2018–2027
How We Got Here
เส้นทางที่พาเรามาถึงตรงนี้2018 · Chiang Mai, Thailand
The Swipe
It started with a swipe in Chiang Mai. On the first date, Zach pulled up on his motorcycle and handed Fah a spare helmet without ever taking off his own. They got turned away from a temple over her shorts and ended up at a hill-tribe rose garden instead, which is how he found out she loves flowers. By the third date he was making her shrimp pasta, and someone finally took a photo. It came out blurry. It still is.
2019 · Chiang Mai, Thailand
The Return
He noticed his spring break in Budapest lined up with Songkran in Thailand and bought a ticket before he could talk himself out of it. Fah wasn't easy to convince, but she agreed to meet up in person. They played Songkran together, and by the end of the night he had a rubber band stuck in his hair at a jazz club. They were inseparable for the rest of the trip.
2019 · Strasbourg, France
She Came to Europe
Fah's first trip to see him abroad, one day in Strasbourg. Zach, for reasons he still can't fully explain, kept his backpack on in every single photo. It remains one of the earliest documented cases of Zach having no idea how he looks in pictures.
Summer 2019 · Cappadocia, Turkey
Yes, Surrounded by Balloons
They booked a sunrise photo shoot in Cappadocia, hot air balloons filling the sky all around them. Zach had a ring and a question. Fah, who had already figured out he'd bought a ring, made him wait through a very long pause before saying yes. She still insists it wasn't that long.
2019 · Seoul, South Korea
The Silliest Hat
A college friend's wedding in Seoul, with Fah along as the plus-one. A detour to a Korean cultural center produced matching hanbok and, according to Zach, the silliest hat he has ever worn in his life.
November 2019 · Chiang Mai, Thailand
Waiting on a Visa
Their first Loy Krathong as an engaged couple, floating lanterns down the river while the paperwork for Fah's visa slowly worked its way through the system. Not much to report from this stretch, other than a lot of patience.
2020 · Thailand & Lake Tahoe
Plans, Meet Pandemic
They were aiming for a wedding in North Carolina that May, visa approval expected any month. Then COVID shut the world down and the timeline fell apart. Zach ended up extending his own visa by 90 days just to stay in the country, which is how they found themselves on a motorcycle loop into Laos, waterfalls and all. Fah bought a Free the Bears shirt on that trip. She still wears it.
2020 · North Carolina, USA
Beaten to the Altar
Shortly after Fah landed in the US, Zach's best friend from high school got married. They went to celebrate, engaged themselves and just a couple weeks away from their own wedding.
November 27, 2020
Officially Married
With a 90-day visa deadline bearing down, there wasn't time to wait for the wedding they actually wanted. So on November 27, 2020, they tied the knot in a small backyard ceremony. It was quiet. It was cute. It was also missing almost everyone who mattered! They always knew they'd have to do this again, properly, with everyone in the room.
