Forever and always. It’s something Jesse and Shelby have said to one another for the last nearly 8 years. And on August 12, 2017 their forever began.

Shelby Hisel is a 2011 Waukon graduate. She's the daughter of Alan Brink and Becky Underbakke both of Waukon. Jesse Hisel is a 2010 Kee High graduate. And is the son of Jay and Jeannine Hisel of Lansing.

The couple met just weeks after Jesse graduated high school from Lansing, and Shelby finished her junior year at Waukon. The first time they hung out was at a friend of Jesse's graduation party. Jesse remembered, "Even though we were awkward and barely said a word to each other, there was something special. The next time we hung out, it was like we had known each other for years.”

For the first five years of their relationship, they spent nearly every weekend traveling to be together. First with Jesse in Estherville at Iowa Lakes, and Shelby still in Waukon. Shelby then went off to Drake University in Des Moines for college. And the following year Jesse moved to Hampton for his first job. The couple finally bought a house together in Huxley, and moved in with each other in August of 2015.

The two learned that they both love to travel. Throughout the years they have gone on multiple road trips. Two out west and one to the south and east. They've also traveled to Cancun, Mexico for a friend's wedding. Shelby said "every time we would go on a vacation, people were expecting us to get engaged. As much as I was always hoping it would happen, I knew that isn't the way he would pop the question.”

On the night of November 30th, 2016 – Shelby's birthday, Jesse had a night planned out that she didn't have a clue about. They did their usual, went to a movie and out to eat. But that night they went somewhere new, and a place that has become one of their favorites, The Stuffed Olive in Des Moines. It was a chilly night and it had just started snowing. Shelby recalls, "Jesse wanted to go check out this new light fixture just a few blocks away. He had been wanting to see it for months. But it was just so cold!" She went along with it, because it was pretty much on the way back to the car. They were standing there looking at it when Jesse turns to her and says "So I didn't get you much for your birthday" and he got down on one knee. "The words 'will you marry me' were not spoken out loud. They didn't need to be," Jesse recalls. Shelby was speechless. And it was all smiles and kisses. One of Shelby's best friends was secretly hiding behind a tree with a camera, capturing images from the special moment.

Shelby had been waiting for months for Jesse to ask her to marry her. The couple never looked at rings, and that's how she had wanted it. She wanted Jesse to find the ring he thought would be perfect. And it was. Jesse picked out a beautiful cathedral style engagement ring. It was customized with diamonds on each side showcasing their birthstones.

The couple spent the next month planning the details of their wedding. And after the start of the year, they had nearly everything planned out. Shelby knew she always wanted to get married on her family's farm. They had brainstormed ideas with her dad, and her Grandma Brink. And the spot Lucy picked, is where the couple decided to have the ceremony.

The space sat right along the creek that ran through the farm, and right on the edge of a field below Al's house. The couple spent several weekends back in the area to clean up the spot and get it ready. They removed trees, flattened out the ground, and cut and laid sod. Shelby's family watered and took care of the ground. That was until a late summer storm tore through the area. Straight line winds knocked down hundreds of trees on the farm. Including several on the spot where they planned to get married. "I just remember standing there, crying. Wondering what else could go wrong. I prayed to my Grandpa that things would all work out okay," she thought back. It took several days to get the spot re-cleaned, and unfortunately, they couldn't be there to help with everything. But by the time the wedding weekend came around, her family made the area look beautiful. Bales of hay lined the aisles. And Al enclosed the area with beautiful birch logs.

On their big day, Shelby wore a sheath Madison James, ivory lace gown, with light brown cowgirl boots and rose gold jewelry. She had the back of the gown customized, to open into a keyhole style. “I knew it was the perfect dress when my mom started crying.” Jesse wore a dark grey, Allure tuxedo, and what he says are "awesome blue-green skateboard riding banana socks.”

The bridesmaids wore chiffon and lace burgundy knee length dresses with cowgirl boots. While the groomsmen wore a light grey Allure tuxedo. The flower girl wore an ivory dress, cowgirl boots, with burgundy and pearl jewelry. And the ring bearer wore a matching Allure tuxedo like Jesse's.

The ring bearer carried a pillow, made from one of Shelby's Grandpa Gary's flannels. Flannel fabric also lined a single empty chair in the front row, right next to Lucy, in Gary's memory. Shelby had a locket with a picture of Gary in her beautiful bouquet.

The short ceremony was performed by Shelby's former pastor, Tom Buresh, with just over 200 people in attendance and seated on covered hay bales. Shelby's cousins performed the music at the ceremony. Bethany Brink sang "A Thousand Years,” Jason Brink played the guitar, and Jonah Brink played the mandolin for the processional, which began beneath a birch log arch further enhanced by French doors. The first time the couple laid eyes on each other that day was when Shelby appeared from behind those doors.  Jesse remembers the day fondly, "The moment she appeared behind the French doors, I felt pure joy. The love of my life, in the most beautiful dress was walking towards me. No one else in the world mattered.”

"I couldn't believe I was finally marrying my best friend. I had dreamt of the day for years, and it was finally here," Shelby recalls.

After the ceremony, the wedding party and guests ate, drank, danced, and celebrated into the night at the Barn Restaurant in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Jesse's mom made hundreds of jars of homemade jam for the wedding guests. And their mother's, and grandmas helped make all the pies for dessert. And Shelby's Grandma Brink made the three-tier rustic looking wedding cake. The couple was surrounded by friends and family, as they celebrated their first day as husband and wife.

Because they love to travel, they will be taking a road trip for their honeymoon. This summer they plan to travel North into Canada and around the Great Lakes to visit Niagara Falls, and the far northeast. An area of the country they have yet to see. They will also go to the NASCAR race at Pocono, one of Shelby's favorite things to do.

Shelby plans to continue working at KCCI TV in Des Moines, and Jesse at NextEra Energy in Story City. They will stay in Huxley until their next adventure begins.