Wedding Date on Oct 7, 2017

It was August, 2007 in Pella, Iowa... Shay was moving into her dorm, 1400 miles from her home in California. She had just had an ACL surgery and was on crutches! She and her mom were struggling getting everything moved into her dorm room, when two handsome men offered to help her move her stuff up the three flights of stairs. Cody and his roommate "Broskie" ended up living two doors down from her in Scholte Hall. Cody and Shay became good friends in college, but lost contact with each other soon after graduation. Until... a mutual friend from college, who happened to live in San Diego, invited both of them to a Padres' baseball game years later (May 2013-Thank you, Seth)! A first date followed and despite a homeless man ruining a romantic moment, they went on many more dates. Shay knew she loved Cody when he left for the East Coast, but Cody needed a few more FaceTime dates to realize he had fallen for her.Deployments and long distance made it a difficult journey but ultimately strengthened their love for each other. Looking back now, it is easy to see that God had a very unique plan for them all along! Shayna made the move from San Diego to Virginia during the cold winter months of 2015! After many work trips for Cody, church hunting, job searching, and purchasing a boat, this move finally proved to be a great decision when Cody "the sloth" proposed on July 6th 2016! They were blessed to share this big moment with their parents and Shay's sister, Kallie, aboard the newly renamed vessel "Shayna Rene".