The day started off rather gloomy and continued to say cloudy throughout the afternoon and evening…but we got an AMAZING sunset later in the night (which I’ll share in another blog)…..but because it was cloudy, it created a big diffuser in the sky which allowed us to get some gorgeous images. We had probably 10 minutes to capture images before we had to head over to Gobblers Knob….so we hopped all over the property of the Plantation Bed and Breakfast very quickly to get all these shots….and they were such great sports about it! I felt a little like a drill sergeant…ok stand there, now stand there, now sit! hahaah! But….we got’er done!
So tell us about the proposal….
“To premise, I always complain about how Jason and I NEVER take pictures together. For how many years we have been together it is pretty pathetic how little we have. With that said, my family vacation is in Ocean City, MD over the 4th of July every year – and by “family” this includes family AND friends (who are essentially my family, too!). Me and Jason kindled our relationship over a Labor Day weekend in Ocean City, so that is why he chose this spot (not to mention all the people nearest and dearest to us were there). He told me before the trip that he scheduled some beach pictures with a beach photo guy for my birthday because I always complain about never getting pictures (and this makes sense, because my birthday is June 21 – pretty close to the vaca). Me and my little god-sister (Baby Shitass as I lovingly call her – lol – this one is a long story!) are always responsible for the 4th of July dinner. We were running a little behind schedule, and I almost ruined things by telling Jason to cancel and forget about it because we didn’t have time. He was pretty insistent about it, so I pulled myself together quickly after dinner, and we met the photographer a bit late. We walked down the boardwalk a few blocks from the house we stay at, where there is a rock pile on the beach and an opening of the sunset. We took some initial pictures, and then the photographer told us to start walking and turn and look at him when we got to the rocks, and then he would give us some more poses. Once we got to the rocks, I turned around and no one said anything! Then I look over, and Jason is down on one knee. I don’t even think he really asked any question – it was something like “well…?”, and I obviously said yes. Then, we walked back to the house and celebrated with the whole “family”, which was my favorite part :)”- Shannon
“Our relationship is just easy breezy. We just click together and have moved through life with very little hiccups. We compromise and are very understanding of each other. We’ve always been respectful to one another and encourage goals and dreams, regardless of potential hardship. We have done long distance quite a few times, mostly due to my schooling, and Jason has been a dream through the whole thing. Jason has also been away for work for long periods of time. Everything just “works” for us in this seamless way..it’s almost a little strange :)”- Shannon
Describe each other using 3 words:
Jason: trustworthy, understanding, quiet
Shavonne: dependable, caring, intelligent
Tell us a few random things about yourselves….
Shavonne:
(1) I am pretty obsessed with recording shows in our DVR – and never having time to watch them. As I type, our DVR is about 85% full of unwatched shows.
(2) I LOVE cooking – people are often surprised about this until they get to know me. Cooking wise, I hate recipes, and tend to make up dinners on the fly.
(3) This isn’t really fun or random – but all my friends call me the “successful Van Wilder” of school – I have 2 bachelors, 2 masters, and am working on my doctorate – and, of course, I am staying in academia when I graduate – I just love learning!
Jason:
(1) I love nature and the outdoors, but I’m terrified of snakes
(2) I had 3 different majors in college and ended up with a career I enjoy that has nothing to do with any of them
(3) I like taking trips, but I hate flying
“The story surrounding our engagement is actually really funny – all my friends and family that were with us on the vacation still talk about it. So, Jason’s best man, Brad was on the vacation with us, along with my matrons, Sara and Gretchen. Also, my bridesmaid Danielle was there (she is Brad’s wife and was pregnant with my flower girl, Olivia, at the time). Brad was the only person on the trip that knew about the proposal, and he is a very good friend to both of us, and I guess just couldn’t handle the anticipation. The guys were day drinking the afternoon of the proposal, and Brad drank a little too much because he didn’t know what to do with himself haha. He was so ridiculous over dinner and everyone was making fun of him. When we came back to the vacation house after the proposal and told everyone, Brad started bawling! Then, when Jason and my Dad hugged, my Matron, Sara, started bawling and ran upstairs. So, me, my mom, and Danielle were like “we should be the most emotional people right now, what in the world is going on?” Once everyone semi-collects themselves, Brad brought out a bottle of champagne he got and made a toast outside, still practically bawling, and said “Congratulations to my best friend…and Stiteler”. Everyone just completely lost it after that. Brad kept saying how I looked like a “greek goddess” in my dress I had on. It was just a funny night. Danielle can reenact Brad during the speech to perfection.”- Shavonne
Wanna know the sad thing, Punxsutawney-specifically Gobblers Knob is the home of the famous Punxsy Phil. Every year thousands of people from all over the world flock there to watch the groundhog be yanked out of his stump to predict the weather for the up coming year-Did he or did he knot see his shadow?!? I have lived in this area my entire life and have NEVER been to Gobblers Knob…..so this was a first for me! haha! They of course hopped up on stage to get their photo beside the stump of famous Phil.
And, you guys, just wait until you see the reception photos….the dancing…..oh my gosh, I almost peed in my pants while editing those photos!! haha!
