Zak and Emily met in their sophomore year Chemical Engineering Lab 1 at the University of Arkansas when a mutual friend suggested they form a lab group together. They stayed friends through subsequent years of Chemical Engineering classes. Zak finally asked Emily on their first official date two years later to a concert in October of 2016. After several months of dates, Zak asked Emily to be his girlfriend in January of 2017!

Emily and Zak had been planning to go to the University of Arkansas Homecoming game for months with friends, but little did Emily know that Zak had the surprise of a lifetime prepared! They arrived in Fayetteville early on Friday afternoon and planned to meet Zak's brother Parker for happy minutes at JJ's on Dickson Street (a favorite stop for Emily and Zak). Since the Homecoming Parade would also be taking place on Dickson Street that evening, Zak suggested they park in one of the garages on campus and walk to JJ's through campus. When they got to Old Main Lawn, Zak pulled Emily off the path towards Spoofer's Stone (a popular proposal spot on campus), where Zak got on one knee and asked Emily to spend their lives together. After many happy tears, Emily and Zak continued on to JJ's where Zak surprised Emily with her family and friends who came in to celebrate the most amazing day together!

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we postponed out big reception to around our one year anniversary. However, we did get married on our originally planned date of September 19th, 2020, surrounded by our immediate families and wedding party. You can see some highlights from this magical day in our wedding video: https://vimeo.com/461861311