Buckle up and grab a coffee because this is a good story

It all started...

when Josh and Zoe met one Friday at the Mizzou climbing gym. They constituted 1/2 of the people there and got to chatting after Josh made Zoe guess who of the two was older, he or Luke (in a surprise to no one, Josh told her that he was the older sibling and kept the ruse up for weeks).

They had their first date later that week.

August 2019 – Josh and Zoe visit Laumeier Sculpture Park where they took their first photo together (this one)

But then...

Josh shortly left CoMo to intern in Washington D.C for the summer. The two kept in touch by writing letters and officially got together in June 2019.

When Josh got back in town, the pair went on a camping trip that culminated in running around, eating ajvar, and taking photographs in Laumeier Sculpture park.

In the past 7(ish) years...

Josh and Zoe have graduated, adopted a cat, moved across the country, traveled, and made a plethora of incredible memories together.

Some highlights include:

Moving into their first (and second) apartment together
Taking weekend trips with friends
Having coffee together on the porch before work
Finding new hobbies and exploring DC together
Hiking in the Appalachian mountains
Blasting Joni Mitchell and Big Thief on long car rides
Planning the future together

Josh proposed in Sequoia National Park on June 3rd, 2025.

He convinced Zoe to get up for a sunrise hike to go see the largest tree in the world, and, along the way, the two found a waterfall where Josh popped the question. It was perfect. This was just the beginning of an incredible week road-tripping in California from Sequoia to Paso Robles for wine tasting, and finally, to Yosemite for hiking and basking in the park's beauty.

The two waited until the following Saturday to tell loved ones they were engaged, to which one said, "it's about damn time".