Hello there
A new degree in interior design from Philadelphia University in hand and a new job in Manhattan secured, Heather Ann took her mom, Rosanne, to Peddler's Village for a celebratory lunch and afternoon of shopping.
Heather carried a bouquet of red Gerber daisies for a friend she was meeting later.
"Oh, for me?" joked Andy, then manager of the Italian restaurant.
"No," said Heather Ann. "Table for two, please."
Heather Ann wanted only food, retail, and mother-daughter togetherness. But her mom, who found Andy cute and charming, soon had other ideas and directed Andy's attention to Heather Ann: "This is my single daughter, who just graduated from college and got a great job in New York."
"Her mom was trying to set me up," said Andy, who grew up in Warminster. "I figured, why not?"
Andy congratulated Heather Ann and shared his own milestone: He just earned his real estate license. "I'd love a tour of New York," he said, handing Heather Ann his card. She gave him hers. "If you're ever in the city, call me," she said, never imagining she'd have to make good on the offer.
"That was so embarrassing!" Heather Ann told her mom after their meal.
"You'll thank me when you're walking down the aisle with him," Rosanne said.
The next day brought an e-mail from Andy: "It was nice to meet you. When can I get that tour?"
Heather Ann's surprise sparked her curiosity, and they got to know each other through e-mails and phone calls. But when a month passed with no date, she deduced that Andy wasn't really interested. "It was nice talking to you and getting to know you, but this isn't going anywhere," she wrote.
But Andy was interested. He also was very focused on his new career, selling Bucks County real estate. His pay was dependent on sales, so he worked constantly.
After a romantic dinner, she took him to her office building's rooftop deck, and the city Andy hadn't seen since boyhood spread out before them.
"I wanted a kiss that night," said Heather Ann, who is now 34. "I wanted to just grab him and do it, but I was too nervous."
"I was being a gentleman," said Andy, now 37.
They met in New York, New Hope, or Doylestown whenever they could.
Both are close to their grandparents, and Heather Ann loved hearing Andy talk about his. "I also loved that he was so ambitious and passionate about his work."
"She is goal-oriented and focused on her career, as well," Andy said. "She's independent and pretty. And very sweet. What really got me is that she didn't seem jaded at all."
Heather Ann fell for Philly in college, and in September 2005, she got a job back here and an apartment in East Falls.
How does forever sound?
Just before Christmas 2009, Andy told Heather Ann that he had an early gift for her. She closed her eyes, then opened them to find a ball of fur on her chest - a pug puppy named Rocco. "The cutest thing I had ever seen was staring at me and licking my face," she said. "It took me 20 minutes to realize there was an engagement ring on his collar."
Andy asked. Heather Ann said yes.
But before long, they realized something wasn't right.
Heather Ann loved Andy's ambition, but he was so focused on work that she didn't feel like a priority.
She and Rocco moved to Blue Bell. She started a new job with Premier Office Solutions in Willow Grove. She told Andy that she couldn't marry him.
"I was heartbroken," Andy said. "But I took a step back and realized I needed to make a change to be a better partner in a relationship."
Take II
A year went by, and Heather Ann began dating. Rocco, who loves everybody, hated the one guy she introduced him to. Then Andy called. He missed her and had worked toward a better work/life balance. "Give me a chance to show you I can be the partner that you want me to be," he said.
Heather Ann was still in love, but cautious. "We can try, but I'm not changing anything about my life," she said.
The first time Andy visited, Rocco flung himself at him with joy. Soon, Heather Ann and Andy were joyful, too.
In September 2012, Andy suggested they meet Heather Ann's cousin and her husband to celebrate their wedding anniversary. "Bring Rocco, and we'll sit outside," he said. When they arrived at the Village Belle in Queen Village, the other couple weren't in sight. Andy suggested they take Rocco to the nearby park to wait.
Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Are" was playing from somewhere, and a woman began dancing in front of them. More and more people joined her, then Andy took his place in the routine orchestrated and taught by Flash Mob America.
When the music changed to Mars' "I think I Want to Marry You," Andy took Heather Ann's hand. Everyone knelt with him as he told her that he loved her and that she was everything to him.
Soon after their engagement, she moved into his Warrington townhouse.
It was so them
The ceremony and reception were held at Union Trust in Philadelphia. The groom came down the aisle with "best dog" Rocco, who wore a tiny tux and top hat. The bride was escorted by her parents.
The couple's friend Karen, a singer-songwriter, sang. Friend Pamela got ordained so she could lead the ceremony, for which the couple wrote their own vows.
"I promised to love her and to always make her my No. 1 priority," said Andy, who now works for Keller Williams Real Estate. The fact that he got choked up saying so was the best wedding gift ever, said Heather Ann.
"I promised to love him fearlessly, and to grow young together, and to take a moment each day to just play and have some fun," she said.
Andy and Heather Ann wrote each other love letters, which they slipped into a box with a bottle of wine. Wine and letters will be opened on their first anniversary.
During their reception for 100, Heather Ann and her bridesmaids surprised Andy with a special dance to Beyonce's "Love on Top." She wanted Andy to feel as special as she did during his flash-mob proposal.
Awestruck
Nothing could top the way Andy felt when he saw Heather Ann for the first time on their wedding day. "I was just in awe of how beautiful she was and how stunning," he said. "It was unbelievable, and it made it all real."
Heather Ann's walk down the aisle started upstairs. "I took my time and soaked up every second of what was about to happen," she said. "That walk represented the journey of our 10-year relationship and how we had both worked so hard to get to this point."
Discretionary spending
A bargain: Part of the wall behind the couple during the ceremony was covered with homemade paper flowers, which were both beautiful and significantly less expensive than the real thing.
The splurge: Rehearsal dinner at the White Dog Cafe. "It's a farm-to-table restaurant, and we love to support places like that," said Heather Ann. "Plus, the entire restaurant is dedicated to the love of dogs."
The getaway
Two weeks split between Italy and a Mediterranean cruise.
Love: BEHIND THE SCENES
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Officiant: Pamela Grosso, friend
of the bride and groom.
Venue: Union Trust, Philadelphia.
Food: Union Trust.
Photography: Jenny Castro Photography, Philadelphia.
Flowers: Carl Alan Floral Design, Philadelphia; Paper flowers:
Margaret Moyer, Papercut Designs, Hamilton, N.J.
Dress: Donna Morello Wedding Gowns, New Hope.
Groom's attire: Men's Wearhouse.
Music: Ceremony: Friends of the couple singer/songwriter Karen Gross and guitarist Daniel Creskoff; Reception: 4Most Sound DJ Entertainment, all of Philadelphia.
Planner: Classic Events by Lauren, Philadelphia.
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