We’re getting married!

Shelley and Ricky met Shelley’s Freshman year at The University of Dayton. The Army ROTC Military Ball was coming up and friends of Shelley’s told her that the ball was more fun with a date. Shelley was a Graphic Design major and all of her classes only had girls in them, her only guy friends were also in ROTC and would be there anyway. So, as she talked to her friend as they walked home one night, her friend said “I know the perfect guy for you! He went to high school with my boyfriend and he likes cats! His name is Ricky and you will get along great”. Shelley agreed to take this guy on this blind date to the Military Ball (mainly because he liked cats - so he had to be perfect) and for some reason Ricky agreed to come as well! When the weekend of the ball came around Ricky’s very first impression of Shelley was her in a full American flag outfit (including American Flag sunglasses, shirt, shorts, and shoes). That Saturday Shelley, Ricky, and Shelley’s parents (yes - Shelley’s parents were there for their first blind date) attended the Military Ball. After Shelley said to her mom, “I hope all my first dates are blind dates because this was fun!” But little did Shelley know that she wouldn’t be going on any more first dates because 7 years and 6 Military Balls later Shelley and Ricky are getting married!

Every year since the first Military Ball that Shelley and Ricky attended together they would walk around the University of Dayton’s campus and end up on this little hill on the campus’s main quad that Shelley dubbed “Mount Ricky’s Lame”. After Shelley graduated they hadn’t been back to Mount Ricky’s Lame until April 2018 when Shelley’s parents invited them to go to a fancy restaurant, The Pine Club, in Dayton with them one weekend. On April 28th, 2018, Shelley and Ricky drove 3 hours from Cleveland to Dayton to go to dinner. When they got close Shelley’s parents called and said they were running late because they stopped at Lowes to look at ceiling fans. Ricky replied “Okay! We can walk around UD for a little while!” They walked around campus reminiscing about all the places Shelley lived and memories of different locations around campus until they got to Mount Ricky’s Lame. They walked to the top of the hill and talked about all the times they visited it together then Ricky got down on one knee and asked Shelley to marry him and of course she said yes!