Meeting just a week before Zach and Emily both were to leave for Marine Corps basic training, they met at a time and place most couples probably don't start relationships at. Of course, they had no idea that the simple conversation of learning that they were both going into the Marines and leaving the same day together would turn into this amazing story. The day after they met, Zach and Emily had to go to this place called the Military Entrance Processing Station, or as we call it, 'MEPS.' Here, they had to go through some basic examinations, but the catch was that they were not allowed to have our phones on them. This left Zach and Emily, pretty much complete strangers other than meeting the night before, hours to kill with nothing other to do than talk! (And let's face it, it's the 20th century, hours to kill without a phone sounds rough!!) Little did they know, Zach and Emily spent the entire time together they had laughing and talking, making those long hours of that day feel like just simple minutes passing by. Fast forward a week later, they saw each other again as they were heading to Parris Island, South Carolina to begin the 3 months of training to become Marines. Through the training, Zach and Emily would do everything to simply try to catch each others eye while running this way and that, or to have maybe a 3 second conversation while passing by each other. These little moments, while not being much, made the entire world for Zach and Emily, helping them to get through the training so much easier. Just a month before graduating, Zach asked Emily to be his girlfriend, they became Marines, and knew they could get through any hardship in life, as long as they had each other! :)

After becoming Marines, Zach and Emily had to spend some time apart to go through a little more training. Luckily, they got to spend about 2 months together in NC while Zach did training and Emily was in school. They would spend every moment they were able to together, from boba dates, to painting mugs/turtles, to simply being in each other's presence and being so grateful for the time they had together! On August 9th, 2023, the day before Zach and Emily would have to separate again, he proposed on the most beautiful bridge! They spent a couple more months in training, which later led to Zach going to Georgia and Emily to Hawaii, putting roughly about 7, 988 miles between them and a 6 hour time difference. And though they may be far, it places no damper on the love we share for one another. And the rest is history <3