Heather and Danny: a story of coincidence, romance, and a very good ketubah omen

Here is something you might not know. Before I married my hubby, Patricio, and became Anna Abramzon, I was Anna Polishchuk. Yes, I grew up with a last name that has four consonants in a row. You don't meet other Polishchuks in the wild very often -- not like having Smith or Jones as your last name, or for us Jews, not a Weinstein or Shapiro. And so, you can imagine how surprised I was one morning, when in my pre-caffeinated state I looked at my phone to see a notification of a new ketubah order from someone named Daniel Polishchuk. Was this my sister, Danielle, pulling a prank? Or who was this long lost relative?

And then a lightbulb went off. When was the last, and only time in probably the last 10 years that I randomly encountered my maiden name? It was on one of my favorite podcasts, The Fifth Column -- a guest appearance by a comedian named Danny Polishchuk. The episode, which aired in late October 2023 was aptly titled "A break from the gloom", and was one of the few things that made me smile in those dark weeks following October 7. As it turns out, this was, indeed, the same Daniel Polishchuk who I would soon be making a ketubah for.

This is how I met Heather and Danny, a gorgeous couple whose fairy tale began with their eyes locking across the crowded Shades of Green Bar in New York City. It was love at first sight for both of them: a real life meet- cute worthy of its own romcom. 

But our shared last name that is not the only strange coincidence in this story... 

For their ketubah, Heather and Danny chose the Custom Skyline Love Tree Ketubah with Round Text, a very special design with hand painted elements. Instead of a skyline, Heather and Danny elected to have a beach landscape, to illustrate the stunning Hawaiian beach where they would be having their chuppah ceremony.

They used a unique, custom ketubah text. Heather and Danny wanted their ketubah to reflect their deep connection, soulmate love, and commitment to one another. They also wanted it to touch on values they share as a couple and the glue that holds them together. 

We added roses and orchids to the foliage, their wedding flowers, and gold leaf to make their ketubah really sparkle. 

It was no surprise that their wedding was absolutely breathtaking. Heather said her favorite moment was standing under the chuppah and looking into each other's eyes "feeling with 100 percent certainty that this was my person." 

They both loved hearing the rabbi read aloud seven things they love about each other -- this was kept a secret from one another until the day of the wedding. What a beautiful idea! 

I thoroughly enjoyed following (and drooling over) the breathtaking photos of Heather and Danny's wedding on instagram.

It was weeks later that I got a distressed message from Heather.

Unfortunately, she told me sadly, after the signing, their ketubah had somehow gotten lost in the wedding shuffle. They had looked everywhere, but it seemed their beautiful one-of-a-kind ketubah was nowhere to be found. Heather worried that this was a bad omen. 

And here our stories intertwined once again.

Not only was Heather's groom a long lost cousin of mine (I'm just gonna go ahead and assume), but also Patricio and I have a very similar ketubah story! You see, back when we were getting married, I was not a professional ketubah artist yet. In fact, our ketubah was the first ketubah I ever painted! Since I was learning as I went, I didn't know how to add the text to the ketubah once I had finished the painting. And so, I entrusted a close friend to do it. Unfortunately, that friend was in the middle of moving at the time -- what a terrible idea to put this added responsibility on someone in the middle of a move.

You can see where this is going. Our ketubah was also lost!  My friend felt terrible. In the end we got married with just a print out of the original painting, which was never found. I guess this makes me a barefoot shoemaker. Shhh, it'll be our little secret.

Patricio and I signing our printed out ketubah replacement. 

But guess what? No bad omens here!

Patricio and I will be celebrating our seventeen year anniversary this week. Our parallel ketubah story made Heather feel much better. In fact, she said, since we have a happy marriage that is still going strong, maybe a lost ketubah is actually a good omen? I love that idea (although don't go throwing out your ketubahs, people).

I made Heather and Danny a brand new ketubah, as close as I could possibly make it to the original. Here is Heather's advice to couples starting out their wedding planning journey:

Don't sweat the small stuff, everything will be beautiful in the end - I promise. Laugh every chance you get, it helps everything to feel more light and reminds you to be present. Enjoy this process, it goes by so fast (too fast)!

Heather and Danny's stunning wedding photos are by Jill and Gordon from Meew Meew studios. 

Heather and Cousin Danny, I wish you a long, joyful marriage. May your life together be full of breathtaking beaches, stunning sunsets, and of course, plenty of Jewish joy and laughter. L'Chaim!