Our Story

Have you ever seen an angel? I have. At least that’s what she looked like to me. It was about five years ago. I was a long haired rebellious young man about to head off on a four day trek into the middle of nowhere as part of a church activity. I’m still amazed I was even there. Just a month prior to this I had not thought about church in years. In my later teenage years I had grown distant from the religion that I had embraced so fully during my childhood. Through a string of unforeseen events I had found myself at the cusp of leaving on this trek and the final meeting, prior to leaving, was in progress. That is when I saw her, my angel. I did not know who she was at the time, but she was beautiful, even though she was dressed like a Mormon pioneer, in her ankle length skirt, white long sleeve blouse, and straw hat. She had big brown compassionate eyes, light brown shoulder length hair, and an energy that was contagious. I never got her name, but during the next four days on the trek I would find myself looking through the crowds of people dressed in pioneer clothing trying to spot her. I just wanted to be around her, to soak up her goodness, just being in her presence made me feel like a better, happier person. At that point I never would have imagined that I could get a girl like her. She was kind, funny, happy, and a genuinely good person. I was just a punk kid with long hair, no morals, and a lack of direction. By all accounts I was trouble. If I ever had a chance of being with a girl like that, I would have to make drastic changes.

 After the four day trek in the middle of nowhere I continued on my own personal journey towards finding God and happiness. In the midst of my journey I did not think about my angel, but that was not meant to last forever. While on my journey those drastic changes started to come, slowly, but surely. I cut my long hair, started going to church regularly, and started hanging out with people who had better values. Through those changes I found myself going to another unexpected place, Jacksonville, Florida. I would be there for two years as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Over the next two years I would serve God with all my energy. Every day I would go out and try to find people to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ to. During my time in Florida I thought I was there to help other people experience their own conversion, but this was not all I was doing. I was experiencing my own conversion. I learned to love, be patient, be kind, forgive, and a myriad of other things. I was finally changing into the kind of man I would need to be in order to be with my angel.

My two years in Florida were over before I knew it. I was now home in Utah sitting in front of my ecclesiastical leader having my final interview before I was released as a full-time missionary. It was a bittersweet moment. The last two years were the most challenging and most rewarding years of my life. My abilities had been pushed to their brink, and somehow I had been able to continue on. Most importantly, during those two years I had found God, finally experienced true happiness, and become the man I needed to be.

I had been home only three days before I saw her again. She was still the same beautiful, sweet, compassionate woman. However, this time I was much different. It was another church activity, a 5k run, to be exact. I was introduced to her by her father who happened to be the ecclesiastical leader who had interviewed me just a few days before.

“Hi, I’m Lara,” she said.

 “Nice to meet you, I’m Zach,” was my reply. That was the extent of our first meeting. It was a short interaction because I was at a loss for words. My mind was a blur and for the first time in over two years I could not think of what to say.

After the run I was standing around for no reason in particular and I saw her again. This time she was walking towards me. As she approached I felt butterflies in my stomach and my mind started to go blank again. I could not believe this was happening! When she got to me she said, “My dad wanted me to invite you to the singles ward.” The singles ward is a congregation for young single adults in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

All I could do was mutter, “Okay. I’ll have to think about it.” She gave me a quick smile and walked away confidently.

Over the next few weeks I did attend the singles ward and related activities. I saw her frequently. We would say a few things to each other occasionally, but all of our interactions were short lived. I simply could not talk to her. It’s like my mind would turn to mush and my tongue would get tied in knots. I would frequently ask myself, “Why is it so hard to talk to her?”

After over two months of struggling to have a quality conversation, and hopefully a date, with Lara my opportunity finally came. It was at an all-day activity for young single adults. I went with a friend, hoping to see Lara. After being at the activity for about an hour the opportunity presented itself. She was standing in the foyer of the building we were in, near a staircase. She was wearing a yellow and blue shirt with a blue cardigan. As I looked at her, our eyes met, and a smile beamed across my face. I slowly made my way through the crowd and started talking to her. It was not anything grand, just a simple conversation. From that point on we were with each other the rest of the night. It was a magical evening. I was finally myself. We were joking around and having a wonderful time together. It was one of those nights that I hoped would never end. Then the moment finally came. The evening had come to an end and it was time to go home. As I slowly walked her to her car, my mind was racing. I knew I needed to at least ask her for her number. The words came out slowly and awkwardly, “I would regret it if I did not ask you for your number.”

She smiled shyly and proceeded to give me her number. I then finished walking her to her car and got on my motorcycle and went home.

I was on cloud nine and there was nothing that could bring me down. I had finally been able to spend quality time with my angel, Lara. I was smiling ear to ear and happier than ever. My body was all a tingle and I could not get her off my mind.

It took a few days, but I asked her on a date and things continued from there. We had a few dates and things were progressing very well. I got to know her even better and she was even more amazing than I had originally thought.

After two months, hanging out many times, and four dates I knew I had to be with her. Up until that time we had just been going on dates, but we had not made our relationship official. It was time to change that. It was Labor Day and she came over my house to drop something off she had borrowed. It was supposed to be a quick stop for her before she headed home for the night, but I did not want it to be quick.

“Would you like to go lay on my trampoline and looked at the stars?” I hesitantly ask. I’m sure she knew I was trying to delay her departure.

“Sure,” was all she replied.

We slowly made our way to the backyard. She effortlessly hopped on the trampoline and I followed. She looked even more beautiful in the moonlight. As we lay on the trampoline cuddling with each other, I could feel the warmth of her body. The sweet smell of her perfume was intoxicating. I could feel my heart beating rapidly in my chest. For a brief moment we made eye contact. I then found myself leaning in to give her a kiss. Our lips gently touched as we kissed for the very first time. I then uttered words that I had been thinking about for the last few weeks. “I think we should just date each other.” The words felt clumsy and indirect as they passed my lips, but it was too late to rephrase them.

She did not notice the poor phrasing. She simply responded with, “I think I’d be okay with that.” It was official. We were now boyfriend and girlfriend.

During those first few months, I felt like a giddy schoolboy. I thought of her constantly and wanted to always be with her. She was my waking thought and the last thing I thought of each night before going to sleep. Our love for each other continued to grow into something beautiful.

To most people four months of being in a relationship is nothing, but I knew I wanted to be with her forever. Naturally I started planning a way to ask her to marry me, but it had to be perfect.

I knew just the way, but I needed to act quickly.

Lara loved to make scrapbooks. She has made many of them over the years and found great pleasure in it. This inspired me to make her a scrapbook. Over the course of our relationship I had saved small mementos from dates we had been on and other adventures. The scrapbook would tell our story from the start. In the end I wrote, “Will you marry me?” and tied in an engagement ring. It took a few days, and help from my wonderful sister-in-law, but I finished it. Now I needed the perfect moment to give it to her. My family’s Christmas Eve party was coming up and I knew that was where I wanted to propose.

The day finally arrived, and despite the fact that I was about to propose, I felt very calm. I was excited to propose to Lara, but not nervous. I knew I loved her and that she loved me. We had not talked about marriage, but this would make my proposal even more of a surprise.

That night as we were all gathered around, the time came for me to give Lara her gift. She unwrapped the scrapbook and started to slowly look through it. As she turned the pages I could feel my heart beating more rapidly. I was so focused on her that the people talking in the background and everything else faded away. For those few moments it was just her and I. As she drew closer to the end of the book I could see a change in her countenance. She flipped the last page and paused. I held my breath as I watched her read the words, “Will you marry me?” She then looked up at me with those beautiful big brown eyes and gently whispered the one word I longed to hear, “Yes.”

Time moves quickly when you are going to school, working, and planning a wedding. We had set the date. March 19, 2013 was going to be the beginning of our lives together. Over the next three months we grew even closer to one another and I knew she was the one for me.

Our wedding day was incredible to say the least. It was a beautiful spring day full of laughter, smiles, warm embraces, and love.

Four and a half years earlier I had never thought I would be here with her, my angel. It had been a long journey for me. I had been twisted and turned, gone through ups and downs all to become who I needed to be. It was all worth it because we were now married and would be together forever.

We have now been married for six months and I love her more each day. Lara continues to amaze me and find ways to change me. She has brought a warmth and happiness to my life that I have never before experienced. I look forward to being with her forever. She truly is my angel.

And, if you want to see the proposal for yourself...