Our love story began in September 2020 with a dating-app match, when a lifetime of comfortable conversation kicked off with a prompt Sarah provided about “trying to wrangle 30 first graders through Google Classroom!” We fell into ever-greater alignment with each other over freeflowing texts and video calls, and hardly a week later, it felt only natural to set up a date. In what was the only first date that either of us have set up from the apps, we met at Lakeview’s Mia Francesca for dinner, where Sarah and Zack each stunned in her first impressions. Not a single awkward moment could be found over our Italian dinner, and we finished the flawless first night with ice cream and a movie.

A second date followed two days later, the third a week after that, and the rest has been joyful, meant-to-be history. Starting as each other’s bright lights in the pandemic, we’ve since been partners in coast-to-coast travel, fitness endeavors, rave nights, bunny parenting, and every other part of our beautifully entangled lives.

It started with a visit to the Adler Planetarium, to see Zack’s brother Noah and meet his new girlfriend (and now-fiancée!) Michelle. For over an hour we enjoyed our first joint trip to Zack’s favorite museum before we exited facing the Chicago skyline, when Michelle — a professional photographer — took out her camera to ostensibly capture the view. After covertly grabbing the ring box from a backpack, Zack walked Sarah toward the lake before getting down on a knee, professing an eternal love, and popping the question. Sarah , after saying “You are not doing this!” five times in shock, said yes! Michelle captured the complete joy we shared that day.