Laura Heisler, daughter of Barbara and Michael Heisler of Tucson, and Scott Cogan, son of Jesse and Sandra Cogan of Livingston, N.J., were married on May 26, 2013 at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort with Rabbi Robert Eisen and Ron Sandler officiating. Scott is the grandson of Abraham Olshan of Manchester, N.J.
The matron of honor was Sarah Singer, sister of the bride. Best man was Chris Brooks, a friend of the groom from Livingston. Other bridal party members from Tucson were Lori Heisler (Licter), Naomi Present, Melissa Mulloy (Amster), Jeffrey Heisler and Keith Singer. Flower girl was Celia Singer of Tucson and ring bearer was Benjamin Heisler of Virginia.
Laura graduated from the University of Arizona with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and Hunter College in New York City with a master’s degree in literacy. She teaches third grade in a public school on the Upper East Side of New York City. Scott graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s degree in special education from Montclair State University. He teaches fifth and sixth grades at the New York Institute for Special Education.
The rehearsal dinner was at the Jim Click Hall of Champions at the University of Arizona with a special appearance by Wilbur the Wildcat. This was a fun way to share the bride’s favorite part of Tucson with everyone from out of town.
Shabbat dinner for the families was hosted by the bride’s family at their home.
The honeymoon was in Costa Rica.
How they met:
It was during March Madness that Scott sent me a message on JDate. My profile said I was a huge college basketball fan but specifically a Wildcats fan. In Scott’s message he brought up college basketball so I figured I would give him a shot. We messaged a few times and then met up for drinks a few weeks later. We had a great time on our first date. After the date I called my parents to report back (it was three hours earlier in Tucson). These calls usually consisted of me telling them how bad it was, but when I started the conversation off with “I liked him,” my dad yelled to my mom, “Barb, pick up the phone! She liked him.” It was natural and comfortable between us from the second we met.
The proposal:
June 16, 2012 was my (Laura’s) anniversary of moving to New York City but I had completely forgotten about it. Scott did not. Earlier in the day, he suggested that we go walk the Brooklyn Bridge, our favorite spot and activity in New York. As we walked the bridge we were surrounded by tourists and Scott commented on the fact that there was nowhere to stop. We kept walking toward Brooklyn and the crowd started to thin out. We stopped to look at the Manhattan skyline. As I gazed off into the distance, Scott said he had a special quarter for me (I collect the National Park quarters). He dug in his pocket for what seemed like forever. “Here it is!” Scott announced. In his hand was my ring. He got on one knee and without letting him finish talking, I threw my hand at him and said “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
Wedding planning triumph:
Planning a wedding from across the country could be hard but having a very supportive family in Tucson made it much less challenging.
Special memories of the day
Hers: Looking around the room seeing all of our family and friends from near and far who came to celebrate with us.
His: Breaking the glass because it signified the beginning of our Jewish marriage and life together.
Bride’s dress: Maggie Sotterro
Groom’s attire: Calvin Klein
Wedding planner: Sylvia Drew
Florist: Sylvia Drew
Photographer: Chris Richards
Videographer: John Maniscalco with Visual Image Productions
Caterer: Loews Ventana Canyon with kosher supervision by Rabbi Yossi Shemtov
Wedding cake: New York-style cheesecake by Nadine’s Bakery
Music: Limelight Entertainment
Hair: Bennette Martinez with Jabez Studio
Makeup: Chelsea Bichekas
Chuppah: Michael Heisler
Invitations: Taking Things Personally
Calligrapher: Judy Marks
