For those of you that haven't had the pleasure of meeting one of us, here is a little bit about each of us, how we met, and how we got engaged.

Maddie grew up in Saint Louis, Missouri and was a traveling nurse before moving to San Diego. She fell in love with San Diego and decided to lay some roots here.

Zach grew up in Thousand Oaks, California before moving to San Diego for graduate school to achieve his PhD in Chemistry.

We met on hinge here in San Diego and went on our first date on the beach, August 1st 2023. Our first few dates were a hit. We found out we both were born on August 17th, and went to Universal Studios on our third date, our birthday! We came to fall in love and move in with each other here in San Diego. Zach quickly learned that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Maddie, and he began saving for and plotting the engagement. He decided that he wanted it to be in nature with few people around. San Diego does not have many places with few people around! One place he thought of was in the middle of the Mission Bay where we like to paddleboard. Going against all warnings from friends and family he brought the ring with him on the paddle board. He convinced Maddie that they should both try to stand up on a single paddle board at the same time. Little did she know that when she stood up he would be on his knee, with the ring in his hand. He asked to spend the rest of his life with her and she said yes! He did not drop the ring but boy was it scary!