We met on a night out in downtown Milwaukee. Chris was out with his Marquette hockey friends, and Shannon was having a girls’ night with her childhood best friend, Taylor. Little did Shannon know that Taylor’s husband, Joe, played hockey with Chris, and the guys happened to be hanging out across the street. Taylor suggested heading over to meet up with them so we could all Uber together. When Shannon spotted Chris standing across the room, she told Taylor she thought he was cute and asked who he was. Taylor immediately said, “Oh my gosh, Dolan! Why haven’t I thought about setting you up with Dolan? I love Dolan!” That was all Shannon needed to hear, and she became eager to get to know him. We all Ubered together, and we ended up bar-hopping around downtown Milwaukee and dancing all night long. The next day, Chris reached out to Shannon… and we haven't stopped talking since!

Chris had planned to propose during our trip to Ireland with Shannon’s parents, but less than 12 hours before our flight he found out the ring wouldn’t be finished in time. With encouragement from his parents, Shannon’s friends, and the photographer he had been planning the proposal with, he decided to go ahead with the plan and improvise. We stayed in Galway before heading to the Dingle Peninsula, since Chris and Shannon wanted to show her parents around the city where they had stayed with Chris’s family the year before. Shannon was especially excited that this time they would be there during the Christmas Market. While Shannon and her mom, Connie, were popping into stores and shopping around, Chris told Shannon’s dad, Dave, about his plan to improvise with a Claddagh ring from the original shop, Thomas Dillon’s. Dave quickly came up with a plan, since he already has back issues, he pretended his back was hurting too much to keep walking and said he’d sit in a nearby pub while everyone else went to the Christmas Market. Chris offered to stay back with him, and as soon as Shannon and Connie were out of sight, Dave told Chris to run to Thomas Dillon’s. Chris did just that while Dave kept watch, and they made it back completely undetected, which, to be fair, isn’t too hard since Shannon and Connie love to shop! That night Chris drove everyone to the Dingle Peninsula, experiencing one of the scariest drives of our lives along the winding Irish roads… as if he wasn’t already nervous enough. The next morning, Chris said he had researched a few stops along the drive, the first being Coumeenoole Beach. After taking a few photos of the beautiful scenery, Chris and Shannon walked down to the water and stood there admiring the view. It was the perfect cloudy Ireland day with a few sprinkles and the sun trying to peek through. As they stood there taking it all in, Chris started telling Shannon how much she means to him and how special the trip had been so far. As he finished, he said he wanted to continue doing this together for the rest of our lives. Shannon paused, looked at him and said, “Oh my gosh… are you proposing right now?!” Chris laughed, confirmed he was, got down on one knee, and asked Shannon to marry him. As we were leaving the beach, a full rainbow appeared in the sky (see the picture below). We like to think it was our guardian angels smiling down and celebrating with us. Just when Shannon thought the trip couldn’t get any better, the celebration continued the next day when Chris surprised her again! His parents were waiting for us in a cozy Irish pub to celebrate the engagement (and Chris turning 30). Shannon had no idea they were in Ireland, and having both of our parents there to celebrate made the moment so incredibly special. It was truly a trip we’ll never forget! Now we can’t wait to say “I do” in September and celebrate this next chapter with all of you.🤍

September 18th, 2026