We're getting married on the baseball diamond!

Chris and Zach’s story began at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, long before either of them knew where life would eventually lead. Zach was the hot senior: talented, confident, and just far enough ahead in school to seem completely out of reach. Chris was the freshman with a very real crush, trying to play it cool and almost certainly not succeeding as much as he hoped. What Chris did not know back then was that the crush was mutual. Zach graduated in 2002, and Chris followed a few years later in 2005. Like most high school stories, life moved forward. There were new places, new chapters, growing up, figuring things out, getting it wrong, getting it right, and becoming the people they were meant to be. But somewhere in the middle of all that life, Chris and Zach stayed connected. They remained friends over the years, sometimes closer, sometimes farther apart, but always with a thread between them that never fully disappeared. There was a familiarity there — the kind that only comes from knowing someone across different versions of yourself. They knew each other before the titles, before the plans, before all the adult responsibilities and carefully maintained calendars. They knew each other when life still felt wide open and impossible to predict. About 17 years ago, they reconnected in a deeper and more lasting way. The friendship became steadier. The conversations became more meaningful. They became people who could laugh together, check in on each other, and quietly remain part of each other’s lives even when neither of them was quite sure what the story was becoming. And then, about two and a half years ago, the timing finally caught up. What had once been a high school crush became friendship. What had been friendship became love. And what became love became home. Their relationship did not arrive overnight. It did not follow a straight line. It took the scenic route through school, friendship, distance, reconnection, timing, patience, and a whole lot of life. But sometimes the best stories are the ones that take their time. Sometimes love does not show up as a lightning bolt. Sometimes it waits quietly in the background until both people are ready to recognize it for what it is. Now, all these years later, Chris is marrying the senior he once had a crush on, and Zach is marrying the freshman he never quite forgot. Together, they have built a love full of laughter, history, tenderness, and the deep comfort of being truly known. Their story is sweet, a little funny, a little ridiculous in the best possible way, and very much theirs. And because nothing about this love story has ever been boring, they are getting married during the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp’s Pride Night baseball game on June 4, 2026. A high school crush became a friendship. A friendship became a love story. And that love story is becoming a marriage. Some stories arrive all at once. Chris and Zach’s took its time. It was worth the wait.