How a Little Humor Led to a Serious Relationship

New York Times

02-05-2025

Peter Nathan Hess had admired Sara Danielle David long before they actually met.
In 2019, Mr. Hess, 37, then a staff reporter at Spectrum, an autism research publication, had liked some tweets by Ms. David, 36, the astrology editor at Vice, about her work with the Writers Guild of America East union. But what really drew his attention, he said, was her sense of humor, including her profile picture of Gollum from 'Lord of the Rings' wearing makeup and diamond earrings.
By 2021, the two were following each other on Twitter, now known as X. Mr. Hess happened to check out Ms. David's Instagram account and sent her a message. They chatted for a couple of weeks, and then Mr. Hess asked Ms. David out.
'At first, I thought he wanted to meet to talk about union stuff,' Ms. David said, 'but he made it clear that he was interested in me.'
Mr. Hess, now a writer at IBM Research in New York, invited Ms. David on a picnic in the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn for their first date in May 2021.
'I didn't realize that it was a thing to hang out at the cemetery,' Ms. David said. 'It's an arboretum and I learned a lot about the trees, plants and bugs from Peter that day.'
The two also talked for hours about writing, films and their families, then decided to have dinner together. They picked up Chinese dumplings and went to Mr. Hess's apartment in Brooklyn to watch a movie.
'I felt open and comfortable talking to Peter, I really liked him,' Ms. David said. 'I'm usually skeptical of people, but the fact that I wanted to see him again said a lot.'
Two weeks later, they returned to Green-Wood Cemetery for a second date. This time at night, for a guided tour that included the catacombs.
Ms. David has a bachelor's degree in gender studies from Brown and is currently attending City University of New York School of Law. She was born in the Philippines and moved to Jamaica, Queens, with her family when she was 5.
Mr. Hess has a bachelor's degree in environmental studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a master's degree in science journalism from N.Y.U. He moved to Brooklyn from Durham, N.C., in 2015.
After a few months of dinner dates and making each other laugh with jokes and made-up, funny songs about things in their lives, the pair declared their love for each other.
Inspired by her fondness for the dating show 'Love Island' and the grand gestures made by the contestants, Ms. David wrote a love letter to Mr. Hess to tell him of her feelings. 'I told her I loved her, too,' Mr. Hess said. 'I still have her letter.'
By September 2022, both of their apartment leases were up, and they decided to move in together in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn. 'We each had lived with partners before, but I knew if I moved in with him, it would be forever,' said Ms. David, who currently serves as the vice president of online media at the Writers Guild of America East.
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Marriage had come up a few times during their two years together, Ms. David said. 'We kind of knew we were going to get engaged, but it was still exciting to be talking about it, so I made an effort to be chill about it,' she said.
On May 7, 2023, Ms. David and Mr. Hess proposed to each other under the same redbud tree where they had their first picnic. They exchanged engagement rings they picked out for themselves and read love letters to each other.
My letter to Sara told her how much I loved our lives together and wanted to take the next step together,' Mr. Hess said.
On April 19, 2025, Ms. David and Mr. Hess wed at the Prospect Park Boathouse in Brooklyn.
'When we met, Peter lived blocks away from Prospect Park and we fell in love over picnics and walks there,' Ms. David said.
Ms. David walked down the aisle to 'Sara Smile' by Daryl Hall & John Oates, the song she was named after, and exchanged vows they wrote together. Their friend Ben Groh, who was ordained by the Universal Life Church for this event, officiated the ceremony before 120 guests.
To honor Ms. David's Filipino heritage, the bride and groom wore traditional attire purchased in the Philippines. Ms. David wore a 'terno' top with a secondhand dress. Mr. Hess donned a floral-embellished 'barong' shirt over a cotton shirt.
At the reception, the couple included the traditional Filipino 'money dance,' where the bride and groom danced down the line as loved ones pinned money to their clothes and gave their blessings.