Once upon a time…there was a charming prince who decided to take his beautiful princess on their very first adventure of a new life together.
The adorable couple left Saturday afternoon, August 1st, 2009, driving Luna, their sturdy steed, to visit the prince’s family up north at Lake Ann Camp. On the way up they listened to a cd of their favorite songs Zack made and dreamed about their future together. The pair pulled into the camp around 6:30pm and met Becky (Zack’s mom/the Queen) at their cabin, which Zack left shortly after to help his dad build paintball forts for their paintball game the next day (which was entirely not true). Becky and Kristin got dressed for the nice dinner they were going out to later and then drove up to see the progress the boys were making. Meanwhile, up at the “paintball field,” Zack, Kent, and his brothers were arranging Pine Chapel for the engagement.
Becky drove Kristin to Pine Chapel, which is situated in a large pine forest at the edge of Lake Ann Camp. Becky stopped the car, led Kristin to the path, hugged her, told her she loved her, and then left her at the start of the winding trail that led to the chapel.
The path started with an envelope and scattered rose petals. The envelope contained a picture of Zack holding a sign with the letter “I” at the park where he asked Kristin to be his girlfriend four years ago. She then walked down the path and encountered five more envelopes, the second at the field where they had their first kiss with him holding a sign saying “WILL”. The third picture was of Zack holding a sign with the word “LOVE” at the overlook where he told Kristin he loved her. The fourth picture was of him holding a sign with the word “YOU” at a park downtown in Holland where they had their first date. The fifth picture was of Zack at his grandparent’s beach, a place very dear to the couple, holding a sign that said “FOREVER.”
The fifth envelope was at the start of the final walk. The path was marked with rose petals and lined with clear vellum bags with votive candles inside. Each bag had something Zack loved about Kristin on it. Kristin slowly made her way, reading each bag, absorbing the romance, until she was to a circle of bags with the final envelope. The final envelope was empty and had a Polaroid camera next to it for her to take the final picture. Zack then stepped out from behind a tree holding the last sign, which read “MARRY ME MARIE.”
He asked her to take the last picture with the five previous signs nailed on trees behind him (“I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER”) and with him holding his final sign, “MARRY ME MARIE.” The picture didn’t take (they got it later though!), and being so impatiently excited Zack told her to forget it. She promptly did so and jumped into his strong, muscular, tan arms.
Zack, after he had kissed her, slowly kneeled with ring in his hands. He proceeded with roughly the following proposal: “Kristin, I promise you that I will love you and no one else forever. I don’t want another girl to start a family and honor God with. Kristin, will you marry me? Please?” As you can imagine, Kristin could in no way turn down such an amazing, magical, perfect offer and responded with a very elated “YES!”
The charming prince and beautiful princess shared a few more delightful kisses before ringing a large bell, signaling the arrival of beaming Dad, Mom, and Brothers Wallace. The rest of the fairytale night included a fancy, family dinner and a prayerful walk around Lake Ann Camp with memories and dreams galore.
The jubilation carried through to the next day where a surprise engagement party thrown by Kristin's family awaited the couple when they arrived home. All of Kris's friends thought they were surprising her for a back-to-school party when instead they were surprised by the new "bling" on her left hand. The rest of the day was spent in engagement bliss with Dad, Mom, and Brother Merkle (Jackie & Lance too). It was a perfect ending to a perfect weekend.
Zackary and Kristin are hoping for a summer wedding in 2010 if the Lord so wills. They request prayer for Zack to find work in Chicago and for them to draw closer to God as they draw closer to one another.
The charming prince and beautiful princess are currently living happily ever after…
