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VOLUME 8, NUMBER 2 |
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Going to Great Lengths to Marry
Things get exciting when non-traditional routes to traditional ends are taken, especially if that route takes two people to Africa to get married. Rather than follow a more conventional route, Doug Rosenbaum (MSE ME '98) and Joi Danielson tied the knot last January at the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania. Why Tanzania? For Joi, it meant returning to a part of the world she fell in love with during an internship in South Africa. The experience opened a new world to her, and she found Tanzania to be the best of Africa, with its lush, tropical beaches of Zanzibar and the unbelievable concentration of animals and wide-open vistas of the Serengeti. Beyond the physical beauty, there was the added allure of doing something out of the ordinary. "Where else can you get married surrounded by Masai ladies in waiting amidst thousands of rose petals and against a backdrop that looks like a painting of heaven?" she said. The decision became easier as the couple initially began to plan the wedding. Like many engineers, Doug has the ability to size up a situation and figure out the appropriate steps to reach a desired goal. "Quite soon into the process I became a big anti-wedding killjoy," he said. "The entire wedding process seems to have become something devised by Hallmark, De Beers and the service industry. Then there was the logistic issue. Since Joi and I have been together, we've lived in Seattle, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Cologne, Germany, and Chicago. Our family and friends are scattered across the country and from Hawaii to Okinawa to Australia and South Africa. Getting the people that we really would have liked to be at our wedding would have been next to impossible. "Ever since I have known Joi, she has had an immense fascination with Africa. Her trip in college only reinforced it. Once we started to look at the hassle of planning an affair here, Africa became a natural choice for us to 'elope' to." Out of respect for the travel logistics, involving an 18-hour (not counting layovers), $2,000 flight, and six-hour car ride on a dirt road to get to the wedding destination, the couple decided not to ask anyone to join them for the ceremony. Fortunately, most of their friends and family understood and appreciated the decision. "All of our closest and dearest know how free spirited I am and of our deep love for travel," said Joi. "They also know of my deep love for Africa, so when we announced our plans, people were generally supportive." "I think that once everyone heard our stories and saw our pictures, everyone was very excited and supportive," said Doug. "Joi's mom was a little upset that she didn't get to see her only daughter walk down the aisle, and, yes, my parents were relieved that they didn't have to do two weddings in one year, but in reality everyone close to us was very happy for us and knew that we made the right choice for us." A photo tour of the wedding can be seen on http://www.joidevivre.com/Wedding. The couple is currently living in Chicago.
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