Our story begins in March of 2016, but it doesn’t start the way you would think. Shea and two of his groomsman, Wyatt Baldwin and Tony Hamilk, were at the Oregon FFA State Convention in Corvallis, Oregon. Shea was late to one of the general sessions and made his way into the session hall looking for his friends. No matter where Shea looked, he couldn’t seem to find them. However, Tony saw Shea from across the session hall. Instead of signaling Shea over like a normal human, Tony preceded to shout across the crowd to Shea that there was a “hot blonde on the stage.” As Shea turned his head to the stage, the announcer said, “In First Place, Kourtney Lehman!” Shea thought to himself, Tony isn’t kidding. Kourtney. Was. Beautiful. A few months later Shea and Kourtney met in Baker City when Shea was visiting Kourtney’s school. There was an immediate connection that was noticed by Shea’s State Officer teammate, Zanden, Kourtney’s friends, and even her agriculture teacher and Bridesmaid, Bibianna Gifft. Although there was an obvious connection between the pair, Kourtney and Shea remained friends until June of 2017. After that, the rest is history. 5 years of dating later, they have formed countless memories, numerous friendships, completed two cross country road trips, and have fostered a deep love rooted in Christ. In December of 2020, Shea popped the question and Kourtney said yes.

The proposal happened on December 18th, 2020. However, the planning started months before. It all began with Kourtney’s growing impatience and desire for an engagement ring. Kourtney began to make sly comments about her hand feeling lighter than it should or asking each date night if she needed to get her nails done. Eventually, Kourtney decided to forego eluding to asking when Shea was going to propose and just straight up asked. Shea told her it would happen the summer of 2021. Satisfied with the answer, Kourtney gleefully agreed to stop pestering Shea about it. Shea had a plan to propose in December of 2020, but continued to tell Kourtney it would happen in the summer. She fell for it. Shea knew he wanted pictures of the moment but didn’t want to be responsible for capturing it with a hidden camera. Shea reached out to one of Kourtney’s family friends, Austin Folkman. Austin is an incredible photographer. At first Shea decided to organize family photos for Kourtney’s side of the family. However, it would be rather obvious if Shea were to text Kourtney and tell her that he organized family photos for HER family. Instead, Shea decided to rope his soon to be sister-in-law, Kelsey, into the plan. Kelsey texted the family and told them that she had organized family photos for everyone. Kelsey asked Kourtney if she thought Shea would be able to make it that close to Christmas. Kourtney then called Shea to ask if he would be able to make it. Shea cleverly told her he would have to check his calendar to see if he was free. The next day, Shea told her he would be there. Months of waiting were finally over. After the family had taken the group shots, Austin had each couple take a few photos. Kourtney and Shea were the last to go. When they started taking photos Kourtney was still oblivious. Austin had Kourtney and Shea turn back-to-back. Shea waited for Kourtney to turn around and as she did, he got down on one knee, pulled the ring out of his pocket, and waited…