Shannon & Kayu in Ann Arbor, MI

It’s a good thing that Kayu wound up staying in college for an extra year. He and fellow Air Force ROTC student Shannon had mutual friends and hung out occasionally before Kayu’s fifth year, but Shannon had always thought he was kind of uptight. Once they started spending more time together during Kayu’s final year, Shannon got to see his softer side. The Bride Shannon Phillips, 25, Air Force missileer The Groom Kayu Ng, 25, Air Force pilot The Date August 17 They dated for a little more than a year before Kayu proposed to Shannon while she was visiting him in Columbus, Mississippi. Kayu had planned to tie the ring box to his dog, Oliver, but the pup wouldn’t cooperate. Still, he got a yes out of Shannon. They had a year-and-a-half-long engagement, during which they planned their wedding long-distance—Shannon from Montana and Kayu from his new base in Texas. They chose to hold their wedding in Michigan because it’s where they met at college.