Let's go all the way back to the 1980's where Chris Zechini (Liza's dad) and Patrick Fitzgerald (Austin's uncle) met while working at The Butlery in Richmond, VA. 20 years later, in the early 2000's, Patrick's nieces, Sophie and Madeline, and his nephew, Austin, were visiting from Leesburg, VA. Patrick came over for dinner and brought the kids along to hang with Liza and her sisters, Izzy and Mayzie. Long story short, Sophie ended up finding some handcuffs (not surprising in the Zechini basement), putting them on, then when it was time to leave she looked at Chris and said "Okay, you can take these off now." Chris looked at her with a blank face. There were no keys. So, Sophie put her hands on the pool table and Chris took out his hand saw... Yeah. Uncle Patrick nailed that babysitting gig. Fast forward another decade and Austin and Liza are both on the annual family beach trip. The claim is "they snuggled" one night, and the rest is history. They began dating long distance and visiting each other in college until they both graduated. They continued their long distance love while Austin moved down to the middleofnowhere southern VA, then they moved to Maryland for a summer. From there, they took off to Denver, CO where they currently live. Austin bought a house and they made it a home together with their pup Twyla. The Zechini and Fitzgerald families have always been connected in some way. Whether it's been at the famous Fitzgerald backyard campouts, the annual family beach trips to OBX, or the Zechini Halloween parties, Liza and Austin were bound to find their way to each other eventually. They both have deep love for their friends and families and the incredible community they share back in Richmond. Because of this, they share a lot of the same qualities- passion for the outdoors, new adventures, 60's funk music, friends, good food, and dancing, lots of dancing! After knowing each other for more than half of their lives, and dating for 10 years, these two are finally ready to take a step forward and make it legal, baby! It's about time, huh?