When I met Ellen for the first time, I knew she had a fun and lively spirit. I remember thinking to myself, “I’d just love to go grab some drinks with this girl!” As I got to know Ellen, her mom, and her sister through the planning process, I came to find out the entire family was just as fun and thoughtful. And even on their wedding day, when I finally got to know Shane well, I quickly learned he could keep up with Ellen, pace for pace dancing the night away!
But what can I say about the special love shared by these two lovely people? It’s unique and sweet and fun and exciting – in a way we all hope to love our significant other.
After a full night of fun and dancing, it was time to go. Shane grabbed Ellen by the hand and led her through the arching sparklers to their exit. At the end, he stopped short, pulled Ellen in close, and with more excitement that can be explained, kissed Ellen in a sweet and tender moment. Seconds later, they dashed into their getaway car leaving the lingering party guests with a whisp of the fun they take with them everywhere they go.
But I’ll let them tell you about their love story…
Kate:
How did you two meet?
Ellen:
We met a Halloween house party in New Orleans. I went with my friend, Caroline, who had grown up with Shane. He was dressed as a sailor and I was dressed as Tom Cruise from Risky Business (socks, sunglasses, and all). We were immediately drawn to each other and ended up talking for the rest of the party. We went on our first date the very next night!
Kate:
Ellen, when did you know you wanted to marry Shane?
Ellen:
I don’t know if I could pick one moment. I just knew that I never wanted to be away from him and that everything I did, I wanted to share with him. He is my best friend, and I couldn’t imagine living life without him. I can definitely say that the night he proposed was one of the happiest moments of my life!
Kate:
What about you, Shane? When did you know you wanted to marry Ellen?
If you know Ellen at all, you know she radiates love and happiness. That characteristic has always drawn me to her. Ellen and I are best friends and we love being with each other. One day I realized that it didn’t matter how much time we spent together, even if I was away from her for a day, I couldn’t wait to get home to see her! I also realized that she and I both felt like we were a team and that we would do anything for each other and our relationship.
Kate:
What’s your engagement story?
Ellen:
Every Christmas Eve we go to my parents’ to hang out and open gifts. Halfway through opening presents, my mom said that her stomach was hurting and asked that we go and buy her some medicine at the grocery store. So we did. We got home, finished opening presents, and Shane wanted to open ours in private. So we went upstairs to my room.
My bedroom at my parent’s house attaches to a large balcony that wraps around the front of the house. I noticed that the door to the balcony was slightly open and I thought that was weird because it hadn’t been opened in so long. Shane grabbed my hand and walked me outside, saying that he hadn’t ever been out on the balcony. We walked outside and were talking for a second before I looked down in the front yard and saw “Marry Me?” spelled out in Christmas lights. I was still in shock when Shane got down on one knee and proposed! I think the first thing I said was something along the lines of “Are you serious?” followed by a lot of nervous laughing. I said “yes” (of course), and then we went back downstairs to celebrate with everyone.
It was the sweetest thing ever! Looking back, I should have known something was going on whenever (1) my sister wanted to be dressed up instead of in PJs, (2) my mom only wanted to take half the dosage of medicine she made us stop opening presents to go buy, and (3) the balcony door just happened to be standing open even though it hadn’t been opened in 5+ years. I was SO happy!
Kate:
Give me your recap of the wedding from your perspective.
Ellen:
It was literally the most perfect day ever. We each got to spend the morning with our closest family and friends. The ceremony was beautiful and emotional, and luckily, I didn’t cry NEARLY as much as I was convinced I was going to. It was exactly the beautiful, colorful, fun, family- and friend- filled boho-garden-party wedding that we imagined. Everyone we loved was there, the food was amazing (sushi + noodles + tacos = HEAVEN), the cake was gorgeous, and we got to dance (and rap) to all of our favorite songs. But at the end of the day, I was married to my best friend, and knowing that Shane’s and my marriage was all a part of God’s perfect plan was more than I ever could have asked for. We are so blessed!
Shane:
Ellen summed up the wedding pretty well, so I will just go on record saying the wedding was absolutely perfect. It turned out better than I could have ever imagined. The weather, food, entertainment, people, décor, music, etc. painted the perfect picture of who we are. I never expected the entire day would flow together perfectly, but somehow it did. I am still in awe of how it all turned out. In a nutshell, it felt more like a fairy tale than real life!
Kate:
Ellen, what is one thing Shane does that you know you can’t live without?
Ellen:
Shane makes me laugh almost every moment we are together. It doesn’t matter if it’s a wonderful or terrible day, he can always make me smile. I don’t think I could imagine a life without his sense of humor and his gorgeous smile.
Kate:
Shane, what is one thing Ellen does that you know you can’t live without?
Shane:
Ellen does a lot of things that I can’t imagine living without! Most importantly though, is how caring she is. I know that, no matter what, she is always there for me and will always have my back.
