The Honeymoon

Oh…baby! After we left the reception, we headed off to our decorated hotel room (a gift to us from our family and friends). The next morning, we had breakfast then rushed off to board the Carnival Cruise ship in Long Beach, CA on our way to Mexico.
Our 7-day Fun-ship Mexican Riviera schedule itinerary took us on this adventure…
Day 1 (Sunday) – Leave Los Angeles at 4pm
Day 2 (Monday) – Fun Day at Sea
Day 3 (Tuesday) – Fun Day at Sea
Day 4 (Wednesday) – Puerto Vallarta, 8am-10pm
Day 5 (Thursday) – Mazatlan, 9am-6pm
Day 6 (Friday) – Cabo San Lucas, 7am-4pm
Day 7 (Saturday) – Fun Day at Sea
Day 8 (Sunday) – Arrive in Los Angeles at 9am

Shane and Nikki enjoyed Cabo San Lucas the most. We rented a motorized boat and tour guide that took us on a tour around the peninsula. We spent time on a private beach, went snorkeling, swimming, and enjoyed the sun. When we returned to the main beach, we went to a nearby, nice hotel, used their pool and at lunch poolside.
After spending 7 days at sea on a ship, we were elated to arrive on the main land. We returned home to the DiPadova’s, opened wedding presents, spent time with family, then left for Sacramento the next morning.

The Wedding Day

July 1, 2006
Oh what a beautiful day! This day could not have been more perfect! Everything turned out beautiful and if there were any issues, we didn’t know about them. We were surrounded by every one of our closest friends and family members. It was great to have everyone there under one roof.
The night before the big day, we had a game night…battle against the families. We played Pictionary and Family Feud. It was a blast! That evening, Shane stayed at the Marriot with his buddy, Chris, and Nikki stayed at her parents with all her friends and family. Early in the morning, Nikki had her hair and make-up done, and then off to the Newport Beach Temple she went with her mom.
We prepared ourselves for the sealing. It was very emotional. After all this time, we were actually getting married…what a miracle…Shane and Nikki married at last! Seeing everyone in the temple was such a neat experience and then to walk out and see everyone else anticipating our grand exit out of the temple doors was truly an exciting moment! One we will never forget.
After all of the photographs were completed we headed over to the luncheon at Buca di Beppo in Huntington Beach, CA. When that concluded, everyone headed back to the DiPadova’s home to rest and finish the final touches for the reception.
The reception began and seemed to fly by. There were so many people there, it made it difficult to greet everyone. The food was excellent as always. Last thing we knew, we were being sent off with sparklers and our own personal fireworks show.

The Engagement

A rock, a horse and a ranch.
A plan was made. Shane made the call to the DiPadova home and the request was officially submitted and approved. He sold off a bunch of stocks and shopped all of Chico for a gem of sufficient size- the minor details of the ring and how Nikki would like it would have to wait.
Shane told Nikki he would be picking her up in Sacramento on April28, 2006 and that they would be heading over to the coast for the weekend. A white convertible 2006 Mustang was the chosen noble steed to make the trip in. Fantastic temperatures and sunshine were in the forecast for the whole weekend- perfect convertible weather.
Darin, a good friend of Shane’s, has a home overlooking the ocean just north of Fort Bragg. The majestic coastal views there are indescribable. We played on the beach with quads for the day and also watched while Darin and his dad went abalone diving. Nikki was clueless about the plan.
On Sunday, Shane grabbed Nikki, a picnic basket and a quad and headed over to the top of Kabascilla Hill- a big hill right next to Highway 1 that rises a couple hundred feet above the ocean.
Lunch was eaten and the view was savored. Shane asked Nikki to stand up for a second ‘to move the blanket’. As she stood up he pulled out a little white box and said ‘Nikki, will you be my wife?’ Nikki’s eyes nearly popped out of her head as her jaw fell open. After inspecting the ring, she said ‘YES! I’ve been waiting for you to ask me that for 6 years!’
Shane’s plans had been carried out and successfully completed. It was Nikki’s turn now. Dresses, food, location, pictures, invitations, friends and family were all to be orchestrated.

The Courtship

Oh…the beginning…It all started back in August 1999. Shane broke his leg in Utah and had to return home because he could no long work. And Nikki embarked on an adventure to a city she had never been to before to start school. Just weeks after we both arrived in the Chico area, we met at the Stake Center for the first time. Needless to say, we hit it off and we’re inseparable from that moment on. Don’t get the wrong idea…it was not your ideal fairytale romance. We started dating, then broke-up, the got back together, the started dating again, then decided to see other people, the got back together, the broke-up again, then and then and then…the saga continued for about 6 years, 9 months (but who’s counting?)
During that time, Nikki finished her Bachelor’s degrees at Chico State in June 2002, started the Master’s program in speech pathology in August 2002. She later moved to Fresno in the fall of 2004, then moved to Sacramento in the summer of 2005, completed her Master’s degree at Chico State in December of 2005, and began working in Sacramento as a Speech-Language Pathologist in January of 2006.
Meanwhile, Shane worked at various jobs such as construction, Best Buy, Applebee’s, and satellite installer while attending Butte Community College. After working for other people, Shane decided to start his own business doing home theater and satellite television installations. Shane later transferred to Chico State to later complete his Bachelor’s degree in psychology.
During the midst of completing our education and beginning our careers, we managed to stay in “very” close contact with each other. We tried to date other people and move on from each other’s arms, but we always managed to find ourselves there over and over again. We really did make a true, honest effort. We would tell each other we weren’t going to talk, only email, then when that didn’t work we would say, “Okay, nothing for 3 months”, when that failed we said text messages and instant messages only…and of course, that didn’t work either. The last attempt we made to cutting off all ties, we decided we were going to be done completely…for real this time!
Then…late one evening when Nikki was driving home from a Bay Area dance (an attempt to meet new people), she received a text message from an unknown number that read “You’ve got mail!” When she arrived home, she checked her email and what do you know…Shane wrote an email that started the ball rolling again as boyfriend-girlfriend for the last time! A day went by and as Nikki was responding to his email, Shane impatiently showed up at her door step. After a long talk that night, Shane returned to Chico, making plans that would change our lives forever.