Rehearsal Dinner

Dunes Pavilion Event Venue

Wedding Day

Ceremony

Reception

We are so excited to celebrate with you! Please arrive at 3:30pm so we can start promptly at 4:00pm. The ceremony portion is outside.

Our Wedding

We met senior year of high school in AP Calculus class. I remember asking to sit next to him because it was right in front of the teacher's podium. I loved to sit in the front of the class. Ironically enough, in our small town high school, we never talked to each other before. Little did we know, we would talk to each other everyday from then on. After we graduated, we hung out almost every single day in the summer. As I went to Arizona State and Derel to Indiana State, we separated and remained in touch every day on FaceTime, still as friends. It wasn't until January of 2017 that we "made it official." We crazily committed to a long distance relationship for the rest of our college time. It was difficult only being with each other 2-4 months out of the year, but we made the best of it with visits to Arizona and of course with me traveling back home. In 2020, during COVID, we were able to spend much more time together. Although there were some crazy times, we were able to make the best out of it. In August 2020, we found out we were expecting a baby in April 2021. The love of our lives, Lorenzo Javari Shell came into our world and the rest is history! We have enjoyed building our little family with love and we are looking forward to creating more memories!

Best friends at first sight!

Our Story

Photos

Nakel McClinton

Miracle Akins

Princess Brinkley

Torian Bryant

Jomaria Burns

Jordan Stanley

Lauren Stanley

Jaz Talley

Sharod Holmes

Payton Ash

Andres Carrillo

Anfernee Hudson

Jairus Perry

Michael Shell, III

Montriel Shell

Xzavier Shell

Oba Taylor

Tyreek Wilson

Wedding Party

Q + A

The website I linked should take you directly to the room block booking site. https://www.hilton.com/en/book/reservation/deeplink/?ctyhocn=MDWMLRU&groupCode=600&arrivaldate=2025-09-12&departuredate=2025-09-14&cid=OM,WW,HILTONLINK,EN,DirectLink&fromId=HILTONLINKDIRECT,

Erika & Derel

Erika & Derel

Travel

Tru by Hilton Merrillville