It all began with a flight to Albuquerque, turned into a 5 hour layover, ending in a deep conversation with Mason Brown that would change both Shelby and Caden’s lives FOREVER! Shelby ( a Skywest Flight Attendant) first met Caden’s older brother, Mason ( then First Officer), in 2020 while working a 4 day trip out of Salt Lake City. The aviation industry was chaos due to the global pandemic. Trip sheets for all crew-members went from social, luxurious, long layovers, to extended airport-sits, minimal contact and minimum hotel rests. The day started with a flight to Albuquerque, NM. The crew was scheduled to sit in that empty airport for 5 hours, before flying out to Los Angeles, CA for the night. During the sit, Shelby and Mason decided to unpack their lunches and make conversation to kill the time. After sharing their hobbies, stories about family, culture, personal interests, and core values, Mason did something he had never done before- he suggested his flight attendant meet his younger brother, Caden. Without any hesitation he said “Shelby, you need to date my brother!” Although he had only known Shelby for a few hours, Mason had a strong intuition the two would match perfectly. I mean, who knows Caden better than Mason? As the trip sheet got shorter, many persuasive conversations took place. By day 4, one random Brown-family photo (which only showed the top of Caden’s hairline) was enough to convince Shelby that Caden was worth a shot. She gave Mason the approval to set things up. Mason assisted the layup and after 5 long months of online chatting and text conversations, Shelby and Caden finally went on their first date! The chemistry was immediate. The attraction was undeniably obvious. The two couldn’t be more perfectly matched! After years of healing and trusting in the universe, God spoke to his most loyal servant, Mason, who then planted the seed that would lead these two lost souls to the greatest journey of their lives!

Caden bought a ring in May and held onto it until the moment to propose felt right. No theatrical, staged moment. No set day or time. Although his trusted friends, family, and Shelby’s parents knew he was planning to do it, the actual moment he’d pull out the ring would remain a mystery. He waited until he felt it deep in his gut,“this is it!” An annual Brown-family vacation trip to Bear Lake began with a night of Secondhand Lions, family Uno, and camping under the stars in a Tepee tent. Little did they know, this would be the last night Shelby and Caden would be considered “dating.” Waking up to the heat of the sun, Shelby and Caden started their day with a morning run and a yummy breakfast with the fam. After a belly full of good eats, everyone gathered their things, changed into their swimmies, and headed down to the marina. Caden and Shelby spent the rest of that day catching tan lines while boating with his family. They had a pleasant, unexpected visit with Caden’s grandparents at the cabin during lunch. And even made new friends while hanging out at the beach sun bathing and whipping jet skis with their neighbors. Eventually, they found themselves cooling off with a treat at the famous LaBeau’s- because if you’re in Bear Lake, you gotta have a milk shake! As the sun began to set, Caden had a vision of the first time he had taken Shelby to his family cabin. He remembered on their last day before heading back to Salt Lake City, she had walked down to the beach to make a time-lapse video of the sun rising. She had no idea he had been following her and was watching from a distance. Eventually he made his presence known and joined her. Together they sat and watched the sun rise over the lake, talked about the fun-filled weekend, their future together, and made a memory they both would cherish forever. “This is it!” Right then and there he knew. This would be the place he makes his proposal! Both in their pajamas, Caden asked Shelby to walk down to the spot where they once made a sunrise time-laps video. Ready to wind down from the day, It took some convincing, but eventually Shelby gave in. The same beach that had been filled all day with vacationers, was now completely empty, not a soul in sight. They had the beach and the sunset all to themselves. Caden leading the way down to the water’s edge, he turned to Shelby and hugged her tight. As he pulled away, he let out the words he’d been holding in since he purchased the ring in May, “I don’t want to wait any longer to make you my wife!” He got down on one knee and after a very romantic, genuine, beautiful speech, Shelby said the words she’d been waiting two and a half years to say, “I DO!” Unknown to everyone other than Shelby, this spot on the beach was where she always hoped he’d propose. It was perfect! You can see pictures from this special day by visiting our website gallery.