Zach and I's love story starts from way back. Let me place the setting for you. Its fall of 2014. Zach is a senior at Nevada High School and I'm in my sophomore year. Zach and I are aware of one another, but never, not once, have we really 'hung out' He was friends with my brother and occasionally came around, but other than that, we never ran in the same crowd. That all changed that fall.

Zach became on my radar around homecoming time. Rumor had it from my friend Claire, that Zach wanted to ask me to homecoming and to me, that was quite comical. I told her, to report to him a hard 'no'. But just like like that, I became more aware of him.

He was in all the student sections. He was there watching volleyball games and attending about every football game he could. I may have tried really hard during football games to sneak into the first row to stand by him and all the other seniors. Next thing you know, he's starting to snapchat me. I'm playing pretty hard to get, and not really giving him much light of day, but I am playing my cards right to keep him somewhat engaged and interested.

Before ya know it, its the homecoming dance. We end up going with different dates, but eventually end up dancing a little bit together. We go to the same hang out place afterwards and it was around there that the roots of our relationship were starting to take place.

*I will acknowledge that my mother did mention before all of this, that "You should date Zach Hansen." Again I found that statement quite funny at the time, but I should have known. Mothers know best.*

Zach officially asks me to be his girlfriend, believe it or not, on Jan 1st, 2015 at 12:00 AM. Romantic, I know.

I recall from the first couple of months dating that I'm really enjoying my time with him, and thinking along the lines that this might be too good to be true. A daily thought I had was "He's this cool senior that probably will get tired and weirded out by me, this odd sophomore girl." Well, he may be did have those thoughts, but never dumped me.

We have now been together for a total 10 years. No, we are not officially married by the Iowa law. We have to live together for a total of 6 years before that, but as you know Zach, we got real close to that happening before our own wedding.

He and I have road the rollercoaster that has a lot of dips, turns, thrills and laughter. We had our time of long distance relationships, new jobs, new apartments, new towns, to get to where we finally settled down back in Nevada with our first house together.

On August 4th, he decided it was time to get down on one knee (about damn time too), where asked me to marry him at Glen Oaks Country Club. Yes, at a country club. Please understand that was probably the only spot he was surly going to surprise me because the man lives and breathes golf, I sure thought it was just another day. Lets just say he pulled off the surprise well.

Yes, it may have taken awhile for this wonderful day to get planned, but overall, I wouldn't have it any other way. We both know that at the end of the day, we are meant to be, and at last we get to tie the knot where we can celebrate our love, family and friends together.

A&Z

Wedding Day