Zachary and Katie Cowan

Happy Anniversary to Zach and Katie today! We look forward to the time we spend with the Cowans every year. You know you have friends you can look up to when they brand themselves Team Cowan and likewise refer to friends as teams as well. I also love hearing Zach speak of Katie. She is his number one concern. Team Carter sure looks up to this dynamic duo!

The dates and details!

What are your names? 

Zach and Katie Cowan

When did you meet?

June of 2002

In 8 words or less, describe where or how you met. 

We met while Katie was on a date.

What was your first date? 

We went out for Mexican, then walked around downtown Charlotte, danced with street performers, explored a secret park, and walked back to Zach's car in the rain.

When were you married? 

2/20/2003

Where were you married? 

Columbia, SC temple

How many children do you share? 

4

Getting to Know You!

What is something that your spouse does (something they may not even realize!) that makes your heart skip a beat and brings you joy.

When I say something that makes Zach genuinely laugh, I get tears in my eyes. Lol! For some reason getting him to laugh is just my favorite thing ever.

Other than your children, what is an accomplishment you are your spouse are proud of?

We've learned how to work really well together and counsel together in a lot of different ways. We appreciate and respect each other's opinions. In addition to that, we love that we've created a home where many different people can come visit and feel welcome. We've tried to make our home fun and interesting and quirky - a reflection of us, I think. We like being here, and we love that others seem to like being here as well.

What is one of your favorite dates you've been on as a couple?

For our 15th anniversary we did a food crawl in Provo, where we shared one item from a number of different restaurants. It was so much fun, we have a hard time going out to dinner now and just going to one place!

Why Marriage Rocks

What's one thing you love to talk about when you have nothing pressing to talk about?

Projects. We always have something(s) we're working on, and it's fun to plan our projects out together. We're always dreaming up something.

What makes your marriage unique?

I don't know that our marriage is necessarily unique. We love being together. I wouldn't say we're super similar in our likes and dislikes. In fact, we're pretty different in a lot of ways. But we've learned to find the things that we both enjoy doing, and we focus on those things.

What blessings have come into your life because of marriage?

It is the greatest institution to develop Christ-like attributes. If a couple is going to succeed in marriage they have to become really good at forgiving and repenting and loving.

Advice

What's one principle you think is important in a healthy marriage?

Repentance/forgiveness.

If you had time to talk to newlyweds, what would your greatest piece of advice be?

Be careful about the way to talk to one another. Make it a point to never say anything to purposefully hurt each other's feelings. Once you say something intentionally hurtful, it takes a loooong time to make that right.

What's the secret of a happy marriage?

Good sex. Good food. Good sleep.

What is a simple marital practice you would share with a friend who may say they are facing challenges in their marriage?

Give your spouse the space to make mistakes. Oftentimes it's just misunderstanding or a lack of clear communication that leads to discontent in marriage.

“Love is like a flower, and, like the body, it needs constant feeding. The mortal body would soon be emaciated and die if there were not frequent feedings. The tender flower would wither and die without food and water. And so love, also, cannot be expected to last forever unless it is continually fed with portions of love, the manifestation of esteem and admiration, the expressions of gratitude, and the consideration of unselfishness” (“Oneness in Marriage,” Ensign,Mar. 1977, 5).