Brooke and Zechariah met the summer of 2016. They were both counselors at CrossWoods Adventure Camp in Delta, WI, where they laughed their way to a close friendship! During this time, Zechariah was in the Catholic seminary at Saint Mary’s University and, even if any sparks were flying that summer, a relationship was just not in the cards. However, after much praying and discerning, Zechariah felt a call to leave the seminary in October 2016. Brooke and Zechariah’s friendship started up again and Brooke took a trip up north to visit Zechariah in December 2016. During this trip, on December 29th, 2016, Zechariah asked Brooke to be his girlfriend, and of course she said yes!

Brooke and Zechariah’s relationship has mostly been long distance. When they started dating Brooke was a senior at Converse College in Spartanburg, SC and Zechariah was a sophomore at Saint Mary’s University in Winona, MN. Thank goodness for cell phones and video calls! Brooke and Zechariah have spent a lot of time over the past three years talking to each other on the phone, but they still enjoyed every minute.

To break up the long spells of long distance, Brooke and Zechariah spent every summer together. In the summer of 2017 they were able to go back to CrossWoods Camp, but this time they got to be co-directors! Brooke was Program Director while Zechariah was Adventure Director. A lot of people told them that they should be careful, working with their significant other, but they thought that was crazy! There is no other person they work better with! It was a fantastic summer, filled with many wonderful memories.

But the summer ended and long distance stuck again. That is okay though because by this point, they were pros. The year seemed to fly by in a whirlwind of texts, calls, and laughter. There were some big changes in Brooke’s life during that year. She got a job working for Cooperative Extension and moved to Dallas, NC. Because she now had a real adult job, going back to CrossWoods for another summer was out of the question. However, Zechariah was kind enough to spend the summer with her in North Carolina. Brooke had a part time job at a climbing gym in Spartanburg, SC where Zechariah spent the summer working their summer day camps. They felt lucky that they got to work with each other yet again! They had an active summer, constantly climbing at the gym, exploring the wonderful NC State Parks, and running around Brooke’s little neighborhood. They also adopted (well Brooke adopted) a little dog, River, who joined them on their adventures.

Then came the third, and final year of long distance for Brooke and Zechariah. Zechariah started his senior year studying Chemistry and was excited to take a job as an Quality Analyst for Watkins Co. Brooke continued to work at Cooperative Extension and hang with little River. Zechariah visited Brooke and her family for Thanksgiving where he popped the question during a hiking trip in the Smoky Mountains! After much screaming and jumping, Brooke said YES!

Brooke and Zechariah are both incredibly excited to start the new chapter of their lives together! They will be getting married at a Catholic church in Brooke’s hometown, Our Lady of the Lake. They will then be celebrating their marriage with a reception at the place where it all started, CrossWoods Adventure Camp. They are both excited for you all to experience CrossWoods and celebrate their love at the place that means so much to them.