A crowd of interested faces watched Heather Beal and David Jafari at the front of the room but this time it was students and they were not in a classroom. On March 16, 2019 they officially tied the knot at the St. Peters cultural art center.

Although, not all of Jafari’s family was able to attend. “My moms family came in from New York,” Jafari said. “But my dads family lives in Iran and they were unable to travel here because of the Muslim ban.”

Despite missing part of his family their wedding still included 130 guests. But before the wedding came, the proposal first took place many months before. In a suprise fashion.

“Every year for spring break I go down to Florida with my family because my grandpa has a house down there,” Beal said. Jafari was supposed to be heading up to Oregon to visit his friends up there.

“After a few days of being in Florida, we took the boat out and we were coming back to shore,” Beal said. “I was actually mad because I wanted to go take the boat to get dinner but my mom was against it, so we came back in and I told everyone i’d drive to get dinner and began getting ready to leave with my mom.”

In the meantime Jafari was on his way to surprise Beal. As her family was in on the setup. The main goal was to get Beal alone on the dock, but that was easier said than done.

“My sister demanded we go fishing at right that second, and I was fine with that so my Mom had to get dinner for us by herself,” Beal said. “So we go down the dock and start fishing and she gets a phone call from her husband saying that her daughter fell and hit her head, asking her to go inside. She assured me she was probably fine and I could wait there. So I sat there fishing.”

At the time Beal was actually mad at Jafari because he hadn’t told her he was getting on the plane and in her family it is extremely important to communicate, especially when doing something like traveling.

“All the sudden I see my brother-in-law walking down the doc and instantly my first thought is that my niece is really hurt. So I started picking up my fishing gear, and started walking. But then I start to realize that my brother-in-law all the sudden has a big beard.”

That big beard ended up being the one and only Jafari who had surprised Beal and arrived to Florida instead and proposed on their dock, while Beal’s family stood from afar on the deck to where they were staying.

“I was just like woah,” said Beal. “This is really happening.”

Like any workplace romance that ends in engagement, the word of Jafari and Beal’s engagement spread quickly because of the high school environment. Beal is happy to share the story but Jafari likes to keep his personal life more private.

“We were together several years before we got married,” Jafari said. “I think some people knew at first, but not everybody. It wasn’t something that was like general knowledge at first and I think the longer it progressed people started to notice. But it’s not something that we send out an all school email to announce.”

Most of the teachers have been supportive and fine with the idea. “I think they approve of him,” Beal said.

And yes, at the start of Fall 2019 there will be two Jafaris.