We're Getting Hitched!

We met our freshman year at Grand Valley State University. I wanted a date to Alpha Tau Omega's end of the year formal and asked a friend if anyone in his Fraternity still needed a date. He said he knew a guy and that he'd introduce us. The first time we met we were hanging out with a large group of mutual friends. We were sitting across from each other, I couldn't shut up and Zack said a total of 6 sentences. I eventually conned my way as his date by not leaving him alone and dropping down on one knee, presenting him with a gorgeous ring pop, and asking him to be my date. We were friends from that point on. We went to each other's dances, started hanging out more regularly, and had a blast together. Zack even helped my mom pack up my entire dorm room at the end of freshman year while I lay useless on the floor sick from the stomach flu (I should have known then what a catch this guy was!) For a while our timing never quite synched up. If one liked the other, one just wanted to be friends. It was all quite dramatic at the time and at one point I even told him "Well don't expect me to wait around for you!" But eventually we got our sh*t together. One night during our sophomore year Zack pulled me aside and told me he thought we should be together and that we should "take a chance". My answer was a very passionate NO. It took me three days to realize I was being an idiot and told him "Fine, we can take a chance". 8 years, 2 apartments, and 1 dog later he was the one getting down on one knee. Easiest YES ever!

I met Sarah my Freshman year of college at Grand Valley. As I recall, our first real introduction occurred in the crowded living room of a college party. Though not many words were exchanged - Sarah actually doesn’t have any recollection of this meeting (hmmm, I wonder why?). The next day, my friends and I headed to breakfast at the buffet-style dining hall, where we met Sarah & her friends, regaling the prior nights adventures. After much debate, I’d say this is what we consider our first real meeting. From there, we began to see each other more and more as our group of friends frequently studied & ate together. At this point, our mutual friendships were the glue holding us together. But as luck would have it, around this time was when the Fraternities & Sororities had their end-of-year dances. And I guess whatever of the 5 words I had said up to that point in our relationship had really done the trick as Sarah asked me to be her date to her Sororities dance. A week later I returned the favor and we went to my Fraternity's dance where our mutual love of cheesecake blossomed. From that point on it really is all history. We had our ups and downs as we tried to make things “official”. She liked me and I liked her but wasn’t sure about a label...then roles reversed and I eventually convinced her to “take a chance”. A true college love story.