Enter Our Love Story Contest to Win $1,000

Title image for a love story contest page.

UPDATE

This just in — Cupid’s arrows have landed and we have found the most romantic love story! Congratulations to Sara Nicol, wife of an amazing husband and winner of $1,000! We’re still gushing over how sweet her love story is, and you can read it for yourself below.

Winning Love Story – Sara Nicol

I’d like to share the story of how my husband and I went from being two kids on the high school cross country team to being husband and wife, all thanks to a special wish: “Wish #16.” My husband and I met through cross country nine years ago. We were friends for over a year before gradually falling for one another. A few days before his 16th birthday I made my move by making a birthday card with a list of 16 “gifts.” Some were physical items, some were merely references to inside jokes. The 16th item was “Wish 16 – Any wish you want, but it expires 6/15/2024.” I chose this date because I had always wanted to be married by 2024 (age 28) and loved summer weddings. I could only dream of being married to him someday!

Three days later, we started dating, and for the next seven years, our love grew and grew. We went to college and grad school, experienced life’s ups and downs with ER visits and losing close loved ones, spent as much time as possible outdoors, ran countless miles, traveled to Ireland, moved in together, and got a cat. At the core of our relationship are love, laughter, and a partnership.

Fast forward to January 2021, when my high school sweetheart proposed during a hike. Next to a beautiful overlook, he expressed his wish to spend forever with me. When he opened the ring box, there lay a sticky note on top of the ring that said “#16.” Marrying me was his wish #16. We got married this past July and are excited to share life’s journey with each other as best friends and partners for life. I will love him forever and always!

Runners-up

We’re just a bunch of softies at Shane Co., so we couldn’t bear to share just one love story after receiving so many moving and charming submissions. Therefore, we present to you the four runners-up to round out our picks for the top five love stories we read! These next four participants may not be walking away with any cash, but according to their stories, they have something much, much more valuable — true love.

#2: Brian Stuhlman

It started with innocent texts written from my summer trip in Africa. I had my first cell phone, and hers was my most contacted number. I returned from the trip and we enjoyed a long afternoon picnicking on an island with a bottle of wine I brought from France. A party celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving ended with a shared taxi ride; as I tumbled out of the back seat, she leaned over and gave me a kiss. I knew then.

I told her that I loved her about two weeks later while watching a movie. She agreed last-minute to come with a group of friends on a trip to Egypt (from where we were living in Ukraine), not quite two weeks after that movie message. I didn’t have a single clue…nor a ring…but I walked with her out onto the hotel’s dock where there was a gazebo. It was midnight on Halloween and a full moon shone above, creating a path of light on the Red Sea. I asked her to dance in the gazebo, and though normally shy, she agreed. I held her as we swayed, sang a song or two from the movie we had seen together, and we just let the sound of the waves help us keep time. When I finished my song, I whispered through trembling lips that I had a question. And without another thought, I dropped to one knee and asked her to marry me. She agreed, and the rest is history!

PS…she did eventually get her engagement ring. I rigged a Secret Santa so that I got her name, and gave her truly horrible gifts the entire week. At the staff Christmas party, she got her ring, and we got to announce to our closest teacher friends that we were engaged!

#3: Mark Kraus

We met in a teaching lab where we were both teaching assistants in biology. During a lull in lab activity, we began to chat a little bit. We found that we had a mutual interest in nature, and in particular, bird watching. At some point, she asked me if I was familiar with a bird field guide that had been recently published. When I responded that I was familiar with the book, she asked what I thought of it. I told her that I thought it was one of the worst guides available. After a short uncomfortable silence, she told me that her father had written that book! I guess I charmed my way out of that situation somehow. We have known each other for 42 years and have been married for 39!

#4: Veronica Thomas

My husband was a knight in shining armor who stepped out of a dream to reach for my hand to join him on this journey of LOVE. And that I did, over 30 years ago, without ever looking back.

I met him while running around the lake at lunchtime which was my daily routine during the workweek. After waving hello for a couple of months, one day he approached me with a bouquet of flowers. Little did I know that he made several attempts to give me flowers but I was absent for a couple of days having dental work done. His co-workers teased him each time he returned to the office with the flowers. He swallowed his pride and decided to give it one more try. He lucked out on the third try and gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers and asked, “Can you run with these?” I responded, “I can certainly try.” We have been together and inseparable ever since.

#5: Richard Militello

The love of my life, my wife of 34 years (and counting!), and I met in the small hospital we both were working in. Although we worked in different departments (she is a nurse and I am an X-ray tech), because we worked the night shift, we had occasions to meet very frequently.

We both had been dating other people, and had both been dumped by them! We sat down to eat our dinner in the cafeteria one night and started talking about it to each other, becoming more friendly as each night passed. After about five months of becoming friends, our co-workers kept saying how cute a couple we were. We both vehemently denied any romantic involvement, saying we’re “just friends.”

One night, mid-shift, she became very ill with a bad flu. I informed the nursing supervisor, who said she could leave. She was too sick to drive so I made her lie down on the X-ray waiting room sofa (no visitors came up at night), got her soup from the cafeteria and Tylenol from the gift shop, and covered her with blankets. In the morning, I drove her home and tucked her in. One week later, we were having dinner together, and she told me that she couldn’t imagine being with anyone else for the rest of her life, and she asked me to marry her! Naturally, I said yes, and on our wedding day, our co-workers surprised us with a wedding cake that had the words “JUST FRIENDS!” written in gold on it!

SUMMARY

It’s true — we get spaghetti legs at the mere thought of a beautiful love story. We live vicariously through your poetic professions of love, real-life meet-cutes, and bewitching tales of two destinies intertwined. That’s why Shane Co. is thrilled to announce the launch of our Tell Us Your Love Story Contest. As a participant, you can wax poetic about how you met your better half or the moment you fell head over heels in love with “the one.”

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

We’re looking for your most enchanting, hilarious, or downright romantic anecdote from your relationship. Couples new and old can enter, so put your budding love on display in iambic pentameter or belt out news of your 50th anniversary from the mountaintops. Ham it up, get cheesy, make us cry. Whether you go for crocodile tears or gut-busting laughter is up to you. As long as it makes us coo and swoon, it’s welcome here.

Requirements:

Keep it PG-13. Graphic content will not be tolerated
The length must be between 100 and 300 words
Applicants must be 18 years or older and a U.S. citizen or permanent resident to apply

Disregarding any of these requirements is grounds for immediate disqualification.

HOW TO ENTER

To enter the contest, contestants MUST FOLLOW FILL OUT THE FORM BELOW, where you’ll be asked to write your prose. The form also requests your name and email address, so that we can notify the winner once one has been selected.

Any contestants who do not complete the entry form by following the below link will not have an official entry into the contest.

The deadline for contest entries is Friday, November 5, 2021. Contestants will need to submit their love stories via the below link by that date in order to be considered. After this date, no further entries to the contest will be permitted.

WHAT YOU’LL GET

The winner will be announced on Friday, November 19, 2021, and will receive a $1,000 payment.

CONTEST TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The rules of the competition and the prize for the winner are as follows:

The promoter of this competition is Shane Company whose principal office is located at 9790 E Arapahoe Rd, Greenwood Village, CO, 80112.
Employees of Shane Company or their family members or anyone else connected in any way with the competition or helping to set up the competition shall not be permitted to enter the competition.
Persons must be at least 18 years old, or otherwise have reached the age of majority under the laws of the state where they reside, in order to participate.
Only residents of the United States are eligible to participate.
VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
There is NO ENTRY FEE AND NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER THIS COMPETITION. Any purchase or consideration otherwise given by entrants will not improve one’s chances of winning.
The route to entry for the competition and details of how to enter are available via www.shaneco.com. Individuals may enter to win by clicking on the participation link on Shane Company’s website. Upon clicking the participation link, entrants will be asked to provide their name and contact information so that Shane Company can notify the winner of the results.
The closing date for entry will be November 5, 2021. After this date, no further entries to the competition will be permitted.
Only one winner will be selected from the entire pool of eligible entries. The selection process will be at the discretion of Shane Company. The winner will be required to complete certain tasks designated by Shane Company. If the winner does not follow through with the tasks required of them, they will not receive the prize of $1,000.
The winner will be notified by email and/or letter within 15 business days of the closing date. If the winner cannot be contacted or does not claim the prize within 2 days of notification, we reserve the right to withdraw the prize from the winner and pick a replacement winner.
Shane Company will notify the winner when and where the prize can be collected.
The winner agrees to the use of his/her name, image, and video in any publicity material. Any personal data relating to the winner or any other entrants will be used solely in accordance with current federal and state data protection legislation and will not be disclosed to a third party without the entrant’s prior consent.
The winner’s name will be available 28 days after the closing date by sending a stamped addressed envelope to the following address: