Ryan Wilson said that when he first saw Shawna Aud at her high school volleyball game in 2012, he knew he had to get her number from a friend. He did, and when the two met, he jokingly told her that one day he was going to marry her.
When Aud began driving, she and Wilson rode around while she practiced, and they had the same interests in music.
“It just sort of fell into place perfectly,” Aud said.
When the two began dating in 2014, Wilson said he knew she was the one.
Fast forward to November 16, 2019, when Wilson took Aud on a high-flying adventure for a one-of-a-kind proposal.
Wilson works at Kimberly Clark with local pyrotechnician and pilot Stuart Snow. The two have been friends for as long as Wilson can remember, because Wilson’s dad also works at Kimberly-Clark and Snow built Wilson’s parents’ house, which is now his.
As Wilson became more confident in his plan of asking Aud to marry him, he asked Snow if he would shoot fireworks at Wilson’s home as part of his proposal plan.
Snow agreed, but came back later and suggested that instead, he take them up in his plane, and Wilson could propose from there.
The story seemed logical to Aud when Wilson asked if she wanted to go flying with Snow. He had been taking co-workers flying over the past couple of months, so Aud didn’t think anything about it when Wilson suggested they take a turn.
“I was very surprised [when he proposed],” Aud said. “We haven’t even talked about it for a while, but it was the best because it was a surprise.”
When Snow flew over Wilson’s home and Wilson asked Aud to look down, Aud said that it took some time for her to realize that the message “Marry Me” that Wilson had constructed out of logs on his property was meant for her.
“I was like ‘Oh, that’s cool…Oh, that’s for me,” Aud said, laughing.
Aud, who is currently a dietetic intern studying to become a dietitian, said that the couple is currently thinking of early 2021 for a wedding date, but they still have not committed to anything as they are still on cloud nine.
