We're getting married!

We met during that part of Tuesday night church services where Pastor Joe says, "Take a moment, say hi to your neighbor, meet someone new." And we did! Thanks to our fairy godpastor, Pastor James, who just had a feeling (vision) that we would hit it off! Within the week Shane asked me to take a stroll through Huntington Harbour where we breezily chatted the night away. At the end of the date, Shane gave me a bouquet of flowers he had stowed away in his car, assuming the date went well! That’s pretty much when we thought, "Okay. This could be something." I invited Shane over the next night for one of our famous (infamous?) Dowds Family Game Nights. After a few shared laughs, some intense ping-pong games, and terribly bad drawings of Bible idioms... the courtship began!

On a date night at the Ritz Carlton, Dana Point I serenaded Shane on the ride down with "Take me to the Ritz," which is apparently not the song (it's called "Puttin' on the Ritz," but you get the idea). During our romantic dinner overlooking the ocean, we heard clapping and cheering... ANOTHER couple had just gotten engaged! Without missing a beat, Shane said "Oh that's nice" and appeared completely unphased while I, not knowing Shane was about to propose, realized I did not want a public engagement. After dinner, Shane suggested we go for a walk down to the terrace. Shane got down on one knee and I shouted "Yes, a million times yes!" No one else was around, we had the terrace, ocean, and stars all to ourselves. To bring things full circle, we will be having a small family wedding in Maui on February 8, 2024. Two years from the day we met on that fateful Tuesday night.