Aleta & Ira

August 10, 2024
Friday Harbor, Washington

How We Became Pals

We met one cold morning in April 2016 before the George Washington Parkway Classic, an annual 10 mile run starting in Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, and ending in Old Town Alexandria, in the suburbs of northern Virginia. Aleta planned to run with some friends from Georgetown (hello, Connor, Meredith, Michelle, and Patrick!! They’ll be at the wedding), and Ira planned to run with some coworkers (hello again, Connor). In the half hour before the race, this group of twentysomethings huddled beneath foil blankets to keep warm and chat as the sun rose. We were introduced and made small talk. Ira noticed Aleta’s November Project buff and immediately started asking questions about and poking fun at the free fitness craze he’d successfully avoided, despite the recruitment efforts of a friend. Aleta politely answered Ira’s questions and giggled at his jokes. We chatted just long enough to remember each other’s names before we were funneled into corrals to start the race.

The race went great for both of us (Ira distinctly remembers passing Aleta about 4 miles in), and afterwards we joined up with our respective friends and coworkers, to recap the race and pet Ira’s boss’s very cute dog. With her post-race endorphins running high, Aleta noted two things: 1) Ira ran a fast race and 2) he was pretty cute. In fact, she thought he might even be a potential romantic interest. Despite her interest, no numbers were requested and thus, no numbers were exchanged. Aleta left the Parkway Classic with but a single lifeline: our mutual friend turned unwitting wingman, Connor.

Throughout the spring and summer, Ira and Connor become friends while traveling to Europe for work and going to soccer matches along the way. In the meantime, Aleta began her lobbying campaign and asked Connor to ask Ira about Aleta. Aleta also asked Meredith to ask Connor to ask Ira about Aleta. Meredith then asked Connor to ask Ira about Aleta. After enough instances of Connor asking Ira about Aleta, Ira finally got the hint about the cute girl from the race. He decided to join Connor’s kickball team, for the chance to ruin the grass on the National Mall, chase intramural sports glory, and hopefully get to know Aleta a little better. With the help of a truly humongous cast of characters (hi, Maggie, Steph, Drew, Peter, Olga and our entire summer kickball team!) the slow burning pursuit of love began.

Finally, in September 2016, Ira asked Aleta on a first date. Filled with the misplaced confidence of a 24 year-old white man working in consulting, he asked Aleta to go rock climbing, despite not having rock climbed since a middle school birthday party. Aleta happily obliged and showed up with her own rock climbing shoes, ready to send a few routes. Despite the skill mismatch, we had a great time and grabbed pizza nearby, each of us too nervous and excited to finish our slices. In the weeks that followed, we biked and ran around DC, nervously ate more pizza (we can and do eat pizza normally now - ask Ira for his Seattle Pizza Rankings, by the way), treated each other to gelato, and kissed on the steps of the National Portrait Gallery under the autumn moon.

The rest, as they say, is history.

A note on language: We decided early on in our situationship that we preferred the term “pals” to just about any other to describe our relationship. (Many thanks are due to the original pals, Steven and Katie, for the inspiration - they’ll also be at the wedding.) The term stuck, so chances are you’ll hear it during the wedding.

How we decided to become lifelong pals

In February 2023, we took a weekend trip to La Push, Washington, a quiet town perched on the rocky coast of the Pacific Ocean and the perfect place to get engaged. We had been talking about taking this next step for months and it was really important that our engagement reflect the nature of our relationship. So we decided to propose to each other, by writing love letters, then reading them at sunset on Second Beach in Olympic National Park, Aleta’s most favorite place in the entire world.

As sunset drew closer, the storm clouds opened up and it began to rain. Undaunted, we put on our rain jackets and rain pants, then hiked to a deserted Second Beach, to find a layered, but lovely, gray sky. Seated on massive driftwood logs, amid the rapidly descending twilight, we read our letters together, exchanged rings, and popped a bottle of champagne. It was a magnificent PNW evening.

A note on location: La Push, Washington has been the site of many Greer family trips and Miller family reunions. In fact, Aleta’s parents, Ben and Sheree got engaged there in 1988! We found this out after our engagement trip and are still tickled by the similarity.

Why we’re getting married on San Juan Island

When we moved to Washington State (homecoming for Aleta) in 2021, we took every opportunity to explore the abundance of natural beauty in the region. One of our favorite trips that first year was a bikepacking trip to San Juan Island for Ira’s birthday. We biked onto the ferry, cycled around the island, slurped oysters, camped under the stars, kayaked in the Haro Strait, gawked at bald eagles in flight, popped champagne on a picnic bench, searched the sea for whales, and looped back to the ferry – it was an unbelievable weekend getaway.

Fast forward to 2023 when we began looking for wedding venues: we wanted to choose a place that felt special to us, showcased the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, and allowed us, along with our friends and family, an opportunity to relax and celebrate together. San Juan Island and Saltwater Farm immediately came to mind. San Juan Island is a truly unique and gorgeous part of Washington State – the island is home to a rich history and incredible nature (from eagles to orcas to red tailed foxes!) as well as some quirky bits too – and we hope that you are able to explore it and fall in love with this part of our home state, too!

A note on logistics: San Juan Island is not the easiest place to get to! More details on our travel page, but please know that getting here will require some advance planning (and time investment). Our wish is for you to think about this wedding like a vacation, if you’re able, and we really encourage you to take some time to enjoy the island and explore Washington in addition to celebrating our wedding with us. We think this place is really special and we’re so excited to share it with you – but also understand if you are not able to join since it can be quite the journey to get here.

We can’t wait to see you there