’s favorite, Chipotle. There were drinks named after their grandmothers, photo slideshows, performances, a Zoom connection and it was perfect. Jacob was so surprised that he hit Gideon multiple times in front of everyone. You can see him hit Gideon for yourself in the video above. We cannot wait to continue the celebrations all Labor Day Weekend long in Detroit!!