Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom called Target, a boy met a girl...


Our love story began in the spring of 2018. The previous fall, Daniel had started working in the backroom at Target in Fairfax when he moved up here to work while attending college at George Mason University. I had been working at Target since 2011 and had graduated from Mason in 2017. At the time, I was a team leader for assets protection, and on that team, you aren’t allowed to fraternize with anyone in the store due to a conflict of interest. So, when Daniel first started, I didn’t think anything beyond the fact that he was really cute. It wasn’t until February 2018 that I really began to take an interest in Daniel, who had befriended my brother Liam and some of my other friends. I told my best friend Minzy about Daniel, and she was super excited about the prospect, encouraging me to talk to him. One day, I asked him to go out for drinks with my friends for National Margarita Day. I couldn’t stop laughing that night—anyone who knows Daniel knows he is one of the funniest people ever. After that night, our friendship really started to take off. By March, we were Snapchatting and texting daily, and we began making plans to hang out. These hangouts consisted of me showing him around all my favorite spots in NoVa, since he was fairly new to the area.


On June 1, 2018, Daniel took me out to Coastal Flatts, one of our favorite spots. We had dinner, sipped their famous mojitos, and laughed the whole time. After dinner, Daniel suggested we walk up to the parking garage to watch the sunset over Fairfax Corner. As we watched the beautiful sky, Daniel asked me if I would be his girlfriend, and the rest is history.


Throughout our six years of dating, we’ve built a lifetime of memories. We naturally met each other’s families: Daniel met my large family of seven siblings here in Fairfax, while I met his parents and brother in Chesapeake. We took numerous beach trips to the Outer Banks, Virginia Beach, and Ocean City, as the beach is one of our favorite places. We enjoyed countless nights at Fairfax Corner and traveled to Niagara Falls, New York City, Orlando, Dallas, Colorado, and Miami. We moved into our first apartment together, navigated a global pandemic, experienced several job changes between us, got a dog, moved again, and started attending church and volunteering together.


When Daniel proposed on March 23, 2024, I had no idea it would be that night. All of our family was there to surprise me and celebrate us. When we decided to have the wedding that same year, it only gave us a few short months to get everything in order. And when I say “us”… I think you know who did most of the heavy lifting. Daniel and I married on September 20, 2024, in the most beautiful and intimate ceremony, surrounded by our immediate family.


Although we couldnt celebrate with all of you, your love and support have meant everything to us. Thank you to all of our friends and family for helping us build a strong foundation. We can’t wait to share our joy as we continue our life journey together. We love you!


Love,


Daniel and Caitlin Shaughnessy