Our Story
How we met:
Christina met Jason (Zach's best friend) through their blogging group in early 2005. Jason would post pictures and funny stories about his best friend and then roommate, Zach and he instantly caught Christina's eye. She thought he was very handsome, classy and interesting! In June, Christina and Jason started hanging out together with other mutual friends. After a couple of weeks, Jason thought it would be fun to have a dessert night and he invited Zach over for some treats. Recently suffering a broken foot, Jason thought Zach was in need of some fun to help lift his spirits. Christina and Zach met for the first time on June 9, 2005. It was a fun night of eating dessert, watching tv and talking about their interests. They had such a good time that they all decided to go out again the next night for some live music at Fado's, an Irish Pub in downtown Seattle. That night, Jason dared Christina to give Zach a kiss on his forehead and the rest is history!
2005 Highlights:
The first year of their new love was spent getting to know more about each other and meeting friends and family. Zach celebrated his 28th birthday on July 21, 2005, so Christina got to meet his parents, Dave and Nancy for the first time. She remembers being nervous but was instantly at ease as his parents are very easy to talk to and they are very friendly. Christina and Jason also threw a surprise birthday party for Zach at Golden Gardens Park in Ballard. Zach also met Christina's parents and many relatives throughout the year too! In September 2005, Christina started working for Chihuly Studio in Ballard as their Payroll & Benefits Administrator. While working full time, she continued with her studies at North Seattle Community College and Zach decided to start taking classes at Bellevue Community College. They both had a lot on their plate between work and school commitments, but they were able to still enjoy quality time together.
They took a mini vacation in late December to Ocean Shores where Zach introduced Christina to some favorite childhood places of his from family vacations in the past.
2006 Highlights:
Still busy with work and school, Zach and Christina still managed to find time to kindle their growing relationship. They planned an adventurous vacation to the East Coast for August 2006. They visited Boston where they ate a lot of Seafood and pasta, while taking in a plethora of historic sites. Then they went to New York City where they ate a lot of hot dogs and soft serve ice cream! They saw so much Art and attended a live taping of the Letterman Show. Lastly, they visited Washington, D.C. where they saw all of the sites they could possibly see in 1.5 days and took in the magnificence that is our country! They had a slight delay on their return home because of a car accident and then Christina's parrot Charlie died. But they still had each other and with their friends and families support, they were able to keep going. In October, Christina adopted twin kittens, named Max and Lulu who are known to appear in Christmas cards!
They celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas together with their families and knew that the next year would bring lots of joy!
2007 Highlights:
This is the year where all the exciting events happen! In January, Christina started her undergraduate work at Central Washington University in Edmonds, WA. Zach continued his studies at Bellevue Community College and both continued with their current jobs. In April, Zach asked Christina to move in with him at his Kirkland, WA condo. She moved in with Max and Lulu and shortly thereafter, they started plans to remodel their kitchen and bathooms. Zach also celebrated his 30th birthday with a little bit of help from his family and friends. They also decided to plan a trip to Europe to visit London, Germany and the Czech Republic in the month of September.
The Engagement:
After spending nearly two weeks in Europe visiting many cities, Zach and Christina decided to slow down a bit and head down to the Neuschwanstein Castle which is located in a small town called Schwangau in Bavaria. The drive down was beautiful as they were on the "romantic road" and the weather was sunny and about 70 degrees. They arrived at the castle and purchased tickets for tours of both of the castles. They toured the Hohenschwangau Castle first and then took a horse carriage up to the Neuschawanstein Castle. After the tour, they went to the Marienbrücke which is a bridge that overlooks the Neuschawanstein Castle. Christina, being afraid of heights was reluctant to get her pictures taken up so high on a bridge, but she was a trooper! She thought they were done after about 10 pictures and she tried to leave, but Zach said he wanted a couple more pictures. Christina had her back turned to Zach and when she turned back around, there he was on one knee, asking her if she would marry him.
Obviously, she said yes and they celebrated the rest of the evening with a lovely dinner at the nearby hotel. For history and pictures of Neuschwanstein, visit their official website.
Plans for the future:
2008 has been a busy and exciting year so far! Christina just graduated in June with her BS in Accounting. She also accepted a new job as a Staff Accountant for a local accounting firm. After the wedding, Zach and Christina plan to honeymoon in Italy in the Florence/Tuscany area. In their future plans, Christina will be returning to school to get her master's degree so she can get her CPA license. Zach and Christina would like to start a family and eventually buy a house in the Kirkland area.