In late December 2022, what started as a night honoring decades of love eventually turned into the night Shelly and John’s love story began. John and his family were out to eat in Washington, DC celebrating 63 years of marriage between his grandparents. After speeches were given and toasts were made, the plan was for everyone to go to the Washington Wizards game and enjoy from a suite. John and his cousin Brandon were the first to arrive at Capitol One Arena and were a bit surprised to see people already in the box. “Dang, I thought we had this whole suite to ourselves” John thought out loud. As they sat and waited for the rest of the family to arrive, John suddenly heard “Are you guys Chris’ family? Hi I’m Shelly, it’s nice to meet you”. The rest of the family eventually arrived and the game went on, but John couldn’t help but try to find an opportunity to talk to the beautiful girl who introduced herself. Unfortunately, aside from a little small talk and Shelly slandering John’s picture-taking abilities, they went their separate ways at the end of the night. John’s brother-in-law had a proposition: “I have the suite tomorrow night too if you want to go to another game”. The Wizards vs. the Suns sounded like a snoozefest to John, but in the back of his mind he was thinking “maybe Shelly will end up coming again” and decided to accept the invitation. The next night at the game, there was still no Shelly after the first quarter ended. “You’re telling me I came to this trash game for no reason?”. But then in the 2nd quarter, he heard the Suite door open and in walked Shelly, much to John’s delight. They sparked a conversation talking about their academic backgrounds, what they do for work, and their shared experiences living in DC. When the game was over, John walked up to Shelly and said “I think you’re beautiful and would love to take you out some time”. Shelly agreed, put her full government name in his phone (which he was impressed by), and the rest is history. By Valentine’s Day, it had became clear to both of them that there was something special brewing. The first step came when John formally asked Shelly to be his girlfriend at Cranes in downtown DC, which has now turned into their anniversary restaurant. It didn’t take long for both of them to realize that this was the person they wanted to spend the rest of their lives with. So after a couple of years dating, and despite Shelly’s efforts to cancel the “photoshoot” that he had booked for that day because her dress hadn’t arrived, John dropped to one knee and proposed at the Enid A. Haupt Garden on May 17th, 2025. #ASCHEMETHATTODDSETUP #TOASTTOTHETODDS