Newlyweds
Continued from Page 15
“It takes a lot of teamwork,” Rina Ehrlich said. “We used to be great
at treating ourselves first. Now [Holden’s] needs are first.”
As for her husband, she sensed early on he was Mr. Right.

“I met him right around when I turned 30,” she said. “We started
dating a couple of weeks before my birthday.

“I already had a weekend getaway planned with my girlfriends in
Atlantic City. He found the restaurant where we were going and had
wine and champagne sent to our table. Everyone knew then he was
a keeper.”
Beshert 35 YEARS LATER
Ami Amada and Stephen Kardos say they were meant to be together.

It just took them a long time to find out.

Soon after going to the prom together at Northeast High School in
1981, they went their separate ways.

She went off to Tyler School of Art, then discovered she was a “Dead-
head,” and followed the Grateful Dead to concerts in 38 states. Eventually
she returned home, became an arts and humanities teacher and got married
twice, having a son and daughter with her second husband.

While that was going on, Kardos was trying to find himself. He en-
listed in the Army, which gave him a sense of purpose along with some
skills. He now works as a credit analyst for an automotive lender.

He, too, settled down, got married and had a son before getting
divorced. Ami Amada and
Stephen Kardos
16 OCTOBER 27, 2016
SIMCHAS JEWISHEXPONENT.COM




Fast-forward to 2010.

Within months, Amada lost her brother-in-law and her sister to
cancer. Kardos found out and emailed condolences both times.

“We’ve pretty much been together since then,” Amada said. “I’d
like to believe my sister and brother-in-law somehow guided me to
Steve, because I have never been happier than I am right now. Having
been married twice before, I never knew what a partnership was or
could be.”
“It’s different on a lot of different levels” said Kardos, who’s built
a relationship with his wife’s children. “Different relationship from
before. Different understanding.

“I’m a very different person. It’s taken me a lot of years, for lack
of a better term, to grow up and come to grips with a number of
things that have happened over the course of four decades.”
“I’ve often heard Stephen say [how he’s different] to other people,”
Amada added. “We truly bring out the best in each other.”
Fireworks AT MY WEDDING
The Fourth of July wouldn’t work, so Lauren Green and John Sacks
came up with the perfect alternative.

They got married on New Year’s Eve at the Top of the Tower in
Center City.

“I wanted fireworks at my wedding,” said Green, who attended
Abrams Hebrew Academy and JCC day camp at the same time as
Sacks, although they don’t recall meeting until 11th grade at Penns-
Lauren Green and John Sacks
bury High School. “The wedding was at 6:30 and went through until
midnight when there were fireworks.”
From there, it was off to a three-week honeymoon through Aus-
tralia and New Zealand before they returned to their Spring Garden
neighborhood home.

Ten months later, they say everything’s been great so far.

“It was perfect timing,” said Green, a healthcare marketing spe-
cialist, whose husband runs a property management business. “We
had gone through some other relationships that didn’t work out for
one reason or another.

“We knew within a date or two it felt right. Within two
months, we’re already talking about what it’ll be like when
we’re 80 years old.”
“No matter how crazy or silly or whatever your significant other
wants to do, you should always support each other,” Sacks said. ■
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