Our Story
Our story began a long, long time ago, at a homeschooling bookfair. You might want to make yourself comfortable cause we had lots to say. :-)
How we met
Homeschool bookfair or match.com?
Abby: Homeschool bookfairs are not always the hoppin' place to find a boyfriend. I enjoyed them and made lots of friends, but never met someone like Zach. One show--the Houston bookfair--I saw the most gorgeous guy. He was tan, fit, blue-eyed and had a great smile. He and his red-headed friend(Cousin Jonathan, as I'd later find out) made quite the good-looking pair at Summit Christian Academy. Lucky for me, their booth was right across from my mom's, so I could watch all the silly girls(probably like myself) trip over themselves and make multiple passes in front of their booth. I remember my friend Hannah and I laughing at the girls, while surreptitiously checking out the guys. We ran into them at our hotel at the pool, and I was highly flustered to see that handsome Zach. He came over to our booth several times to chat that weekend and made it a point to talk with my mom just as much as me, which immediately caught my attention. He was so nice... and a model and a soccer star, so I was definitely star struck. I made him sign his name on a modeling card he gave me because I knew he'd be special someday. I took a photo with him to prove to my friend Carissa that I saw such a hot guy. We exchanged info and went our separate ways.
Zach: The bookfair road-trip was something that we as kids grew up doing. I believe it involved all of the family members at one time or another. But on this particular trip during the summer of 2000 it involved my Uncle Danny, my cousin Jonathan, and myself. Jonathan and I were basically hired muscle for these trips and magnet flickers (well Jonathan did-or-was). Now, this bookfair was located in Houston, Texas. The Houston bookfair is one of the largest I had been to, so there were a lot of new faces to see. Thankfully, for me I noticed Abby’s face rather quickly. It so happened that Abby’s booth was right across from ours, so I had a great view of her all day long. Abby captured my attention immediately, as I never seen someone so excited to be at a bookfair. I loved the fact that I would catch her reading (un-illustrated books) from time-to-time throughout the day. I mean, these books had no pictures, how interesting could they be. (LOL)… I thought for sure she would be shooting rubber bands or flicking magnets at the passing kids. But no, she was content in reading her book. So, I thought to myself, “not only is she beautiful, she is intelligent as well, and with curly hair!” Abby just had a radiant personality that just drew people to her, and of course it drew me to her that weekend. It must be fate that she and her family happened to be staying at the same hotel as we were. I introduced myself, and I was able to see Abby and her mom a few times that weekend. As the bookfair came to a close we exchanged information, and went our separate ways. Who knew we would meet again!
Keeping in touch
Friends despite the distance
Abby:
Zach and I kept in touch via e-mail, myspace and the occasional phone call for the next six years. I graduated high school and went on to Texas A&M where I won't lie... I had his photo taped to my dorm desk. Yup. You can ask Stephanie. I had a celebrity-style crush, but still went along with my life. Zach came to visit his brother Grant and sister Autumn at Texas A&M and we hung out a bit. I did an internship in Dallas in 2005 and contacted him on a whim, only to have him call me back immediately and meet me at the State Fair where I was working for a Gary Allan concert I'd gotten tickets to. While there, I felt a vibe from him... he put his arm around me and paid for dinner, but I chalked it up to him being a friendly guy, because he was seriously out of my league.
Zach:
The years passed before I saw Abby again, but we kept in touch through an e-mail or MySpace message from time to time. Abby ended up going to Texas A&M where my brother, sister, cousin, basically just my whole family went to college. So, I had some other opportunities to meet up with Abby during our college days as I went to visit my siblings and relatives. I finished my college career at the University of the Ozarks in 2004. After graduation I was pursuing soccer, and modeling. In 2005 I was on my way back from a photo shoot in Houston, Texas when I received a phone call from Abby. She invited me to the State Fair of Texas for the Gary Allan concert. I was shocked that she called and invited me, but I was excited to go. So, I made it out to the fair, and Abby and I enjoyed some great food and music. It was great to see her, and I did feel something for her but I did not know how she felt and if I would see her again.
Reconnecting
Sometimes, the timing just has to be right.
Abby:
After graduating with a degree in Ag Science and Ag Journalism, January 2007 I moved to Fort Worth to start my dream job at the Paint Horse Journal. I e-mailed all four of my Dallas/Fort Worth friends to see if anyone would want to hang out. I lived by myself and I wanted to jump in to socializing. The first weekend I was there by myself, who should call me back but Zach, the friend I'd semi-lost touch with. Zach asked me if I wanted to hang out the next weekend and I agreed, doing a little dance when I got off the phone. He called me the next day and invited me to go swing dancing with Grant and Grant's girlfriend Jashley that Wednesday, so they would have some support and he could have a dance partner. Being a huge fan of dancing, I of course said yes. That week turned out to be super icy and Wednesday I wasn't sure if we were still on, but I couldnt get ahold of Zach because he was working. I braved the ice anyway and drove the 45 miles to his house cause i didn't want to stand him up. Of course we didnt end up going dancing that night, but we hung out, reconnected and had a generally great time. I felt like we would continue to be great friends, but figured he'd never go for me. :-)
Zach:
Another 2 years passed and life continued on with soccer and personal training. Then one day I received an e-mail from Abby saying that she had moved to Ft. Worth. It had been some time since I had heard from Abby, but I was glad to hear she was in town. We kept in touch the next few days and we planned to get together to go dancing with my brother and his now wife Jashley. I had heard of this new swing dancing class in Dallas, and I wanted to go. Thankfully, Abby loved the idea and we planned on meeting up after work, but it seems Mother Nature had some other icy alternatives. Fortunately Abby decided to manage her way to Cedar Hill through the icy conditions and I took her to Dave’s Seafood restaurant for dinner. It was a great evening for us to catch up with each other and to stay warm. Unfortunately, dancing would have to wait.
Abby:
We hung out every weekend I was in town the next month and a half and continued to go swing dancing on Wednesdays. Our attraction grew, but we were still just friends. In my mind, anyway. :-) Valentine's day, we headed out to our regular swing dancing class, only this time we went out to eat first. I was unsure what he meant when he asked me several times to be his Valentine earlier that week, but he gave me the sweetest journal with some horse-related quotes inside written in his beautiful handwriting. And a thoughtful card. On my end, I gave him a coffee mug with the dessert "puppy chow." oops. At our dinner at La Madeline(How did he KNOW?? I love that place!) I really felt something "click" with him and I decided if he wanted to kiss me, I'd be ok with that. :-)
Zach:
Abby and I continued to hang out with each other very regularly, and we grew very fond of each other. Our swing dancing dates helped out immensely. Then on Valentine’s Day I decided to take her to La Madeline for dinner and another swing dancing class. It was great evening! I had no idea that she loved La Madeline. So, needless to say things were going very well.
Abby:
Zach was such a sweetheart to me even before we started dating. I'd mention something about missing my girlfriends and the next day I got a phone call from his cousin Becky inviting me to her Bible study. I talked about wanting to bring my horse up to DFW and that week Zach arranged a meeting with a lady who had a place to board horses. After one such meeting, February 19 I believe, Zach and I went to dinner and I remember just thinking how amazing and thoughful he is. He picked that night to ask me "out" and I of course said yes. :-)
Zach:
Soon after Valentine’s Day-on February 19th to be exact-I decided to ask Abby to be my girlfriend. Finally, the line between friends and more than friends was broken, and we were official. It is great to have that confidence and reassurance between two people. I am thankful that Abby was that person. For the next two and a half years we spent our time getting to know each other and each other’s families. We traveled together and had many adventures. But, then it became time to go on a new adventure.
The Proposal
Or why my fiance is a genius.
Zach:
On May 2nd, 2009 I asked Abigail Elizabeth Wilder to marry me. Thank God three things happened. First, she said yes! Second, the ring fit perfectly. Third, my proposal plans worked perfectly. Abigail is intelligent! Remember, I told you she reads a lot of books. So, I had to make arrangement that she would not figure out. I arranged the proposal to take place on our mutual birthday party that my parents were going to throw for us. My cousins Jonathan, Jason, and Brandon all conspired with me to set everything up. I ended up placing the ring in a James Avery box, wrapping it in newspaper, and then placing the item in a large bag with Men’s Health and Fitness books as if my cousins got me a subscription. The time to open presents came and we came to the last present, which was for me, or, she thought it was for me. The cousins played along perfectly as they acknowledged whom the package was from, and the fact it was poorly wrapped. I finally made my way through all the magazines, tissue paper, and newspaper to find the James Avery box. See, earlier that week I had been on line looking at James Avery rings, but the rings were for me. The fact that this gift was not for me, but for her I thought was pretty clever. Ha ha, I came up with the big surprise as I pulled the ring out of the box and said, Babe, I believe this is for you! Then I went down on one knee and the rest is history!
Abby:
Zach and I had been talking about getting married for quite a while, and we'd even talked about the time of year we would like--January 2010. So I had a feeling(a hope!) that he'd propose soon. But for our party, I'd planned to play for him his favorite song on the piano-- A Prayer for Taylor, by Michael W. Smith. It's a really hard song and I'd been off and on practicing it for a year and a half. I get super super nervous playing in front of people and there were 20 people at that party! I was really concerned about playing the song and I was so keyed up that I don't think I ate much of our awesome food. I was SO nervous, but I got through the song. :-) He was happy for his gift, and we moved on to opening presents right after that. I had that adrenaline rush going on, so I managed to calm down but wasn't paying too much attention during gifts other than enjoying what I was given. :-) When Zach was opening his last present, I was kind of in a daze. When I saw the James Avery box, I thought to myself, that must be that ring he wanted... but it was SPARKLY... and I froze when he told me it was for me! I think I stopped breathing and started shaking and crying when he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I definitely said yes and all of our friends and family there cheered and cried with me/us. :-) Jashley and Grant were even watching on Skype! The ring was absolutely gorgeous and so unique and I loved it immediately! I think the rest of the night was a blur... but all I knew was I get to marry my best friend!!
