We're getting married!

Shawna’s story begins long before she and Andrew ever met. When she was just four years old, Shawna and her mom made a big move from Chicago, Illinois to Canada, starting a brand-new life together. It was just the two of them, no family nearby, relying on each other as her mom worked hard as a single parent to build a future from the ground up. In those early days, Shawna’s mom would take a taxi to work each morning, often with the same driver. Over time, those rides turned into a meaningful friendship. He would bring her coffee, look out for her, and became a small but important part of their daily lives during a time when kindness meant everything. Years later, Shawna’s mom was able to buy their very first car, bringing those early morning taxi rides to an end. Life continued forward, and eventually, Shawna started high school, where a seemingly ordinary morning would change everything. Like many mornings before, Shawna and her mom stopped at Tim Hortons. Shawna went inside to order while her mom stayed in the car. Inside, she ran into her friend Jessica, and the two walked out together, only to find their parents parked side by side, chatting like old friends. Both confused, they asked how they knew each other. That’s when everything came full circle. Jessica’s dad (Tom Timmins) was the taxi driver. From that moment on, their lives became intertwined. Soon, he was picking Shawna up in the mornings, driving both girls to school. Shawna became a regular at Jessica’s house, and before long, their family became an extension of her own. Every year, the family would go on vacation, and each sibling could invite a friend. Jessica chose her friend Ashley, but Andrew had someone else in mind. He asked Jessica to invite Shawna. Andrew had texted Shawna out of the blue and asked her to come away for the weekend on Family Vacation a random weekend in 2011. From that summer on, Shawna and Andrew’s story truly began. What started as a quiet connection grew into a deep and lasting love, one built on years of shared memories, family, and the kind of timing that only fate could explain.