Laura & Zachary
Couple #2
Laura: He won my heart when.... he showed up at my work and asked for my car keys. When I left work there was a clean car, a full tank of gas and flowers on my seat.
Zachary: She won my heart when....she likened our relationship to that of peanut butter and jelly, saying we simply belong together.
Laura: Born in Denver, CO
Zachary: Born in Sidney, MT
Laura: Graduated from Rio Rancho High School
Groom: Graduated from Santa Fe High School
Date we met: 09-11-2009
Date we were engaged: 11-13-2009
More About Us
1. In what New Mexico city do you live?
We moved to New Mexico at an early age with our families and this state has truly become home for us. We wouldn’t trade our lives here for anywhere in the world. Laura currently lives in Rio Rancho, and Zach lives in Albuquerque. We are both excited to build our family here in culture-rich New Mexico, and we could never leave New Mexico because everyone knows you can’t get New Mexico chile anywhere else in the world.
2. How did you meet and how long have you been together?
Laura and Zach met in September of last year while taking an online Spanish class through CNM. Our intentions were to take the class to get a better knowledge of the Spanish language to help better understand some of the culture here in New Mexico (or better communicate with patients and their families?). Zach never thought he would meet the woman of his dreams in this venue. At the onset of the class, several questions are asked of the students, one of which was, “Have you ever taken an online class before?” Zach has taken several online classes because it works well with his work schedule, while Laura had never taken one before. After seeing his response to the question, Laura contacted Zach and asked if she could ask him questions and if he would be willing to be her “study buddy.” When we started talking, we realized that we had a mutual friend. This mutual friend happens to be Laura’s best friend from childhood and Zach works with her at his second job. Laura contacted her in an attempt to determine what kind of person Zach was. Our friend reminded her that she had sent Laura an email six months before trying to get us meet each other because she thought we would be a perfect match! This was one of the many things that told us that our relationship was meant to be.
3. What do you both do for fun in New Mexico?
The state New Mexico is filled with an amazing assortment of fun and exciting things to do. We love to travel around the state and learn about its rich history and culture. We also thoroughly enjoy snowboarding and skiing in the winter, as New Mexico offers locations that are simply beautiful for these activities. We both love to camp and hike and plan plenty of these activities this coming summer. We also enjoy spending time with our families, both here in Albuquerque and in Santa Fe. Going to UNM Lobo games and Isotopes baseball games are regular events for us and our families. This fall we enjoyed the New Mexico State Fair, the Balloon Fiesta, the harvest festival at El Rancho de las Gollandrinas, and of course getting our Halloween pumpkins at McCall’s Pumpkin Patch. We spent Christmas Eve bundled up against the cold while walking through Old Town seeing the Luminárias, the nativity scene, and the towering Christmas tree. This will surely be a tradition in our family after we are married..
4. Tell us about your occupations:
Zach has worked full time for four years as a Firefighter/Paramedic with the Bernalillo County Fire Department
while also working part-time for Albuquerque Ambulance. He enjoys the daily opportunity to make a difference,
however small it may be, in the lives of people when they have an emergency and need help the most. Zach is also
a member of the New Mexico State Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) task force. The US&R task force is designed
to support state and local emergency responders' efforts to locate victims and manage recovery operations in
disasters. Laura works as a Nursing Assistant at a local Rehabilitation facility and also enjoys helping people get
through difficult times in their lives. She thrives on helping people recover and return to everyday life after a
debilitating injury or illness. She is definitely a “people person!” She is in the process of continuing her education
with nursing school in order to better be able to help those she cares for to recover. Laura is also involved with a
non-profit organization to help at risk youth for a school in Roswell called the New Mexico Youth Challenge
Academy.
We went on a trip to Pagosa Springs under the guise that we were going snowboarding. When we got there, Laura was surprised to find out that we were staying at a resort with several hot springs. We went for a walk along the banks of the San Juan River as Zach searched for a good place to propose. He finally found a quiet place on a rock on the banks of the river and asked Laura to marry him. This was the happiest day of Zach’s life thus far and Laura shares that sentiment..
6. What would you like voters to know about you?
We would like voters to know how thankful we are to have this opportunity to represent New Mexico. Zach and I know that we want to spend the rest of our lives together and to have the chance to start that off with a wedding like this would mean more to us than words could describe. We are amazed at everything all the wonderful vendors have to offer. We would like everyone out there that is considering voting for us to know that we are both hard working individuals. On a daily basis we both serve the residents of New Mexico and are continuing our education to do that for the rest of our lives. We both love this state and can’t imagine spending our lives and raising our children anywhere but here. I was a single mother when we met and he came into our life, and each day he shows how much he loves and cares for us. My four year old daughter actually calls him her hero. I believe he deserves the best things possible for all he does, so I am asking all the people of New Mexico to make our dream a reality, by giving us our dream wedding. Thank you for taking your time to consider voting for us.
7. What do you look forward to the most during your dream honeymoon in Paris?
We can’t think of a better way to celebrate our marriage than a trip to Paris, The City of Lights. The rich history and culture of the French country, the beautiful art, and the famous churches are just a little of what we know of the city. There’s so much to see and experience there, and a trip to Paris together would be something we couldn’t have imagined before this opportunity. From exploring the Louvre to viewing the city from the Eiffel tower at sundown, all of these experiences would be made magical with the help of the 2010 New Mexico Dream Wedding Giveaway.
8. Why do you deserve to win the 2010 New Mexico Dream Wedding?
To be named the 2010 New Mexico Dream Couple would truly be the greatest honor that we could imagine. We plan to build our life together here in New Mexico and to start it with a wedding like this would exceed our greatest dreams. We believe we represent an amazing part of New Mexico. We are working to become more educated to continue in careers to help care for all the people of New Mexico. We would like our story to inspire others to work hard and pursue their dreams. If we win the New Mexico Dream Wedding, we could celebrate our marriage with all of our family and friends in a way that we couldn’t do otherwise.
