While dancing with a group of friends at a Halloween themed church dance, Shelbie noticed a cute guy dressed as Captain America walk by her and instantly she knew that she had to talk to him. When the last slow song of the night began she gathered up the courage, went over to him and asked him to dance. He said yes and they proceeded to dance, turns out this handsome superhero's name was Anthony. As the music ended and the lights came up, Shelbie got too nervous to ask Anthony for his number so her friend Maya, said "Hey Captain America! She wants your Snapchat!" After a few fumbling attempts at inputting his name in her phone, Shelbie successfully left with her soon-to-be best friends number and butterflies in her belly.
Since meeting, Anthony and Shelbie quickly became great friends, despite the hour drive between them. They connected over television shows, school, food, and church events. Every youth dance at church was looked forward to with anticipation of seeing one another. In 2018, Anthony was called to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Montevideo, Uruguay. It was hard to separate for a long period of time, but the distance made their hearts grow fonder. When Anthony came home in late 2019, they began dating and fell in love. After spending a year at college together (BYU), they knew they wanted to spend the rest of eternity by each other's side.
Anthony, Shelbie and her family were together celebrating Shelbie's birthday at Blithewold Mansion in Rhode Island. After exploring the beautiful gardens near the mansion Shelbie's mom, Jenèe, took photos of the family in front of the moon gate. When it came time for Shelbie and Anthony's turn for photos Jenèe had them pose in a variety of ways, then she said, " Okay! Now pose anyway you want" and Anthony got down on one knee and proposed! It was a wonderful surprise, and made for a fantastic birthday.