Emily and Zach met by pure chance at a brewery in Asheville, North Carolina. Emily took an impromptu solo trip to hike the Blue Ridge and drink beer and ended up at an open mic night where Zach showed up at the 11th hour to perform. They struck up a conversation, sang some Bruce Springsteen songs, and made the most out of the 48 hours they had together before Emily had to head home to Philadelphia.

A few months and an Instagram DM later they started planning to see each other again. They landed on a weekend together in Denver, where they quickly realized they were screwed and both fell for someone who lived 9 hours away. After a month of long distance, Zach came to Philadelphia indefinitely- and they never looked back. The next two years brought them from Philly, to Asheville, to finally their current home in Nashville, Tennessee.

On a crisp weekend in January, Zach and Emily traveled to Bryson City, North Carolina for the weekend to enjoy the mountains and Zach’s family’s house. As Zach drove into the Great Smokey Mountains National Park entrance, he put on a song from that very first night they met and pulled into the site where he first told Emily he loved her. After a lap to get the nerves out, he asked Emily to spend the rest of their lives together. Unbeknownst to Emily, Zach’s mom and step dad were waiting at the house and Emily’s family was on their way from New Jersey to help celebrate the best day ever.