Abby Mitchell Event Planning and Design: Engaged: Hailey and Ward

These two are some of the good ones. It is their wedding week THIS WEEK! They will tie the knot in a church ceremony and then have a gorgeous and traditional downtown reception. Stay tuned for their wedding photos!

Photos: Defined Image Photography
Venue: Kanakuk Kamps

How did the two of you meet and how long have you been together?

Ward and I met at K-Kountry in 2011. He first introduced himself at the pool. Anytime we ran into each other at kamp Ward made sure we talked. I loved how intentional and friendly he was, and those good looks of his kinda helped too. One day, Ward wrote me a letter and then asked me on a walk. Obviously, Ward had caught my eye, but I thought it would be a great idea to play "hard to get." I quickly found out that was a terrible idea. I never wrote Ward back and that walk never happened. Our talks occurred less frequently. On the last day of kamp I knew I couldn't leave without talking to Ward. He had been on my mind often and I couldn't leave wondering, "What if..." So I approached him and we talked for awhile, and he left with my number. Success!!

Tell us about one of your favorite dates!
Ward: A Blue Wahoo baseball game in Pensacola, Florida. Before the game we went and walked around historic Pensacola and went to dinner at a local burger joint. The weather was perfect for a baseball game the atmosphere was great!

Hailey: Any time we went to the Jefferson Memorial, which just so happens to be where Ward proposed. We enjoyed going there and just sitting and talking.

When did you know it was the real thing?

Ward: When Hailey moved to DC for 6 months to be with me in 2012.

Hailey: The day I met Ward.

Could they be any cuter?

Was the proposal a surprise? How did it happen?

I flew to DC to visit Ward for a weekend. He picked me up and took me to brunch in Virginia. Afterward, Ward insisted on going on a walk around the mall to look at the memorials. The weather was absolutely miserable that day. There was 5 inches of snow on the ground, the wind was blowing, and it was SO cold! I really didn't want to go on this walk, but Ward kept saying he didn't want to stay inside all day. Honestly, I really was not being a good sport about "going on a walk" but eventually I succumbed to his request.

After brunch Ward took the longest way possible to get back into the city. This is the only time he was acting strange. I don't know my way around DC well, but I knew we were taking the wrong way and thought there must be a reason for that. When we finally got to the mall, Ward wanted to go to the Jefferson Memorial where we have spent countless hours enjoying the view and talking. We parked nearby and walked toward it. We walked around the memorial and talked for a few minutes. Then Ward said he had a gift for me. He reached in his coat (and to my disappointment- I was expecting a ring) pulled out a bracelet. He explained it was made by a girl who had been rescued from human trafficking. Ward and I have a huge passion to end human trafficking, and he said he wanted to give me this bracelet as a reminder to remember to pray that God will rescue girls like her. He had also attached a heart shaped pendant with baby footprints on it which is a symbol of the Pro Life Movement. Another dream of ours is to protect the sanctity of unborn human life. We talked for a few more minutes about our future, and he kept asking me "what do you want out of life? What are your goals? What are your dreams?". I was not pleased about the cold weather and trying to not be disappointed he hadn't proposed, so I was being difficult and kept saying "Ward, you already know what I want. We've talked about this before". Ward must've caught on that all I wanted at that moment was to be warm, so he stopped asking questions and dropped down on one knee. I said "oh my gosh. Really?"as he pulled the ring out of his pocket. He said "I think we make a great team, and I want you on my team forever. Will you marry me?". I reached for the ring that was glistening in the light reflected off the snow, pulled him up, and gave him a big hug! He said, "so will you?" In my excitement I hadn't even answered his question! Needless to say, I said "yes!" His sister Katherine emerged from her hiding spot with a ton of pictures (she captured the whole thing). I spent the rest of the weekend staring at my hand :-)