We're getting married!

First Friday Art Trail in Lubbock, Texas. Zach and Maria are both students at Texas Tech and are briefly introduced by a mutual friend. Maria doesn't remember this introduction and therefore argues that it "doesn't count."

The next month, Zach and Maria happen to cross paths in the parking lot of Redeemer Church while going to an event there one night. They sit next to each other and exchange polite (but indifferent) small talk. At the time, Zach doesn't have a car, and he mentions that he likes Redeemer a lot but has trouble finding reliable rides. Maria replies that she's very reliable (she is). For the rest of the semester, Maria picks up Zach from his dorm every week.

After studying together one evening, Zach and Maria order a pizza and walk over to a nearby park, where they proceed to hang out and talk for five hours straight. Following this, Maria's roommate begins dropping some not-so-subtle hints to Zach, and on Valentine's Day (coincidentally) he asks Maria if she's free for dinner that Friday. The date goes pretty well, so they decide to go on another one, and another one, and another one.

While out on a date eating tapas one evening, Zach has been dropping hints about their future together, which Maria notices but doesn't think much of. Eventually, over the swell of the live jazz band, he tells Maria that he'd like to marry her one day: how does she feel about that? Maria is completely taken by surprise and responds by promptly sobbing into her Spanish meatballs. It's the single happiest night of her life.

Maria is nearing graduation, and the night before her birthday, she, Zach, and their friends go to First Friday together one last time. The next day, they head to Palo Duro Canyon to go hiking, and though temperatures in the canyon are approximately 900 degrees Farenheit, they choose a trail that climbs to the rim. At the top, they reach a clearing that overlooks the canyon, and the air is still and quiet. Zach reaches into his backpack, drops to a knee, and recites a speech that Maria is too sweaty and ecstatic to hear or remember. It's a really, really good birthday.

A year after the proposal, it's Zach's turn to graduate, and he and Maria get to celebrate the end of long-distance in the best way possible: getting married! Their entire relationship has been blessed with so much growth and joy, and they're beyond excited to celebrate this new chapter of it with all the people who've supported and encouraged them along the way.