Jacquelyn McCullough and Zachary Richards' Wedding Website

It was about as inconvenient a weekend as we could pick to go see some Arkansas fall colors - Jackie had to finish a molecular genetics paper, and I had to use McDonald's wifi to take a quiz and do Zoom school on our way there. A tense, long car ride later, we made it to Lake Ouachita State Park. We didn't make it to our campsite until after dark. It was cold. It was wet. We were seriously doubting whether this was the right call. But we woke up to a cool misty morning with red, yellow, and orange all around us. We made our coffee. The mist gave way to a quiet blue sky. We cooked a breakfast that was too big for us, as we always do. Then, we started hiking on the banks of Lake Ouachita. The hike was incredible in every single way. I remember seeing the mossy trail, the old trees and their orange leaves, the rolling hills weaving in and out of the lake. But most of all, I remember seeing Jackie. I realized on that hike that she was my person. That I wanted to build a life with her. That I needed her to be my hiking partner from here on out. We lingered on a spot right by the water. The joy, peace, and love I felt on that bank was nothing I had ever experienced. We knew there was something special about this spot, but we didn't know why. We even started crying when we had to leave. Not just tears, either. I'm talking some seriously ugly crying. It was sad to leave this moment of joy behind. But I promised Jackie we'd be back to our spot some day. On June 3rd, 2021, we went back. This time, Moscato carried an extra special present for Jackie in her bow. This time, we didn't leave our joy behind.

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