In May 2009 Zach thought he was in for just another night at a crowded bar with his friends, and he certainly never expected to meet his future wife. It was a typical night at a grungy New Paltz bar with 50 cent PBRs, but when Krista walked into the room his eyes lit up. He didn't know his friend's girlfriend was bringing her roommate, a girl that was just his type. After chatting at the bar and switching from PBRs to discount beer pitchers, Zach had worked up the courage to ask Krista for her number. They left the bar with a plan to meet up later in the dorm's common room. Later that night Zach realized he definitely over did it on the PBRs. He slouched into the chair and dozed off in the common room as Krista laughed from the other side of the room. The next morning he awoke and saw there were missed text messages from Krista making fun of him for falling asleep. Still, she reluctantly agreed to see the sleepy boy again and they made plans for a date.

After dating on and off, Zach and Krista's lives took them in different directions. They always stayed in touch, wondering what could have been if the timing was better. Fast forward to Halloween 2017, Krista was dressed up about to go to out with friends. After a night out, and a few drinks, she started thinking about Zach again. She picked up her phone and sent him a message. Zach, still being somewhat new to his new home in Maryland, was bored with no where to go for Halloween. He started chatting with her and playfully accused her of always messaging him after she had had some drinks, and she couldn't deny it any longer. The distance between them complicated things a bit, but after a few weeks of chatting Zach planned a trip to Philly. They reconnected as if no time had passed and the sparks began to fly. After years apart, they decided to try and make a long distance relationship work. This of course meant long drives between Maryland and Philly, but the couple alternated visits to find a balance. During this time they started to fall in love, and Zach finally admitted to Krista on a trip to Maryland that he was in love with her. The couple then started to plan for Zach to make a transition to Philadelphia so they could finally be together in one city and start the next chapter of their lives.

The pandemic threw a wrench in Krista’s 30th birthday plans, but Zach had something up his sleeve. They planned a summer trip with a small group friends to New Hampshire, to celebrate Krista’s birthday. The day after they arrived, Zach asked Krista to run to the store with him. Krista reluctantly agreed, since they were just at the store the previous day. When they got outside, Zach pointed at the dock and said he saw some loons. Fascinated by loons (which Krista thinks are just ducks), they walked down to the dock to get a better look. When there were no loons in sight, Krista was quite confused. At that moment Zach admitted he had lied and proceeded to get down on one knee and popped the question.