Dustin and Shelley, building a life together -

In the hot summer of 2022 Dustin and I had our first date. It was the end of June and he picked me up with a bass boat pulling behind his truck. I was not sure what to think of this, but after a nice sushi dinner, we went to Lake Maumelle for a boat ride and had a great time. The boat behind his truck was foreshadowing the kind of man he is and where his interests are. Being outdoors was an immediate commonality between us. But, still yet, I wasn't sure this was going anywhere... Turns out we had both basically given up on dating. Another mutual feeling.

We met through shared friends, Brian and Kellie Dumont. They were the ones who decided we should meet in the first place. I used to work with Kellie and Brian and Dustin have been friends for years.

While we shared our love for being outdoors and the whole giving up on dating thing... Our interests were very different. Dustin loved to hunt and fish and I was just not interested in those activities, but the more time we spent together, the more I enjoyed being around him. In fact, right away we were spending a lot of time together and he was even skipping out on fishing to hang out with me. By the fall of that year, we were getting serious. I was going with him to deer camp and I was patiently sitting in a deer stand, which is certainly not my cup of tea, but I was happy to be doing things with him that he enjoyed. Really happy.

After dating for several months and realizing our feelings were growing stronger, it was time to meet Paige, his six-year-old daughter. She was (and is) a sweet and very smart little girl. And boy is she a daddy’s girl!

Before I met Dustin, I was beginning the steps needed to build a house in Scott, AR. I had a piece of land and was working on house plans and financing. Soon after, interest rates started climbing so my plans changed a little. I put the house on hold and thought a small shop with a studio apartment would be perfect for my two dogs and me. This plan seemed to be my best option and when rates went down, I planned to look at building the house. Enter Dustin, who quickly had other plans. By November we were talking about marriage and making long-term plans. Dustin started making sketches of our dream home, a “barndominium,” which was significantly larger than my original vision.

By March 2023 it was time to break ground and Dustin was spending all his free time working on the house. He was working his regular job as an electrician and then working until after dark at our future home. Since that time, we have spent almost all our free time building our dream.

The weekend of my birthday – a year after our first date – we went on a float trip with friends to the Buffalo River. We ended the weekend with a hike to Whitaker Point on one of the hottest days of the year. I noticed Dustin was acting odd and at one point he even disappeared for a while – I was not sure exactly what was going on with him. Before we headed home, we asked a friend to take pictures of us on a bluff and then gathered our bags to head to the car. Dustin mumbled something I didn’t quite understand then he got down on one knee. He asked me to marry him and of course, I said yes, with all my sweaty self. We were both so hot and my finger was swollen to the point that I was afraid he wasn’t going to be able to get the ring on, but it was perfect!

Now we are building our home, planning a wedding and remodeling his current house. We have decided that if we can survive these things, we will make it. I guess we are just going to get a lot of the hard stuff out of the way.

Dustin always says we are not in a relationship, we are building a life together. That could not be truer. I always knew when I finally found the man I wanted to marry it would be someone I wanted to share a life with and grow old together. That is Dustin. I cannot believe how fortunate I am to be marrying a man who loves me so well. He is always working to give me the life I want, and he puts my happiness first.

He was worth the wait.

S&D

Wedding Day

4:00 PM

Ceremony

Reception