Her side:

Claire’s mom told her about Zach and how great he was. Claire did not believe her mom, and was happy living her best dog mom life in Portland, Oregon. When she met Zach on the dance floor at his brothers wedding, she knew that she had met someone special. She just didn’t know it yet. After 2 months of non-stop text messages, phone calls, and 6 hour long FaceTime calls, Zach came and visited her and Benson in Portland! Four months after that first visit, Claire packed up her life in 10 bags and headed for Zach’s home state of Ohio. After a year of living in the Midwest they went back to Portland, and recreated that first visit. While at Powell’s City of Books, in the rare book room. Zach, on one knee, said some extremely poetic lines, while Claire blacked out and could only assume Zach was asking her one thing. To which she said, Yes! A few months later they moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, where they are planning their Santa Barbara Zoo wedding. We cant wait to celebrate our love with you all approximately, 10,000 hours after Zach proposed.

Benson’s Version:

I met Zach in 2021 while I was living in Portland with my Mom, Claire. At first I was wary of him, but after learning he used to train service puppies at his University, I was a little less concerned for me and my mom’s safety. A few days into his trip my mom caught me sitting in Zach’s lap. I was hooked from then. It wasn’t until Zach carried me through the treacherous waters on the University of New Mexico’s campus, durning our 3 day Cross Country move to Ohio. That I knew he was the prefect pick for my mom. The day he asked for my moms hand in marriage was the second easiest decision I ever made, picking my mom was the first ☺️. I cannot wait to celebrate ever milestone with both the of them! Fingers crossed I don’t get too much dog hair on their fancy wedding attire!

What does Zach say about this boogaloo?

Here’s the full scoop… Claire’s Mom is the reason that this little love story ever happened in the first place. Zach met Karen the weekend of his older brother and sister in law’s bridal shower. During the weekend Claire’s mom asked Zach why he was single, to which he responded with “I haven’t found anyone that’s been worth while to consider a long term relationship with yet.” Or something along those lines. Zach earned Claire’s Mom’s approval before he even knew Claire existed. Fast forward to November 27, 2021. Zach is tearing up the dance floor, with the dorkiest heart-shaped sunglasses on, when he gets yanked by Karen to meet Claire. Zach doesn’t have very good vision when he is not wearing his glasses, but you could say that it was love at first sight. That night Claire and Zach talked the whole night while sharing one singular water pitcher, that was taken from the bar. After that night, Claire and Zach went from texting through the hours of the night to having phone call dates into the early hours of the morning. Finally Zach got the courage to book plane tickets to go see Claire in Portland. After that short trip, Zach got Claire’s dog, Benson’s, stamp of approval from the second he walked through the door of Claire’s apartment. That weekend defined when the two started their official romantic relationship. A few short months later, after a heinous amount of FaceTime dates lasting 5 hours or more, the couple took a massive leap of faith and decided to live in Ohio together. Roughly 10,000 hours after Zach told Claire that he loved her, he asked her to marry him! What felt like 7 years of waiting for the “Yes!” He finally heard it. We look forward to sharing our love story with you and celebrating the love that we have with all of you here on July 5, 2024 in Santa Barbara, California! See you all soon!

Thanks Karen!

Registry