Zac and Julianna's love story is one of friends to lovers, much like a classic romance book plot. 9 years ago, they were introduced and though the distance between them was great (1,000 miles to be exact), they managed to build a friendship to last a lifetime. After 6 years of friendship, Julianna and Zac looked at each other and saw a possibility of being more. At the time, Julianna lived in Texas so they dated long distance for almost a year. During this time, they traveled back and forth from Texas and North Carolina. The visits were always sweet and always too short. Having grown up in North Carolina, Julianna always wanted to move back and the opportunity arose for her to do so in 2022. Since then, the pair have built a beautiful life. Zac and Julianna have grown again and again alongside each other over the years; they have finally found their person in one another after all this time.

Jules and I had been wanting to go to the beach for months, and by chance our friends Ben and Cassie were going to the beach one weekend late in October and invited us down. Knowing that this was a prime opportunity, I called Ben and asked for the biggest favor I could: enlisting him and his bride-to-be in proposing to the woman of my dreams. They both agreed and trip planning began. Under the guise of an engagement shoot for Ben and Cassie, we left late on Friday after work to drive to Oak Island, arriving close to midnight after a few stops. The plan had been to go for a walk in the morning on the beach and have Ben follow us with the drone to capture the moment, but we overslept and I missed the golden time to propose before the beach got busy. Knowing that we had majority of the day to still fill before the aforementioned photoshoot, we explored and found new places for us to visit in the future. As the afternoon crept in, I knew plan B needed to be put into motion. Anyone who knows me knows I have a habit of over-packing my pockets and this was no different. The ring box was as obvious as could be, but every time Jules asked about it, I said it was my wallet, or my airpods, just to maintain some semblance of a surprise. Anyone who knows Jules knows she doesn't let things go easily and I had to insist my full pockets on the beach were fine, to which she thankfully acquiesced. The sun began to set, and we made our way out to the beach to start taking photos. Ben and Cassie were great in helping execute this, providing reference poses, and allowing Jules to direct them as needed. What we didn't count on was the sun setting much faster than we planned. After taking the last photo, Ben was rushing to get his drone in the air and Jules followed to "help him". I passed my camera to Cassie (who had never used my camera before) and quickly followed Jules back over to our chairs. With only one thought in my mind, I dropped to one knee behind her and opened the ring box upside down, realizing it before the ring slipped out and into the sand and reorienting it so it was right. With a heart full of love and a smile that brightened the entire beach, Julianna said yes, and made me the happiest man on Earth that day.