An officer and a gentleman

Capt. Shaw Kreiger, USAF and Earlene (Titus) Kreiger, Weatherly

Our love story began in 2007. My now husband, Shaw Kreiger, and I started dating and fell in love. In October of that year Shaw began his USAF career at Officer Training School-Maxwell AFB, Alabama. At the same time I continued studying elementary and special education at Lock Haven University.

Spending long periods of time apart, we decided to start a new tradition. During the Christmas season we would make it a point to go away together.

We decided to travel to Lake Seneca, N.Y. There we would enjoy the scenery, relaxation and wine tasting. Our favorite winery was Torrey Ridge.

On our December 2008 visit, we stopped in to sample some of our favorite wine. The woman serving us asked if we could wait as she had to quickly open a new bottle. She got out a new bottle, placed it on the counter, and smiled at me.

At first I wasn't sure what was going on. Then I noticed the label. "To the one I love and want to spend the rest of my life with. Will you marry me?" I turned to Shaw and he was down on one knee holding up a ring. It was magical! Of course I said YES! Shaw had been secretly planning this huge surprise for months. He knew exactly what wine I would select to taste and coordinated with the winery to have a custom label made for the proposal. He also worked one-on-one with a jeweler to design a ring to resemble the one of my dreams.

Knowing I loved my grandmother's engagement ring, and armed with a picture and description of it from my mom, he had one made to resemble the ring that my grandfather had given her almost 50 years prior. It was beautiful and one of a kind just like us!

We married in July 2012 and are traveling where the Air Force takes us.