Southern Weddings

At Southern Weddings, we are big believers in date nights, but that doesn’t always have to mean indulgent restaurant meals or buttery movie theater popcorn. Here to show us just that are Sara and Aaron, who shared their five favorite date ideas with us, including their personal favorite–a CrossFit date! Working out together is such a great way to get in shape, spend quality time with your significant other, and stay motivated, so with New Year’s resolutions freshly written and spring and summer weddings just a few months away, we hope they inspire you as much as they have us!

Thanks so much to Katie Nesbitt for tagging along with Sara and Aaron to CrossFit Falls Church to capture this fun date!

By day: Sara and Aaron live in Arlington, Virginia, where Sara is a writer and blogger at Fit for a Bride, and Aaron is a Bone Marrow Coordinator.

How they met: I met Aaron through his sister in college, and our first date was to a campus bible study! I remember him picking a flower for me on the walk home–what a sweetie! In 2009, Aaron invited me to accompany him and his family to Jonesborough, Tennessee for the National Storytelling Festival, an event he had been attending with his family every year for two decades. He proposed at the breakfast table the first morning, and now, we go every October and relive the beginning of our love story!

Their wedding: We got married at Oxon Hill Manor in Maryland. It was a beautiful spring day and the focal point for our ceremony was a huge cross my dad made for our altar. Aaron’s dad (a minister) officiated, and right before we said “I do,” Aaron sang one of my favorite hymns to me. It was the most magical moment ever! For the reception, we went the DIY route and used restored picture frames as centerpieces and ribbon for an escort card display. My favorite detail was the chiavari chairs Aaron surprised me with the day-of. It’s a day we’ll never forget!

Sara and Aaron’s top five favorite date ideas:

1. CrossFit: We love going to CrossFit together because we really connect when we’re there. Whether it’s through a little friendly competition or by cheering each other on, we always encourage each other and have fun. We both feel great after working out, too! Sharing a love for being physically active and challenging ourselves is a wonderful thing!

2. Cook a healthy meal together: Aaron works near a Whole Foods, so he’ll often call me at lunch to share the deal of the day. He’ll scoop it up and we’ll make dinner together when we get home from work. On Valentine’s Day, he surprised me with heart-shaped ravioli–for this foodie, that definitely won him some brownie points!

3. Visit the National Harbor and ride the water taxi: While we love a night of CrossFit and healthy cooking, we enjoy a night out, too. One of our favorite places to go is the place where we had our rehearsal dinner: the National Harbor! The area is full of fun things to do, like riding the new Ferris Wheel or shopping the outlets, but our favorite is taking the water taxi to Old Town Alexandria for dinner at the Chart House.

4. Breakfast club We started a tradition with a few other couples of getting together every Saturday for breakfast. We love it because we switch off deciding where to go and get to try new restaurants all the time.

5. Go to the library: We love spending an afternoon at the Georgetown University library! Aaron is a student there and always has a lot of reading to do, and being a blogger, there’s always a lot I can get done in a quiet place, away from the distractions at home! He orders a regular Americano, I get an iced one, and we sit together in the quiet room, working away. Yes, sometimes date nights don’t involve talking!

Thanks so much for sharing, Sara! Be sure to follow along with her on her blog, Fit for a Bride, and Instagram.

P.S. We’d love to hear from you! Our hope is to feature REAL couples in the South – your inspiring friend, super talented cousin, or neighbor with the cutest house – the kind of person everyone would love to “e-meet.” If that sounds like you or someone you know, take a peek at our Southern Newlywed submission page and shoot us an email!

Written with love by Lisa