Although it might defy logic, whirlwind romances always make for the best plot lines. Shannon Mulligan, 23, and Jim Varagona, 26, both from St. Louis, wrote their own.
After meeting through a mutual friend, the couple knew that something was looming between them. “I was really attracted to his personality at first,” Shannon says of Jim. The two quickly began dating and got to know each other better. Soon after, they were comfortable hugging the couch and watching playoff hockey at Jim’s house. But, both knew that they wanted to share more together.
Only two weeks after they began dating, Jim and Shannon exchanged those three magic words with each other. “I didn’t mean for it to come out but it did,” says Shannon. Jim agrees. “It was pretty soon. But, we felt it pretty soon. We got each other,” he says.
The two then began to spend more time with each other and Jim worked on creating the perfect proposal for Shannon. He arranged 10 plans, altering each one when he felt Shannon might be catching on. “It had to be a complete surprise,” he says.
On the day of Jim’s college graduation, the plan finally came together. In a surprise moment, Jim serenaded Shannon to his own version of “That’s Amore” with a friend accompanying him on accordion. Shannon accepted and got another surprise when a curtain was lifted and revealed her whole family standing there clapping and congratulating the happy couple.
On May 21, 2006, under the threat of an overcast sky, the two exchanged vows in the Jewel Box in Forest Park. The bridesmaids stood in coral cocktail dresses that gleamed against the gray outside. Shannon wore an elegant strapless white gown and walked down the aisle with her mother, a memory that Jim will never forget. “It’s one of those slowed-down moments that you remember. That’s what the whole day is about,” says Jim.
At Andre’s in South County, the newlyweds gathered with their friends and family to celebrate. “Five minutes after we got into the reception hall, it started raining away so it was perfect timing,” says Shannon. The two shared their first dance to “I Cross My Heart” by George Strait.
After a honeymoon trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C., Jim and Shannon are settling into married life. Jim maintains that the key to a successful relationship is compromise. “It’s all about having fun and trying to understand the other person,” he says. Shannon reminds future couples getting married to keep their eye on the prize. “It’s your wedding day and it’s about marrying the person that you love. It sounds cliché, but it’s true,” she says. The couple is looking forward to buying a house in the fall and starting a family soon.
