Allison and Zach first met in Grand Junction in August of 2023. Allison had been living there for over 2 years since she graduated college and started teaching high school math. Zach moved to Grand Junction that August in his work with FOCUS as a Catholic college missionary to fill a spot on the team at Colorado Mesa University. Allison had been living with the female FOCUS missionaries there, and they quickly met through Zach's teammates. They started to become more than acquaintances when Zach invited Allison on a camping trip to Moab with the team and some college students. It was in Moab that Zach and Allison got to spend more time together walking around downtown, going into various shops, and chatting. Allison didn't think much of it at first; she had a great time getting to make a new friend. Zach on the other hand started to develop a crush. Through a couple more coincidental times that Zach and Allison were able to spend time together, Zach decided to ask Allison out on a date. Zach intentionally and thoughtfully planned an extremely lovely first date. It was on Sunday October 15th, so they went to mass first (Zach arrives to pick Allison up with a bouquet of flowers) and then went over by the Colorado National Monument to go on a little walk and a picnic. The first thing Zach pulls out of his bag of things once he lays down the blanket it a little vase with a tiny flower in it. The blanket is featured in their engagement photos. From there, Zach had prepared a Whole30 compliant breakfast which was delicious and they preceded to chat for the next three hours. Allison remembers feeling like it was so easy to be herself and had a great time. The rest is history as they say.