It all started with a swipe.

While it’s not clear who actually caught whose eye first, Shane is adamant he made the first move. Near the beginning of October 2019, after several days of trading messages on the dating app Hinge, he suggested meeting up at a local coffee shop, noting her professed love for (or, he would argue, obsession with) coffee. They met up on a cool fall afternoon, took a walk through Capitol Hill, and exchanged numbers with the promise to meet up for a second date. He thought she was cute and confident; she thought he was kind and liked his smile.

The first few months went by quickly. They learned they both loved the outdoors, shared an interest in baking and cooking, and were ambitious with their careers. Shane works for Congress; Stephanie is an attorney. Despite their many similar interests, they were also able to teach each other new things. Stephanie taught Shane, a notoriously picky eater, a love of Brussels sprouts and pesto. He taught her how to parallel park.

Then everything changed in March 2020 when D.C. issued its stay at home order because of COVID-19. Despite toilet paper and hand sanitizer shortages, a crazy roommate of Stephanie’s, and the pandemonium of the first wave, they made it work. They assembled puzzles together (though Stephanie says she mostly just watched Shane before coming in strong at the end), they made it through most of The Great British Baking Show and perfected their bakes, and they opted outside as much as possible. A Memorial Day trip to visit each other’s parents capped this new phase of their relationship and convinced them that they each might have just found “the one.”

By the beginning of fall, Shane began gaming out how to propose and scoping out places around D.C. that would be just right. He settled on the U.S. National Arboretum, a botanical collection in the northeast part of the city, and recruited a friend of his and Stephanie’s to take pictures. He successfully floated the idea of visiting to Stephanie, and the chosen day was to be bright and sunny.

And then the rain came; 2020 was throwing yet another wrench into plans. The plan was called off the morning of due to the deluge, and they opted to watch Hamilton inside. Right before meeting up, the rain suddenly began to clear and, in a matter of minutes, the plan was back on and everyone in place with Stephanie none the wiser.

Before heading to the Asian Valley section of the arboretum, the designated spot, Shane took Stephanie through other collections and locales, hoping to throw off any suspicions by relying on Stephanie’s aversion to cold weather and the low temperatures that day. Too focused on quickly getting through the collections, Stephanie’s mind was focused on anything but the imminent proposal.

At last, they arrived in the Asian Valley and took a stroll through its tree-covered paths. When they arrived at its pagoda, Shane took Stephanie on a quick detour down a nearby steppingstone path through a small rock garden. With the pagoda in the background and the landscape glistening with rainwater, he got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. (She said yes, obviously.)

We are beyond excited to invite you to join us this September as we celebrate at one of Virginia's most picturesque wineries. We look forward to connecting with each of you on a very special day and thank you for choosing to celebrate with us.