Jessica Hilgedick and Christopher Battocletti met through mutual friends. The company was welcomed by each, and the group of friends seemed to be well in tune with one another. In 2015, two of their mutual friends got engaged, and Christopher’s bachelor lifestyle became the group’s running joke. As if on cue, it only took a week after their friend’s engagement for Christopher to make a move. Jessica and Christopher began dating, and Christopher soon found himself in love.

On the day of their engagement, the two had been apart for three months! Jessica joined Christopher in New Zealand, where he was working. Christopher had planned an adventurous vacation, filled with great bites and beautiful hikes. For days, the two stuffed Christopher’s backpack with supplies for their adventures. They came and went freely; Jessica had no idea of the small box that Christopher was keeping to himself.

From Christopher

“The most anticipated hike of the trip came the morning of day 7 in Wanaka, where we would begin our hike of Roys Peak. The hike is a grueling trek three hours uphill to a very rewarding lookout point over Lake Wanaka and several mountain ranges. If Jessica’s knee could survive the hike, there would be more waiting for her than a beautiful landscape! A little over two hours in, we finally arrived at the famous Roys Peak lookout. After looking around for several minutes, we decided to keep pushing on to the summit. Fifteen minutes later, we arrived at a lookout point directly above where we just were. I knew at that moment that this would be the spot where I would ask Jessica to marry me.”

Of course, Jessica said yes! These two expect to wed in October, and we can’t wait to hear all about it.