Real Wedding: {Zach and Beth}

I have a great wedding to share with you all today that fits perfectly with our Tearjerker theme. I stumbled across Zach and Beth’s wedding while looking at Kate Botwinski’s photography blog. I love all of the tender, heartfelt moments she captured — their joy, tears and love really pop out of the photo.

Kate was eager to provide the sweet details about Zach and Beth’s relationship, and I am so glad she did because their story is so wonderful! . Zach & Beth met through a mutual friend on facebook while Zach was in college at The United States Air Force Academy and Beth at Kansas University. He saw her picture and thought she was gorgeous. After sending countless facebook messages back and forth, they met for the first time in the Rockies for a long-weekend ski trip with friends. Zach & Beth dated across the country from each other for a few years. Beth made weekend trips to visit Zach at his Air Force bases, and Zach treated Beth to day-long shopping trips and fancy dinners all throughout their relationship – every girl’s dream!

Zach proposed to Beth at the end of 2008 in a quiet downtown Chicago park. They had planned a get-away trip to bring in the new year together. He held her hand and took out headphones so that she could listen to a song because it told how she makes him feel: “The Luckiest” by Ben Folds. While she was listening, Zach got down on one knee and asked her to be his wife. There was plenty more to celebrate than simply the start of a new year! The next day Beth’s mom had a congratulatory package delivered to their hotel room for the couple: customized M&M candies reading, “Zach proposed” and “Beth said yes!” among many other goodies.

The couple wed in the Village Presbyterian Church and walked the same wedding aisle as Beth’s parents walked years earlier. Beth’s dad walked her down the aisle and she carried the same special white bible that her grandmother and cousin carried down the aisle with their flowers.

Isn’t their story sweet? I love the pictures of Zach dancing with his mother and Beth dancing with her father — it practically brings a tear to my eye!

Many thanks again to Kate for sharing this lovely wedding with us!

[Images via Kate Botwinski ]