How did the two of you meet?
Zach and I have both lived in the same town basically our whole lives. We went to high school together, but it wasn’t until the summer after our junior year that I really got to know him. Our best man, Brady Carius, had asked me if he could invite Zach to come over and swim at my house with him and a couple other friends. I said yes, and the rest is history. No, really. We started hanging out in groups together a lot after that day, and I really enjoyed getting to know him (and making him talk to me) Zach was very quiet. We went to Oak Run with our youth group during that summer, and that is when everyone started to notice that we liked each other. Before this though, I was the one to initiate texting Zach when I asked him for his schedule for school. We later found out that we both watched America’s Got Talent, so we started watching that together too. We started dating a couple months after the summer was over, and I have loved getting to make memories with him for the past three and a half years, and can’t wait for so many more.
Meredith Washburn Photography
Give us the proposal details! When? Where? How?
Zach could not have done a better job with the proposal, he knows me so well! It is not easy to surprise me. I am a bugger and had been asking him a lot of questions because I knew it was coming soon. However, he kept it a secret, along with all of the other people involved. I didn’t know until the day it happened, even though I had my suspicions. Literally, every date that we went on I thought we were going to get engaged. Anyway, I had just gotten done with school and was home for the summer. Zach was coming home to take me out for my birthday. I had a dentist appointment that day, and while I was there, he dropped off a package at my house. He had left me a present telling me when to be ready, and he had gotten me a dress to wear for our date. I was very excited! As soon as he came to the door, I knew that something was out of the ordinary. He had a suit coat on and was so nervous. He didn’t even want to get a picture before we left like we normally do. We went to get in the car, and there was the first clue sitting in the passenger seat. Inside, was a rhyme telling me to go to the first spot, our bonus room in our house, where we started watching America’s Got Talent together. My parents were there, they gave us a letter to read, and gave us our next clue. At this point, I knew we were getting engaged for sure because of what was written in the letters. Zach had also gotten a bunch of people who have been really important in my life and in our relationship to write me letters that I read as we were traveling from place to place. The scavenger hunt included Dairy Queen (where we worked together), Grace Church (where we have gone to church together for years), the football field (where I watched Zach play football), Aggatucci’s (a family restaurant that we go to a lot), and finally a gazebo big enough to where the horizontal 25 mph wind and rain could not reach the center where Zach read me a letter and got down on one knee to propose. Each of the places that we went had a couple or friend that are very important to us. We went to dinner and then came back to my house where there was a surprise engagement party, a great way to end the night. Zach did an amazing job planning this, and it could not have been more perfect! I loved everything about that day, even if the weather was awful, it made for an even better story.
Meredith Washburn Photography
What has been your favorite experience planning the wedding?
We had a lot of fun getting our engagement pictures taken by Meredith Washburn Photography!
How do you stay sane under the pressures of wedding planning?
We make it fun and laugh through the stress.
Meredith Washburn Photography
What is your favorite part of using Joy for your wedding?
It is super user-friendly and very self-explanatory. I also love the different themes that you can choose from!
What piece of advice would you give couples to ensure that they use Joy to its fullest potential?
Make the bridal party section your own! We did an interview section for each person so that our friends and family could get to know them better.
At Joy we believe that even though a wedding lasts a day, joy lasts forever. What does that mean to you?
We believe Joy is a gift from God, a gift that we are blessed to get to experience together.
