Carly Rosen and Zach Kovner first met when they were 15 years old.

It was on Lappin Foundation’s Youth to Israel trip in 2010, and the two North Shore kids (Carly is from Peabody, and Zach from Marblehead) were relishing this first opportunity to expand their horizons.

They became friends then, nothing more. But five years later, after the like-and-comment staying in touch that early Facebook allowed, they reconnected. Zach was at Syracuse University and Carly was at Salem State at the time. Carly was planning to visit some friends who were studying abroad in London, and she saw on Facebook that Zach was studying there, too. She reached out to see if he wanted to connect.

“This kid’s a vibe, we could vibe together,” Carly recalls thinking. “I really just wanted to hang out and see who he was at the time, and see what we could be. But, you know, it didn’t happen.”

Zach, as it happened, was spending the weekend in Croatia. So, no connection. However, the following year, as they both prepared to graduate, Zach was visiting home for the weekend, and he and Carly finally had their long-awaited first date at the Marblehead Lighthouse.

“We were just hanging out, watching the boats go by,” said Zach, “And that was the first time we’d seen each other in person or reconnected since we were 15.”

That was more than eight years ago. Last month, Zach and Carly, both 30, celebrated their long-standing commitment and love to each other when they were wed at the Kernwood Country Club in Salem on Sept. 14.

“We definitely took things very slow,” said Zach. “We lived our own lives, which was really important to us, before we got engaged or married.”

Carly spent the years after college living with her friends in Melrose and working at sports-betting company DraftKings, and got a dog (who Zach named Lola). Zach lived with his friends in Boston, working in software sales; for several years, Carly would pack a backpack and load Lola into the car to spend the weekend together with Zach. “I think we always knew we’d be together, but we didn’t rush anything,” said Zach.

“About two years ago … we really started talking about what our lives would be together and taking that next step,” said Carly. They moved in together in the winter of 2023. In August, Zach took Carly back to the Marblehead Lighthouse, got down on one knee, and proposed.

It was a beautiful, quiet proposal, according to the couple, with family waiting to celebrate with them afterwards. “It was a good representation of who we are,” said Carly. “It was nothing crazy, nothing chaotic, no fireworks. It was beautiful.”

A year later, Sept. 14, 2024 dawned a sunny and stunning 85 degrees. The Kernwood Club – where Zach was bar mitzvahed – was the perfect spot to tie the knot, a geographic representation of their coming together, as Salem is between Marblehead and Peabody.

Carly wore a custom gown made with the help of David’s Bridal. They were able to repurpose the lace and beading from her mother’s wedding dress from the ’80s and create her own unique garment. Zach wore a midnight-blue tux from The Black Tux, and the color scheme was “fun sunset vibes” (pinks and oranges), with moments of blue throughout. “The reception space and chuppah truly came to life,” said Carly, noting that their florist, Konstantina’s Floral Design Studio, beautifully incorporated the sunset colors they’d envisioned.

“​​The day just flew by,” said Zach. “Everything was perfect, everything that we planned for happened, we didn’t have to worry about anything or improvise. We had a really good support system around us, people to just keep everything moving and flowing nicely.”

“People talk about the energy that the wedding day brings, how sometimes people panic because there are things that are outside of your control,” said Carly. “But we both just let the day have us, for lack of better words, and really live in the moment.”

After getting ready separately, the couple had their first look on the golf course at Kernwood, followed by their pictures – both joined by Lola the dog. Following the ketubah signing and guests’ arrival, the ceremony took place outside, beneath a talis that belonged to Zach’s grandfather, William Needleman, which served as the chuppah.

Cantor Sarah Freudenberger of Congregation Shirat Hayam officiated, facilitating a largely traditional Jewish ceremony. “We wanted someone who was able to embed the Jewish tradition throughout the ceremony, thinking about how we met through Y2I and what Judaism means to us and how it brought us together,” Carly said. “We wanted that to be threaded through our ceremony, and what better thread than through a cantor, someone who can really show the beautiful tradition that is Judaism. [Cantor Sarah’s] voice in general is just gorgeous.”

After the ceremony, the 140 guests proceeded to the indoor and outdoor cocktail hour, where the wedding band Boston Premier played for the newlyweds. For Carly, it was particularly special to see so many friends and family there from various moments in her love story with Zach. “They were able to be a part of this chapter for us,” she said. “That energy was unmatched.”

“We don’t care about being the center of attention, but it was very cool that every time you looked at someone, it was just excitement and hype and tons of love and hugs,” said Zach. “It was contagious the whole night. Everyone you talked to, you can tell, has a ton of love for us and was happy to be there. It was a really magical time.”

This winter, the couple will begin a two-part honeymoon with a trip to the tropics, followed by an Italy adventure in the summer.

For now, they are just settling into a new stage of their lives together, enjoying this moment of marriage (pre-children) that they and many of their friends are in. “Right now, we’re just really taking it in, taking it slow,” said Zach. “We’ll definitely have a family when the time is right. Right now, we’re really just enjoying being married, just the two of us, before us and all our friends really start to have families. We’re really loving this phase of our life.” Θ