.: Our love story!

Ethan and I met in October of 2010 just after we graduated. We had a mutual friend that had a game night at her place and invited us both. My twin and I + him and his friend all kind of hit it off and became friends after that night. They took Shay and me on a couple of casual dates and then about two months later left on missions. Ethan served in the Russia Moscow West Mission from 2011 to 2013. We wrote back and forth on his mission for a while until one day I just never heard back from him. To this day he still claims, over the pulpit in church, that his letter got lost in the mail. ha After he got home I was already hanging out with his same group of guy friends and so we just fell into a routine of hanging out almost every night as a big group of friends. I'll admit I liked him as more than a friend from the very beginning because of his flirty personality and adorable dimple but never expected anything to come from it. He was a BIG flirt and just back from his mission wanted to date and have the "college" life for a while, which I had been experiencing for the last two years while he was gone. While he dated around a bit, the two of us just became good friends. I got him and one of his friends a job at the same place I was working (caption call) and fortunately, we worked the same shifts. We would find cubicles by each other and then pass notes through the crack all day. I would give him advice about girls and at the same time dated a couple of his best guy friends. It never really went anywhere with them, because I knew deep down I was interested in Ethan. Anyways fast forward about 2 months after he got home, he and his friends Jordan + Braden (also recently returned missionaries) wanted to go on a little post-mission trip to Hawaii. Seeing as how they couldn't afford the rental car and condo alone they decided to invite my roommate and me to come with. One thing led to another and Ethan and I ended up sharing our first kiss across from our condo on the beach at SUNRISE ;) I knew I just had to marry him after that because I'd never be able to top a first kiss like this one!

First Kiss: May 2010

First I Love You's: August 2010

Engaged: October 2010

Sealed for ETERNITY: December 2010

Ethan and I were talking marriage sometime in the end of September beginning of October. He had a brother & sister-in-law living out in Washington DC who really only visited at Christmas time. We realized that if we were going to get married, that would be the ideal time to have a wedding when all of our family was present or else we'd have to do it without everyone or wait another year. I had been telling Ethan how much I loved the fall leaves up to Kolob and really wanted to go drive through them and maybe snap some photos. He took this opportunity to have me call my cousin Syd who is a photographer to see if she wanted to come and snap some pictures of us. Ethan has no clue how to be sneaky! I know how much he hates taking pictures so I immediately knew he was up to something. I played along and got Sydney on board and as we went from location to location I just kept waiting for it. Finally at the last stop in this beautifully scenic feild, as we were running out of pose ideas, Ethan cleverly said I've got one. "How about you stand here" as he positioned me to the side of him. "... and I'll KNEEL here!"

"Shauni Jean Spendlove, will you marry me?"

Regardless of the fact that I was expecting this...it was the most exciting + happiest moments of my life!