At 16 years old, I (Shelby) had stepped foot into a church youth group to try to make some friends. Here is where I first met Jackson, back in 2019. We spent the next year knowing of each other, but we never truly knew one another. Fast forward to June 2020, I (Shelby) was spending my quarantine visiting family in New York when I received a phone call from Jackson. Surprise… he called me by accident. He played it off and pretended he meant to call me, and started talking as if we were the bestest of friends. As our conversation flowed naturally, we ended up speaking for hours that night. This continued, and we spoke again the next night, and every night since then. After spending a month talking over the phone, I (Jackson) asked Shelby on a date, and on that date I discovered that I had found my best friend. The next 3 years were filled with hours of long distance phone calls and spontaneous adventures. I even left to work at a camp one summer, where Shelby wrote me letters every day (I didn't have my phone). In the midst of it all, I (Jackson) got to spend those 3 years with my best friend, which made every day a blessing.

After deciding that I (Jackson) wanted to propose, I set out on my first adventure... I had to buy a ring. I decided that Shelby needed to have a custom ring that was meaningful, so I had a custom ring designed for her, with both of our birthstones. After the ring was finished, I needed to find an opportunity to surprise her. With her busy schedule, it was nearly impossible to plan a proposal, but finally the right time came when she last minute decided to run a half marathon one weekend. I immediately began planning to travel to Tallahassee in secret, so I could propose at the end of her race. While she thought I was at the movie theater with my friend, I was actually making the 7 hour drive to Shelby's friend's house where I camped out the night before. The next morning was the day, and as she ran her first race, I arrived to the spot where I got to ask her to marry me. My (Shelby) 2023 New Years resolution was to run a half marathon. After training for the majority of the year, I finally decided to register for my first race (a week before). Not giving Jackson much time to plan, somehow he quickly planned to surprise me in Tallahassee, and gathered my friend's together to all help distract me from knowing. December 9th, 2023, I began my run completely oblivious to the scheming that was happening. Unknowingly, Jackson was on his way to the race site to set up for the proposal. 13 miles later, I finished the race and crossed the finish line, only to find Jackson waiting a few feet away. Surrounded by my closest friends, Jackson got down on one knee, and asked me the easiest question I've ever gotten the privilege of answering.

After the wedding, we will both be moving to Fort Collins, Colorado where Jackson will be studying zoology. We are excited for this new adventure, and can't wait to see all that God has in store for us.