Savannah Brock, Derek Hirsch to wed

Together with their families, Savannah Hope Brock of Lexington and Derek Uri Hirsch of Atlanta are pleased to announce their engagement.

The bride-elect is the daughter of retired Command Sgt. Maj. Freddie L.T. and Jennifer Hope Brock of Lexington. She is the granddaughter of Billie F. and James “Mac” Matthews of Saluda and Carol H. and Freddie L. Brock of Simpson, North Carolina.

A 2013 graduate of Lexington High School, she is a distinguished military student pursuing a nursing degree at the University of South Carolina Upstate. She is scheduled to graduate in May, when she will be commissioned into active duty as an Army nurse.

The bridegroom-elect is the son of Patricia L. and William N. Hirsch of Charlotte, North Carolina. He is the grandson of Jacqueline K. and George U. Livney of Charlotte and Anna M. Hirsch and Marshall H. Hirsch, both of Atlanta.

A 2012 graduate of Atlanta International School, he was a distinguished military graduate from Wofford College in 2016. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics. He is employed with the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant and aviation officer.

The couple plans a December wedding in Gilbert.

In her own words

Q: How did you meet?

A: We met during a land navigation exercise at an Army ROTC lab in fall 2013. Derek was leading a group through a course, and Savannah had an allergic reaction to the grass in the field and swelled up like a balloon (both eyes were swollen shut, and her hands and lips were puffy). They finished the course, and she was even more swollen, and he reached out to her that night to see if she was OK. She swears she texted back; he swears she did not. Eight months later, they reconnected and went together to the annual ROTC Military Ball, and the rest is history.

Q: When did you know your fiance was “the one”?

A: After he still thought I was cute even when I was swollen like a balloon.

Q: Tell us about the proposal.

A: Derek is a pilot and flew me to Asheville (North Carolina) to have dinner. Flying over the mountains was so beautiful, and we’ve had so many fun times together hiking in the South Carolina and North Carolina mountains, so it was really special. After dinner, we flew back and put the top down on the Jeep and rode out to where we had one of our very first dates – Lake Bowen. It was sunset, so we went out on a dock. After reminiscing about how we met, Derek asked me to marry him! He even had my best friend taking photos of the whole thing. Hands down, best day ever.

This story was originally published December 11, 2016 at 12:01 AM.