Gwen Ambler & Will Henry

How We Met  | Neighborly love

Will moved to Seattle in 2000, pulled by the lure of high level ultimate and a graduate program at the University of Washington.  It wasn't until September of 2005 that Gwen also moved to Seattle to pursue a Masters of Public Health at UW.  Taking advantage of the close-knit nature of the ultimate frisbee community, Gwen connected with some Seattle players she knew from the scene and moved in with five other ultimate players: Miranda Roth, Susan Shortreed, Melina Coogan, Jaime "Idaho" Arambula, and Matt "Skip" Sewell.  Just next door was another ultimate-centric household, with two more players from the men's club team Sockeye: Andrew Fleming and Will Henry.  These two adjacent houses were affectionately referred to as the Brat and Frat Houses and "the compound" was a center of social activity for ultimate players all over the city.

These two houses seemed to do everything together: establishing ourselves as regulars at the Knarr Shipwreck Lounge, playing in dodge-ball tournaments under the Knarr banner, going to and hosting various parties, hanging out during milk and cookie nights, puzzling over Lost each week, and playing Fun Family Goaltimate in a nearby park.  What better way to get to know someone? 

Nonetheless, it took a night of dancing at a Seattle club coincidentally called Neighbours for Gwen and Will to have their first kiss.  And at first we both weren't sure it was a good idea to date a neighbor from such a tight social circle, so we stuck mainly to hanging out over coffee rather than dinner-and-a-movie type dates.  Moreover, with Gwen just moving to Seattle it had almost been too easy to meet and hit it off with Will so quickly--was this just a connection of convenience?  It took about a month and a half to ease all these silly jitters and in early 2006 the relationship was finally official.  We've been together ever since.

After living side by side in the Frat and Brat Houses for two years of jam-packed social calendars and communal living, we decided to move into our own place in 2007.  There will always be a special place in our hearts for all the amazing memories from our time living at the end of 17th Ave NE.

The Proposal | ¿Quieres casarte conmigo?

In the winter of 2011, Gwen got to spend two months in Nairobi, Kenya for her work.  Despite the miracles of Skype, it was still a long time to be apart and so we planned a trip to the Yucatan peninsula to coincide with both Will's spring break and Gwen's return from Africa.  Reunited in Mexico, we had almost a full ten days to relax and explore a part of the world that was brand new to us.

Before Gwen left for Kenya, Will had dropped a heavy hint that a proposal would be coming on the Mexico trip.  This was all after discussions for quite some time about marriage (some of which even sparked a rumor that we were already engaged the prior Christmas), but Gwen tried her best to avoid anticipating when Will would pop the big question.

So we had a lovely vacation, traveling to Isla Mujeres, Chitzen Itza, and Tolum.  We rented bicycles on Isla Mujeres and rode all over the island, stopping for cold beers at various beaches along the way.  We also found a few great restaurants and really settled into the rhythm of vacationing.  Then we motored on to the interior of the peninsula, staying in Valladolid.  We spent hours exploring and marveling at the Mayan ruins of Chitzen Itza.  Our last destination was the beach paradise of Tolum.  More beaches, beers, and ruins in a spectacular setting.  We also ventured south to a huge nature preserve full of diverse ocean and bird life.

Our last night in Tolum we splurged and upgraded our budget accommodations for an evening at Zamas.  The night could not have been planned better.  We started out with a delicious meal of baked fish with live reggae playing in the background.  Then we lay under the stars on the lounge chairs in front of our beachside bungalow, watching the waves by the moonlight.  The night ended in our room when Will got down on his knees and proposed.  Will had bought a little wooden box at the beginning of our trip on Isla Mujeres and then filled it with various items from our trip to set off the antique ring that was his mother's engagement ring and has been in his family for years.

It was a wonderful trip and a perfect proposal.