We can't wait to celebrate!

Jack and Shelby matched on Hinge (a dating app) just before COVID in February of 2020. They matched on Shelby’s 21st birthday and came to find out later that Jack had his lower age bound set to 21, so it was the first possible day for them to match. The rest, of course, is history.

Jack and Shelby's first date plans were disrupted when Vanderbilt sent Shelby home for COVID. She asked Jack if he was free for dinner on a Tuesday night instead, and she drove 45 minutes from Nashville to Clarksville just to have dinner with him. Jack thought Shelby hated him when she refused to hug him at the end of the date (she really thought she was going to give the entire US Army COVID!), but luckily she redeemed herself when she texted Jack soon after to say how much fun she had.

While at home with her parents in St. Louis, Shelby thought she'd try to get out of the house and take a little trip to see Jack over the summer. This was, of course, less trivial than it sounds, as the whole world was still pretty shut down due to COVID. Nevertheless, they persevered, and just a few short months into knowing each other, Shelby went to stay with Jack for five days. They fell quickly into a good rhythm and knew around then that they would do well living together.

Jack and Shelby went to visit one of Shelby’s bridesmaids, Tiffany, in Tempe, AZ. She and her fiancé, Matt, planned out the most amazing adventures! The highlight of the trip was driving up to Sedona and taking in the beautiful landscape.

Shelby’s parents and family friends, the Weed-Smalls, were visiting Nashville for spring break. Shelby had planned to take them on a tour of Vanderbilt’s campus, so Jack started planning in November with her parents to surprise her. When they came up to the Wyatt Center (the main education building), Jack came out of the doors and took Shelby to a secluded archway. Needless to say, Shelby was shocked. You can see her in leggings and a claw clip in some of the photos on our website! She said “of course,” and everyone popped out from their hiding places to celebrate.