Oren and I both subscribed to JDate one last time with the hope we would finally meet “The One.” Discouraged yet hopeful at the same time, I began browsing the site for single men in California. I somehow came across Oren’s profile and sent him a brief email after noticing how much we had in common. Minutes later, he wrote me back and a new email notice appeared.

We began to chat over JDate IM and the conversation just flowed — we quickly exchanged personal emails and phone numbers. Oren called me the very next day. I was so excited to see an incoming call from him!

We spoke on the phone for hours every day, and would chat online and on video chat until the wee hours of the morning. Excited and infatuated, Oren flew from Los Angeles to San Jose to finally meet me just two weeks later. We were inseparable. Out of respect, he chose to stay at The Fairmont Hotel in downtown San Jose, and that night while enjoying the live music and each other’s company at the Fairmont’s lobby, Oren asked me to his girlfriend. It was official! We both deactivated our JDate profile that weekend, and were so excited to get to know each other. We both told our families and friends that we met our future wife/husband.

A year of long distance was definitely not easy, but we would always plan ahead. We would see each other twice a month, Oren would fly up to see me once a month and I would fly down to him once a month. After a year of flying back and forth, I had planned to move back down to Los Angeles (where I originally grew up), but my dad was unfortunately diagnosed with cancer that summer and it was not the right time for me to move away. Excited as I was about the relationship, Oren and I quickly had a serious talk about the circumstances and suddenly questioned our fate.

Dedicated as he was, Oren decided to move up to Northern California soon after my father’s diagnosis with cancer to support me, and to pursue a new career. With that, he left behind his life in Los Angeles and moved up to the bay area. We moved in together on November 27th (Thanksgiving weekend), and Oren soon proposed to me at our favorite hiking place in San Jose. Sadly, my dad passed away on January 31^st, 2012.

Oren and I decided to wait some time before we wed in order to honor my dad’s passing, and to take time to mourn our loss. On July 21st, 2013 we are getting married at The Fairmont Hotel in Downtown San Jose where we first became a couple (where our journey really began)! We are beyond ready and are so excited to become husband and wife. We feel so lucky to have family and friends joining us on our special day from all over the world, including Israel, New York, Miami, and Los Angeles. We know that our loved ones who have recently passed will be looking down at us, and will be there with us both in heart and in spirit.

Within three years, Oren and I have faced and overcome nearly every challenge and obstacle thrown at us from long-distance dating, to meeting each other’s families for the first time, to facing the loss of loved ones, to moving in together, to career transitions, to visiting Israel together, and now to planning our wedding. However, at the end of the day, all the experiences we’ve faced together have ultimately strengthened our relationship — and made us who we are as a couple today. We feel so blessed to have each other and it’s all because of JDate. The long wait and various JDate subscriptions were well worth it, and we are looking forward to all that is yet to come!

Gili and Oren
San Jose, California