A Letter to Toast Employees From the founders

September 16, 2019

Hi Team Toasty,

I wanted to let you all know that my Dad passed on Friday night around 8 pm. It’s been tough but he was very loved and my whole family was there with him.

I have a special story I wanted to share that includes Callie and I’s wedding film. Without even knowing it you all played an important role in a special moment shared by my entire family just hours before my Dad passed. I think most of you know that my Dad officiated our wedding on May 11 this year (also Julianna’s birthday!). It was one of the most special days of his life, as well as ours and we were honored to have him marry us. Needless to say, documenting this day was very important to us as it was one of our last family celebrations while he was still well enough to travel.

Because Callie and I were late in giving our edits, we hadn’t shown the film yet to my whole family. On Friday, around 3 pm we gathered everyone to play the film for my Dad. While he couldn’t see the video we thought he would be able to hear it. We played it and I could see he had little tears in his eyes and at the end of it, he mustered up the strength to lift his arm and touch his ear to let us know he was listening. It was the last time he was able to communicate with us clearly because at that point even lifting his arm was difficult.

My Dad lived for these family moments and as his health declined and he became more philosophical, he would often say that your family and close relationships are really all that matters when it comes down to it. I realized that our wedding film is so special because it reminds us of those things that are most important. Celebrating life and love with family and friends. It was more than just something that documented an event and it was bigger than just Callie and I.

I think it’s really special that all of us have the opportunity to give the gift of reminding people of what’s most important in life through our films. All the shots of the important family members, paying attention to what really matters to each couple and making sure we’re honoring their day for their family and friends are so important. I know that our film will be a piece of our family history we will cherish forever and it reminded me that these films we create touch people every day in ways we may never even know and at times down the road we can’t predict.

My Dad had a connection with Toast directly because he helped me with some of the business side of things in the early days. He was so proud of what was being created and that I asked him to be a part of it in a small, but important way. I think it’s fitting that all of these forces came together for my family and me to have such a special moment sharing this with my Dad when we did.I want to thank all of you so much for being so dedicated to creating a company that has integrity and a strong sense of purpose. Let’s try to always remind ourselves of our purpose and to treat each other and our couples as our little extended family and friends. With our films, we have an opportunity to create little ripples of love and positivity in the world every single day and I’m thankful to all of you for providing that to Callie, me, my Dad, and entire family.

Love you all!!

Zach & Callie