On May 19, 2017, after dating for almost 7 years Jon proposed to Shannon with a beautiful ring.

Leading up to the big proposal, Jon had been busy prepping. He had a photo taken of himself in a tuxedo t-shirt (classy) holding a sign with an important question displayed. He sent that photo off to be turned into a 252 piece puzzle. While he awaited the puzzle’s production and delivery, he turned his attention to the ring. He searched the internet, comparing jewelers, looking at quality, reviews, and warranties. He decided that Shane Company was the place to go, so he went to the local store and inquired about an engagement ring, armed solely with the ring size and knowledge that gold was out of the question due to Shannon's allergy to the metal. He spoke with Jason who, when he discovered that Jon was clueless when it came to style, instructed him to do some snooping. He told him that every girl has a Pinterest account these days and told him to check out her Pinterest Boards to see if there was anything there to guide him. Of course Shannon DOES have a Pinterest account and had pinned several ideas for weddings over the years, for friend’s weddings and fantasizing about her own future big day. Jon found a ring style she was fond of, which happened to be a Shane Company design, and returned to the store with the reference photo in hand (on phone). He custom ordered the ring in question in platinum and the correct size after a little education on stone selection.

He slyly convinced Shannon that they should take a weekend trip to Helen, GA for a romantic getaway. They had been once before and everything that could go wrong did on their last trip (illness, car trouble, etc.). This was to be a do-over and a relaxing weekend away from work and daily responsibilities. They rented a small cabin for two, complete with a grill, pool table, giant shower, and hot tub. On their first night, Jon suggested that they eat at the cabin and stay in for the night, leaving Helen sightseeing and activities for the next day. They ran into town and grabbed a few things from the grocery store (some steaks for the grill and an easy salad). They enjoyed dinner together, cleaned up and decided to take showers and change into comfy clothes for the night. Jon chose a tuxedo t-shirt to pair with his stretchy pants as he was “feelin’ fancy.” Shannon thought nothing of it as they are both whimsical creatures. He told Shannon that he had brought a surprise, a puzzle for them to do together to commemorate their do-over trip to Helen. Shannon loves puzzles and again, just thought he was being his usual sweet self. He poured the pieces out of a Ziploc baggie and explained that the image was to be a surprise. She thought it must be a picture of downtown Helen, something German or a photo of the cabin and surrounding woods. They began with the edges, patterns and familiar shapes. Quickly she began to realize that the puzzle was that of a person holding something. As the person came together she realized it was someone wearing a tuxedo t-shirt and started to clue in that something was up. The person was Jon! She scrambled to fit the pieces together to see what he could be holding. A pretzel? Beer steins? A sign that said, “Welcome to Helen.” But as they got closer to completing the object in his hands, she ran out of puzzle pieces. Jon smiled and told Shannon that she had the missing pieces to his puzzle. He instructed her to look in her belongings for them. She discovered a small baggie with the pieces and dumped them out on the table. As the sign filled in and a question mark appeared, Shannon finally understood. She completed the puzzle in a frenzy and with tears of joy in her eyes and turned to Jon, who was now on one knee. He then uttered those magical words, “well, will ya?” He presented her with a small box, opening it slowly to reveal the most perfect ring. It was the perfect size diamond, sparkly and new, accented by beautiful infinity twists along each side with tiny diamonds embellishing the design. She of course said yes and wrapped her arms around his neck. They spent the rest of the weekend with the big news kept secret, well other than the strangers they passed that noticed the glow coming off each of them and the ring. The weekend was perfect!

Shannon was living with her Dad and Grandmother in Cartersville back on 2010. Acting as her grandmother's caregiver and a homebody by nature, Shannon was tied to the house and didn't get out much. Becca, being a good friend and full of life, often invited Shannon out to events, parties, etc. Sometimes she succeeded in getting Shannon out of the house.
Meanwhile, in Lawrenceville, Jon was going through a tough time as his previous relationship came to an abrupt end. As one can imagine, he was not feeling especially social during this time and, like Shannon, preferred staying in at night. Charley, a good friend and coworker, reached out and pulled Jon back out of his shell.

The 2010 Hops for Hopes Dunwoody Beer Fest was one such event where invitations went out to both Shannon and Jon. Shannon took Becca up on the invite and met up with her and her friend Jamie for the event (yes, Shannon met Jamie (bridesmaid) the same day she met Jon). A friend of the girls' happened to be working the event and invited the girls to an after party at her place that evening. The invitation made it's way to Charley and Jon who could not make it to the Beer Fest earlier in the day. That evening the girls were mingling with Virginia's friends and roommates when Charley arrived with Jon. They were both introduced to several people including Jamie and Shannon. The groups faded into the crowd of people.

Later that summer, 311 came to town to play a concert at Lakewood Amphitheater. Again, Becca and Charley reached out to their friends and made plans. Shannon joined Becca and Jon agreed to join Charley. Unfortunately, though tickets had already been purchased, Charley got pulled away to work at the last minute. The girls met up before the concert and rode down early to tailgate with their larger group of friends. Jon met up with the group just before the concert. For those that are familiar with Lakewood, the lawn is usually filled with standing concert-goers. About halfway through the concert Jon and Shannon turned to each other as if to have the same idea at once and decided to have a seat in the grass. The evening was filled with steamy heat left by a late summer rain. Jon was happy to see that Shannon had brought a 311 fan that she made. They sat together, shared the fan, chatted and enjoyed the music. Fortune shined down on them as they looked across the ground and discovered $20 bucks laying unclaimed. They picked it up and agreed that Shannon would keep it and put it toward their next meeting.

They left the concert that night with each other's contact info and began flirting through a mix of text, FB and email messages. Becca pointed out that she noticed a connection between them at the concert. She encouraged Shannon to test the waters by joining her and Charley with friends Yelena (also in attendance at 311) and Travis on a group date. Their "first date" took place at Dave & Busters. Before hitting the games, they all sat down to dinner. She ordered a big bacon cheeseburger with fries and as she did, leaned over and said something to the affect of 'sorry, i'm not a salad girl. I eat.' Jon says that he knew Shannon was a keeper when she ordered that night. They finished dinner, played games, laughed, talked and hit it off. Before the night ended, Shannon presented Jon with a small gift she purchased with the $20 found during the concert - a key chain of multicolored mini-Sharpies, something they had talked about during the concert. (*The rest of the money was spent on games for the evening.) They made plans to get together for a proper date the next weekend and continued to talk and see each other more frequently after that. The rest is the history that lead up to September 2018.

Here are Jon's Vows to Shannon recited during the wedding:

Shannon,

After we got engaged and decided to write our own vows, I thought i'd do a little experiment - I wrote down every nice thing you said or did for me or anyone else. A few weeks later i'd filled up 10 pages of paper and I knew i'd never have time to even mention even a small fraction of them.

You are the most considerate and caring person I know, and it's one of the things I love the most about you. You make any situation better just by your presence alone. You deserve a life full of happiness and joy, and I promise to do everything I possibly can to keep you laughing and smiling for all our years yet to come.

If you doubt yourself, I will be your encouragement. If you feel overwhelmed, I will help shoulder your burdens. And if you should happen to find yourself locked up in jail, I will be right there with bail money ... or as is far more likely: sitting right beside you unable to stop laughing about whatever mischief landed us there in the first place. You are the shuh to my nanigans, the jelly to my peanut butter, and the missing piece to my puzzle.

So let's keep being so annoyingly perfect for each other that it drives everyone else crazy. I Love you, now and always <3

Here are Shannon's Vows to Jon:

Jon,

From the moment we decided to sit down at the 311 concert, I had no idea how important to me you would become. Now there is not a day that goes by that I don’t want to share with you. I have often caught myself looking up or turning around to tell you something, and only in that moment realizing you are not there. I’m addicted to you and can’t think of a better way to live my life than waking up next to you each day, grumps and all.

Love is the desire to be together, the consideration for the other, and worrying about each other’s well-being. In our case, it’s grumpin’ when the other gets up and leaves the room, even if it’s just to grab a drink and return. It’s trying to decide on dinner but getting nowhere because I want you to pick something you like and you, vice versa. It’s being mad that someone smokes or that someone jumped off a boat in the middle of the lake to swim back to the dock after sunset, putting themselves in danger of being hit by speeding boats in the dark. <makes face> It is also the appreciation and attraction to the qualities in the other. So, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…

I am constantly in awe of your various skills and talents (mechanics, tech, boy scout resourcefulness, etc). You approach every challenge or project with a confidence and passion that I envy. You dive in and research, ensuring you are properly equipped to accomplish your goals and often achieve them.

Your kindness is unmatched. You are sympathetic and, if in a position to help, offer it without reward or expectation of reciprocation.

The way you approach the world is logical. You are extremely intelligent and soak in the world of knowledge around you like a sponge. When we watch educational television and discuss theoretical explanations to presented subjects, it is nerdy fun and <hot>

You have the patience of a Saint. Not only with clients and the day-to-day struggles in life, but also with me, especially when it comes to travel days or not running updates on my computers.

Your sense of humor and expressive face keeps me smiling and laughing constantly. I love that we have fun doing the most random and mundane things because we joke, make up little dances and songs and enjoy messing with each other.

You are also adorable and have mesmerizing eyes, which as Chrissie once put it, is just a super cool bonus!

I could go on (and on and on) but we have forever together and Eileen made cake, so let me move on.

Love is great and can fill you up and make you happy, but marriage is a commitment to tending those embers of love. Marrying you means, yes, sharing good moments, smiling and laughing together, but it also means listening, compromising, apologizing, trusting and the promise to work together as a team. It is the mutual acceptance of each other’s faults and remembering that neither one of us is perfect, but striving to remind ourselves of the ways we are perfect for each other. So in our marriage, I vow…

To consider your point of view, even if it points out that I am wrong

To treat you as a teammate and never as an opponent, unless we are playing a game

To trust you and uphold your trust in me

To care for and support you when you are in need

To make you laugh and smile as much as possible

To try and remember to restock the fridge, throw out empty water bottles, and put my clothes away

While I can’t promise to fix your problems, I promise you won’t have to face them alone

My mission statement for our marriage: Missing you is my hobby, caring for you is my job, making you happy is my duty and loving you is my life.

I choose you, Jonathan Patrick Gay, as my best friend, confidant, and partner in crime, future father of our furbabies and children, and the love of my life. As you once stated, we are stupid perfect for each other, and I plan to spend the rest of our lives proving you right.