Thank you so much to our amazing parents for making this day possible! Cindy and Larry Thoma are hosting the wedding day while Nancy Bentley is hosting our reahearsal dinner. We are so thankful for the time, effort, and support they provide for us and this next chapter of life. This day would not be possible with out them! What a blessing to have such amazing parents!

Sarah and I's story starts several years ago in high school, where (I think) we both knew of each other but never actually met. From high school, the story continues through college, where we both went to UNCW and once again never met. The first time I saw Sarah was after college at a bar in Wilmington. I was in no position to go and talk to her, as I was in another relationship at the time, but she stayed in my mind long after that night. A couple years after that night, I was in a much better situation and finally had the courage to talk to her (or Instagram DM). I started the conversation in the cheesiest way possible, asking if we had gone to high school together (I obviously knew the answer but you gotta shoot your shot and that's all I had in mind at the moment). After stumbling my way through a few more ridiculous messages, I asked for her number, my reasoning being it was easier than messaging on Instagram... (it wasn't, but it worked). We ended up deciding to grab coffee one random weeknight at Port City Java. I got there a little early and picked out a spot next to the register. It was an awful spot and after a couple minutes, another couple left their window seat, so I moved over there to be less awkward. Side note, Sarah almost didn't agree to coffee because dinner would have been the better choice to ask for haha. She came in the door and I wasn't sure if I should hug, shake, or sit there awkwardly. I went for the hug and she welcomed it, I knew I was in at that point. We ordered our drinks and talked for a while (she had tea, I had coffee, basically proving already she was smarter than me as I drank the entire cup and didn't sleep a wink that night). From then on, we've been inseparable.

Zach and I have a really unique story. We grew up about 20 minutes away from each other for the majority of our childhoods, went to the same middle school for a year and had the same teacher a year apart (he's a year ahead of me in school), we went to the same high school, community college, and university (UNCW), yet we never met. One night after I had graduated college, I went back to Wilmington to visit a friend for a girls night out. I never thought that that would be the night I would cross paths with my future husband. While we were out, we went to a bar and I saw a guy I went to high school with (one of Zach’s friends) and said hi, the night continued and I thought nothing of it. I had no idea that Zach was across the bar and had noticed me. About a year later, I was back living in Wilmington and still waiting on God to bring the right guy into my life. One evening I got an Instagram message from Zach. We began talking and eventually he asked me to meet up for coffee. As I was pulling into the parking lot, and talking to my parents about the date I told them how nervous I was, then I noticed a tall man walking by the window who I figured was Zach. I immediately did a happy squeak and exclaimed, "OH. MY. GOSH. he is SO cute! I can totally do this!" I nervously walked in where I was welcomed with the sweetest hug. Being around Zach just felt comfortable, like I had known him my entire life. I decided I wanted a second date and refused to go to bed that night until he asked me to go out again. FINALLY, after a few "it was nice to meet you" messages, he asked! After our second date I called my mom and told her I couldn't imagine my life with out him and she told me she felt that I'd never have to. We've been best friends ever since. I had no idea that one girls night out would lead to the love of my life finding me and waiting a little over a year to talk to me. He is everything I've ever prayed for and I just can't wait to marry him!

Our proposal was not only a huge surprise for me, but for Zach as well. He had planned on picking up the ring from our jeweler while we were in Greensboro visitig my family the weekend of August 17th. He was planning on waiting until September to pop the question though. As soon as Zach saw the ring he questioned his decision to wait... after getting back to my parents house and dropping off the ring, Zach and my dad took off to get champagne. While this was happening my mom and I were out for a girls day. We got our nails done and grabbed a margarita. We joked about how fun it would be if I were engaged but didn’t think it would be happening sooner rather than later. Once we arrived home I saw Zach on the porch talking on the phone. I figured he had just called to talk to his mom for a bit and see how her day was going. When I got to him, he asked me to sit outside with him for a bit. As we were sitting and talking he began to talk about standing by each other during rough times and being there for each other no matter what. All I could think was “there’s no way he’s doing what I think he’s doing” and “are his hands clammier than usual?” As we got up to go in, Zach hugged me and reached for his pocket. I immediately stepped back and said “what are you doing?!” He nervously pulled out a ring and got on one knee. The moment he said “Sarah Thoma, will you marry me?” I froze and asked if this was real life and not a joke. After he said it was for real I squealed yes! Later that night, we slow danced in the candle light on the front porch to our song, “Stand by Me” and immediately after the song ended, a kind stranger shot off fire works a few blocks away (such an unexpected God-wink). It was the most perfect unexpected day of our lives.