We're getting married!

Zach and Rachel were introduced by mutual friends during the summer after Rachel graduated high school. They would go out with their group of friends to the movies, to dinner where the guys tried to impress the girls with their "wing eating" abilities, and to their friend's house for pool parties! Zach and Rachel quickly found themselves being drawn to each other at these weekly get-togethers. It was a summer of many late night laughs, long days on the lake, fun with friends, and the start of our love story. The next few years, with Rachel being away at IU, and Zach busy with school and work, they took time apart to focus on their individual goals, but still always hoped that they would come back together when the time was right. Then during the summer of 2014, when Rachel was working as a legal intern at Fort Wayne Metals and Zach was working as a supervisor for a manufacturing company, they realized they worked right down the road from each other and Zach invited Rachel to lunch to catch up. Quickly, one lunch turned into weekly lunches and then to dinners. After a month or so of spending time together and reconnecting, we both knew that we were in the right place and it was the right time for us. We spent the next few years building our life together - starting our careers in Elkhart and Goshen, adding 4 furbabies to our family, traveling to new places, and buying our first home.

Rachel and Zach had their housewarming party at their first home together. Surrounded by friends and family, Zach asked everyone to come into the kitchen and began by thanking everyone for coming. His thank you speech continued for a couple minutes, which surprised many people, as Zach tends to be more reserved and quiet. Zach talked about how happy we were to have so many people we love there, our adventure of buying our first home, and our journey getting to this point. Then Zach started thanking Rachel for everything she does for him and expressed how grateful he is for her and the life they created. Next he said, "I know she does so much for me, but I am going to ask her one more thing. Will you marry me?" As friends and family cheered all around, Rachel joyfully answered "Yes!" It was the perfect way to celebrate our new home and our next chapter together!