Who could have guessed that technology CAN be a good thing for the human race?! We connected with eachother through Match.com, and could not stop messaging! 3 days into talking, without meeting in person yet, Shanin was on a trip to Wisconsin to pick up his youngest children for Christmas. The weather took a turn, and he rushed the return trip to beat an incoming blizzard. He drove through the night, and Alicia stayed on the phone with him through the entire drive to keep him focused and awake. We knew we had to finally meet in person when he returned (and got some rest!) and didn’t spend a night apart after that!

We’ve met and started dating…now what?! Well, let’s find out how much we like eachother by tackling home renovations! Shanin had an addition being added to his home, and we immediately had the pleasure of roofing, painting, installing flooring, and deciding on design themes as a BRAND NEW couple. If you know, you know. DIY home improvement can divide even the most seasoned couples. And we did have our division! We were able to learn so much about eachother, and we had the reward of standing back and seeing OUR job completed victoriously!

What do 2 thirty-something single parents have? Two completely furnished, fully functioning houses! We made the decision that Alicia would be selling her home, and due to the market…the race was on! We gave ourselves only 4 weeks to remove all belongings, complete necessary repairs/touch-ups, and stage it for listing. Round 2 of co-working and improvements went slightly better, but moving is STRESSFUL! Still not broken by the intense timeline of events, we sold the house with minimal effort and rejoiced in checking that off the “to-do” list!

During a cruise to Mexico, we visited a beautiful Mayan Historical site. We were on a private shore excursion with 2 other couples from the ship. (What did the other men do for work you ask? They owned a roofing business! Go figure!) We were atop the main stone structure of the historic Mayan village, overlooking the beautiful landscape and Shanin dropped to one knee. He proposed with a beautiful ring that he and Alicia had designed together. “Would you be My-an”…and of course Alicia answered YES!!

After announcing our engagement, what was the most common question? “So when are you getting married?” Answer: whatever date a venue has available! We had began touring venue locations, and we finally visited Timber Ridge Farms. We both fell in love and knew this was our spot! In discussing available dates, the location representative surprised us with “What do you guys think about getting married this year?” Uhhh….sure! We have spent none of our time together without fast-tracked timelines. We knew specifically what we wanted out of a wedding celebration. Planning a wedding from zero in 4 months…challenge accepted!