The good things in life are better with you

We met on a rainy night in Melbourne at Florida Institute of Technology. As introverts, we were both out of our element. A new place. For Zack, a new state. We didn't know anyone else. And then came the ice cream social at Campbell Hall in the Res Quad. The first thing Nicole noticed about Zack was his charming smile that lit up the whole room. The first thing Zack noticed about Nicole was her fashion sense. "I don't know, you just looked like someone I'd want to be friends with," he told her once. We became fast friends. We picked out a fish together named Alpha. We introduced each other to new music and hobbies. We discussed our dreams and hopes for the future. Somewhere along the way we fell in love. On December 2nd 2012, we officially started dating. Sadly though, we only got to be together for a few weeks before Winter Break rolled around and we found out Zack would no longer be attending Florida Tech. We stayed together in a long distance relationship for 4 years. Separated by 800 miles, we were only able to see each other for a week or two out of the years. It was difficult, but we made it through. In 2016, Nicole graduated and we moved in and began building our lives together!

After nearly six and a half years together, Zack asked Nicole to be his forever, getting down on one knee in the dirt by the creek at the James Madison University Arboretum. He asked, she said "Finally!"

Both of us thought that the perfect next step for us was clear -- getting a dog. On May 1st we adopted Lincoln, our sweet and silly border collie mix from Anicira Harrisonburg. They say two halves make a whole, but our whole had an additional, smaller, paw shaped hole. And Lincoln has filled that hole! Lincoln will be there to celebrate with us on the big day!