WellWed on the Cape

Hanna and Sacha aren’t exactly your typical couple.

Hannah Greenwald met Sacha Ross when they were students at Cornell, and though they liked each other, the timing for romance was never right and they ended up going their separate ways — Hannah to New York and Sacha to San Francisco. A group e-mail brought them together again, and things got serious fast.

Just as their relationship was heating up, Sacha took off with his brother and sister on a three-month jaunt through Cambodia, Thailand, India, and South Africa. Sacha made a point of stopping at lots of internet cafés he passed to send a quick hello to Hannah. When the 2004 tsunami hit Thailand, Sacha and his family were already safely out of the storm’s path, but Hannah didn’t know that and went into panic mode when she couldn’t track him down for five agonizing hours. The experience was a terrible one, but it made clear how deep their feelings for each other ran. When Sacha’s trip ended, he moved to New York to live with Hannah.

Hannah and Sacha’s relationship seemed to have a flair for the dramatic. On their first vacation together, to Nantucket, Hannah fractured her ankle playing tennis the first day. Sacha carried her off the court and spent the rest of the week taking care of her. The first time Sacha met Hannah’s parents was in the middle of a winter snowstorm, and Hannah and Sacha had to walk 40 blocks to get to the restaurant. Despite the drama-filled situations that seemed to come their way, though, Hannah and Sacha stayed totally relaxed and comfortable with each other and with their relationship. Everything just felt right.

Perhaps that’s why they ended up getting engaged in a way that was completely undramatic. Just home from the gym, Hannah popped into Sacha’s office, still sweaty and tired, to see what he wanted to order for dinner. When he said, “I have an important question,” Hannah figured it was about the Thai menu. But then he said, “Do you want to get married?” and pulled out a beautiful ring that would serve as her engagement ring until they chose the official ring together.

Hannah knew Nantucket was the place for their wedding — she’d been spending time with her family there for 25 years and, since her parents have a house there, she considers it her second home. Hannah’s sister had been married there, and the wedding had been gorgeous — plus, Hannah and Sacha had a sentimental attachment to the spot where they’d taken their first real vacation as a couple.

They planned a traditional Jewish wedding to include their families’ beliefs. During the ceremony, they signed the ketubah, a traditional Jewish marriage contract between the bride and groom, wanting to share this usually private moment with all the people they loved.

Hannah collaborated with designer Ellen Welden to create invitations that inspired the wedding’s color palette: gorgeous fall colors in rich shades of red, green, orange, and yellow.

The ceremony itself, though, was warm and drama-free. Hannah and Sacha reveled in the pleasure of being surrounded by their loving family and friends as they celebrated their happiness.

“It flies by so quickly — you’re picking out flowers, and you blink, and you’re on the dance floor with your new husband dancing your first dance,” says Hannah. “Savor every moment.”