The story of Anna & Willie…

How did you meet?

We both went to college at the University of Dayton in Dayton, OH, and technically, we first met there. (We actually lived across the street from each other during our senior year of college.) Willie was friends with one of Anna’s roommates. However, we didn’t start dating until almost 4 years after graduating from UD. Anna had recently moved to Cincinnati and drove up to Dayton one spring weekend to visit two of her friends/former college roommates in Dayton, where Willie happened to live at the time. We met again at a party at Willie’s neighbor’s house, and the next night, we had a memorable dinner at Milanos with friends. Willie got Anna’s number that weekend and mustered up the courage to ask her out on a date in Cincinnati a few weeks later because he was “down there a lot for work.” (He wasn’t really, but wanted to play off any inconvenience! Typical Willie haha.)

Describe your first date…

Our first date was on a random Tuesday night. We spent a memorable evening having dinner at a Thai restaurant, Teak, in the Mount Adams neighborhood of Cincinnati, followed by drinks Arthur’s, a bar closer to Anna’s apartment. We stayed up very late for a weeknight (and Willie had to drive 1 hour back to Dayton), a sign that sparks were flying. We will always be able to pinpoint the exact night that it all started, May 7th, 2013, because while we were at Arthur’s, we watched the Cincinnati Reds hit 9th inning back-to-back home runs against the Braves to win the game in a walk-off. We’ve been dating for almost 5 years now!

Share your proposal story…

Willie: I decided to pop the question during a vacation in St. George Island, FL with the entire Heink family. Knowing how much Anna loves her sisters and family, I knew that this was the perfect place to propose.

Anna: It was Memorial Day night and Willie and I had just finished a walk along the beach with my sisters and brothers-in-law. The sun was setting and little ghost crabs were beginning to peep out and run around on the sand for a night of food and fun. Everyone else went inside, but Willie and I stayed behind spotting ghost crabs and watching the sun sink down past the horizon. I found a beautiful silvery shell lodged in the sand when Willie pulled the ring out of his pocket, got down on one knee, and asked me to marry him! I was pretty surprised in that moment, because it happened so naturally. Of course I said yes, then we went back inside and shared the news. My mom was so hyped that she opened every bottle of wine we had in the house for a family toast. Best night ever! (Apparently he had had the ring in his shorts pocket for the entire day and was dying to give it to me but couldn’t find the right time!)

How did you both know you had found “the one”?
We both agree there wasn’t a single moment where everything clicked…

Willie: It happened slowly as our experiences together multiplied and I grew to love the person that Anna is.

Anna: I began to realize that I don’t ever want to live without him. Since we began our relationship, we’ve weathered some major life struggles, losses, and successes together. Going through these experiences made it clear to me that Willie is someone I want to be with for all of the most beautiful and wonderful moments of life, and also the most horrible and gut-wrenching. And all of the ordinary and mundane moments in between. He’s my anchor.

What do you love most about the other?

Anna: What I love the most about Willie is his easy-going personality! He is not concerned with superficialities, and sees/values what is most important in life: being with people you love, helping others out, and doing what you enjoy everyday. He is also a fantastic listener.

Willie: What I love most about Anna is her drive and compassion for others. She has an amazing ability to set a goal and do everything possible to achieve that goal, regardless of how tough it may be or the various circumstances that arise from it. She has a unique ability to try and understand things from others’ perspectives while not forming a judgment about them. In tough times, I know I can rely on Anna to hear me out and provide comfort.

What moment or detail are you most excited about for your wedding day?

We are both excited to spend time with all of our favorite people from all over the country! We also both love our first dance song…Iron & Wine + Ben Bridwell’s cover of The Talking Heads’ “This Must Be The Place.” We listen to a lot of music together, and this song means a lot to us.

What are you most excited about for marriage?

We are most excited about bringing our separate lives together…while we spend lots and lots of time together, the ability to mesh our lives together more than they already are, is truly exciting.  We just bought a house and can’t wait to make it our home!