Welcome to the Wedding Website for
Anna Strasser & Randall Benichak
A Love Story For The Modern Age
We first met on the internet through the dating website OKCupid.com. After a series of correspondences over several weeks about the sexiness of thunderstorms, Anna's hand-bell choir experiences and Randall's obsessive acquisition of musical instruments, we agreed it was time to meet in person. We saw each other for the first time on the front steps of the Lincoln Center plaza in NYC, and immediately we both breathed a sigh a relief when we saw the other person was not a crazed, machete-toting internet rapist. We walked up Broadway searching for "this amazing Thai place" Randall read about only to discover that after walking for 20+ blocks, it did not exist. Anna saved the date by leading Randall to another Thai restaurant she knew, and both of us enjoyed a lovely dinner, followed by a few drinks at McGee's pub in midtown.
After parting ways, Randall followed up via email to ask Anna out again soon. However, through an unfortunate series of events involving spam folders, Randall did not see the email response from Anna where she confirmed interest in a date the following week. The planned second date came and went, with Randall only finding Anna's emailed "yes" weeks later. That was the beginning of September.
After parting ways, Randall followed up via email to ask Anna out again soon. However, through an unfortunate series of events involving spam folders, Randall did not see the email response from Anna where she confirmed interest in a date the following week. The planned second date came and went, with Randall only finding Anna's emailed "yes" weeks later. That was the beginning of September.
Jump ahead to mid-November: Randall just finishes writing the score for a performance of Frankenstein when behold, Anna emails him out of the blue, asking how he's been and how she saw a Didjeridu player in the park. Recalling how much he enjoyed the first date with Anna and how he thought she got away, Randall responds to her email with great enthusiasm, inviting her to a performance of Frankenstein. On November 18th, 2011 Anna and Randall re-meet after the performance, and head down to the local pub The Snug to catch up. The rest, as they say, is history.
An Engaging Tale: Told By Randall
In nearly two years of dating, we had discussed the possibility of marriage on numerous occasions, posing various hypothetical situations to each other and imagining what life would be like together. In the weeks leading up to Anna's birthday, I knew this would be the perfect time to ask her: we were planning a combination Halloween/Anna's Birthday party on October 26th with all of our friends, siblings and coworkers. I saw no better time than to get down on one knee with all to witness my love for this wonderful woman.
I wanted to plan the proposal as a surprise for Anna, but her curiosity and in depth knowledge of my mannerisms and moods made this a difficult task. In planning her surprise, she wanted to guess what I was giving her, so I gave her clues (mostly bogus) to keep her off the scent. When she guessed that I was getting her a popcorn maker, I saw an opportunity for a curve ball and told her she was wrong (despite the fact it came in the mail several days earlier). This tactic worked only for a short time, for as the date of the party came nearer, I became more anxious, excited and generally "weird", as Anna so eloquently told me. So I panicked and told her there was a bigger, better surprise coming than the popcorn maker. This method to keep her from realizing what was coming was only a temporary fix that would land me in even hotter water.
By the time her birthday had come (October 24), she had continually asked for clues of the big surprise. I kept throwing her the bad clues, but it never seemed to be enough. We went out to dinner with her parents that evening, whereupon she questioned them as to the nature of my surprise (mind you, I had talked with her parents 2 weeks prior, so they knew what was in store!)
We returned to her apartment after dinner, and I presented Anna with the big mystery gift: a box decadently wrapped in taunting messages like "What's Inside?" "Epic Box Of Mystery" etc. Anna tore through this, revealing the popcorn maker. Downtrodden and heart broken, Anna thanked me- alongside a number of expletives. There was no way I could wait until the Halloween party now; the time had come.
By the time her birthday had come (October 24), she had continually asked for clues of the big surprise. I kept throwing her the bad clues, but it never seemed to be enough. We went out to dinner with her parents that evening, whereupon she questioned them as to the nature of my surprise (mind you, I had talked with her parents 2 weeks prior, so they knew what was in store!)
We returned to her apartment after dinner, and I presented Anna with the big mystery gift: a box decadently wrapped in taunting messages like "What's Inside?" "Epic Box Of Mystery" etc. Anna tore through this, revealing the popcorn maker. Downtrodden and heart broken, Anna thanked me- alongside a number of expletives. There was no way I could wait until the Halloween party now; the time had come.
While Anna tried her best to contain the beast within, I told her that I did have one more surprise. I pulled out my guitar, quickly tuned, and began to play the first song that she and I had ever danced to: "Your Song" by Elton John (it was after dancing to this song at her friends' wedding that we first said we loved each other). By the last verse, Anna was tearing and so overwhelmed with emotion, that I even had trouble finishing and had to choke out the final line "How wonderful life is, when you're in the world." In the final one-two punch, I pulled out the diamond ring from my dresser, and told her how much I loved her and how I only see spending the rest of my life with her.
We kept our engagement hushed for the first couple of days, telling only our families the news. Since the Halloween party was no longer going to be the platform to propose, we decided it would be more fun to make the party our official announcement of engagement. Of course, this suited Anna just fine; now I would not be getting down on my knees as the bald and goateed Heisenberg from Breaking Bad, asking the inmate Piper from Orange Is The New Black to marry. However, I was still obliged to do a reenactment of the engagement for all to witness (my sisters were especially disappointed from not being in attendance the first time). Even the second time through, Anna and I became choked up but now with the added applause and cheers from all our friends. Both of these evenings we will never forget!