Evelyn + John Paul | Downtown Mountain Wedding

A nuptial Mass saturated with profound symbolism in the center of Denver, followed by a mountain reception surrounded by the incomparable beauty of God’s creation.

Evelyn and John Paul wanted every detail of their Colorado wedding day to draw them more deeply into the truth and reality of the marriage covenant.

Each of their selections, from colors to flowers, was made with intentionality. 

In their wedding program they shared the meaning of each symbol with their wedding guests, providing an authentic witness to the nature and beauty of the sacrament of holy matrimony. 

From the Bride and Groom:

Like every other Catholic sacrament, weddings serve to make visible an invisible reality. In the sacrament of marriage, the invisible covenantal union of the couple is made visible though observable actions and signs. 

Thus, every detail of our wedding day was planned with intentionality to reflect this reality. 

First, the Church. We wanted to get married in a place that reflected the beauty and grandeur of the sacrament of marriage. 

Next, the wedding attire. John Paul and our bridal party were dressed in black, whereas Evelyn and the priest were dressed in white. 

The black reminds us that marriage is a death to self, while white—the color of Easter time—speaks of the resurrection of our new life together as one. 

The flowers Evelyn carried were white roses and white lilies. These are the flowers associated with Mary (who is often called the Mystical Rose) and St. Joseph. We hope to model our new family after the Holy Family. 

Among the white flowers were lots of greenery. Green is the liturgical color for ordinary time. Although on our wedding day we feasted, most of our married days will be very ordinary, and the green reminds us that even in those times we still remain faithful to Christ. 

On the altar we were surrounded by six bridesmaids and six groomsmen. Together they equal 12, the same number as the tribes of Israel, the apostles, and the number of diamonds in Evelyn’s engagement ring. 

The number 12 in scripture symbolizes a covenant, just like the covenant we entered into on our wedding day. 

Our wedding bands of gold called to mind the gold the Magi brought to Christ and reminded us that we too are a precious gift to Christ. 

After our nuptial Mass, we went into the mountains, just like Christ did so often when He wanted to hear the voice of the Father. The beauty of creation draws the mind and heart to God, and we think that nowhere is that more evident than in the beauty of the mountains. 

Above all, each detail of our wedding day—from the Church, to the music played, to the centerpieces at the reception—was chosen specifically to reflect the beauty and majesty, permeance and fruitfulness, faithfulness and totality of the gift of holy matrimony.

From the Photographer:

Evelyn and John Paul were united in a gorgeous, reverent nuptial Mass with transcendent music. The couple included the Hispanic tradition of the exchange of arras. 

They prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary after their vows and had a grand send-off with all their guests upon exiting the church.

As a photographer, I experience a lot of different weddings throughout the year. This was one of the most beautiful Catholic weddings I have ever seen. 

Evelyn and John Paul were incredibly intentional with every aspect of their wedding, from the flowers to the music to the fabric of their clothes. 

You could tell that they had really prepared their minds, hearts, and souls to join together as one under Christ. It was a gift to work with them to capture their wedding day.

Photography: Madeira Creative Photography | Nuptial Mass Location: Holy Ghost Catholic Church, Denver, CO | Reception Venue & Catering: Mount Vernon Country Club, Golden, CO | Floral Design: Mae Flowers | Videography: Andrew Nease Video | Bridal Boutique: Dani West Bridal | Groom & Groomsmen Attire: Jos. A. Bank | DJ: Mobile Beatz of Colorado

Michelle + Eric | “Love in the Time of Corona”

Simplicity and intention for an intimate Colorado celebration during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At exactly 1:00 AM on the Feast of the Epiphany, God woke Eric up.

“It’s not unusual for me to wake up briefly in the middle of the night,” he says. But usually he could fall right back to sleep. “This night was different.” After some time tossing and turning, Eric typed Catholic Match into his phone. 

Years earlier, he’d made the decision to quit online dating, yet he followed the prompting of the heart he was experiencing, and made a profile. Michelle appeared in his results, and he says, “I knew right then and there that she was the girl I was there to see.” A shooting star, seen as he was taking out the trash, caught Eric’s attention several days later.

Like for the Magi at Epiphany, the star brought the conviction that everything was about to change.

Michelle and Eric began dating soon after, and were engaged on the sandstone cliffs of Lory State Park in Fort Collins, Colorado. Michelle’s engagement ring, crafted by a Catholic jeweler, features the cross on one side, representing the sacrifice, suffering, and faith of married life, and the Tree of Life on the other, signifying growth, joy, and family.

They made plans, and then the COVID-19 pandemic began. Through prayer, Michelle and Eric decided to move up their wedding date and hold a small, intimate ceremony and reception.

From the Couple:

Once it was clear [most of our guests] wouldn't be coming--whether because of personal choice, the government's choice, or the Church's choice--we had no reason to wait! We were pumped to push our wedding up.

Planning a wedding in four days is the most incredible excuse not to sweat the small stuff and go into it for the right reasons. We were there to marry each other. In front of God. If everything else went up in smoke, that was fine. 

We were fully expecting all kinds of blunders. It was about the sacrament. And thanks to our amazing wedding planner, Emma Dolan, the only hiccups we had were getting a few lines out of order during the prayers of the faithful and a Facebook live stream that wasn't oriented properly.

It was a wedding like no other--on a Sunday in Lent, no less--and we feel incredibly blessed. We're so grateful to all the friends who made big sacrifices to help pull it together. It couldn't have felt more Catholic: if we’d already been living together or chosen not to have a sacramental wedding, the sense of urgency and gravity would’ve probably felt very different. 

We still plan on having a Mass with a special blessing and a reception at some point in the future. Our hearts go out to our vendors, in particular, and we don't want to abandon them.

For other couples holding “pandemic weddings,” these tips helped us:

Enjoy every moment.

Don't let pride get in the way! Ask for help when pivoting. Especially in these times, your few friends and family who can attend will be honored to lend a hand.

Keep a steward mentality and remember that God doesn't owe us anything, especially a big, picturesque ceremony and reception. He's already given you your future spouse's love! The rest can't compare.

Live streaming is awesome. We had tons of people tune in, including many whom we couldn't initially invites. Make sure to put your phone in landscape mode with Facebook Live!

Never panic. Never! There's never a good excuse. Healthy concern is fine, but fear is the root of all sin and is always from Satan. It also robs us of our reasoning at the moments we need it most.

We're not sure it's even possible to have a wedding with all the current restrictions, but as soon as the shelter in place orders are lifted and it's clear that hospitals are no longer overrun, we suggest going for it if it can be done safely.

Nothing is certain, but we can do our homework, pray, and do our best. Make it about the sacrament. You don't need to wait for a large audience.

From the Photographer:

I got a text from Eric that said, "So, what are you doing in four days? It looks like we are going to have to bump up the wedding."

I have always been told that my grandparents did things simply. They gathered for a simple wedding at their church, came back to the house, had cake and punch, and told good stories with their closest friends. Their priority was investing in their home and future, rather than throwing an extravagant party.

I have always wondered what it would be like to be a part of such a gathering. Little did I know that this global pandemic would afford me the ability. 

The mood of the day was hopeful even amidst great uncertainty in the world. There was a resounding joy that seemed to elevate every moment. 

Sure, they just had to effectively reduce a 200+ person wedding to just immediate family and a few good friends. 

Sure, they had their church and venue cancel on them and tell them there was nothing they could do. 

Sure, some of their closest friends could not make it.

But they had Christ and each other. And that was enough.

I always tell my couples I like to capture the day with their grandchildren in mind. Well, I'd wager that Michelle and Eric’s grandchildren will have more than a few stories to tell about this day. 

That's the good stuff.

Photography: Joshua Paul Photography | Church: Saint John XXIII Catholic Church · Fort Collins, Colorado | Wedding Reception Venue : Private residence | Dress: Unknown | Suit: Pre-Owned | Bridesmaids Dresses: Pre-owned or borrowed | Florals: Hobby Lobby & Palmer Flowers | Cake: Donated by local cake shop - @downrightsweettreats | DJ - Grooms Cell Phone, Spotify & A Google Home Max | Catering - Local Mexican Restaurant - Cafe Mex

Angela + Adam | Summertime Colorado Cabin Wedding

Angela and Adam’s Colorado wedding was bathed in prayer that began months before the nuptial Mass. As they planned for their wedding, they kept their main focus on preparing for the day-to-day living of the sacrament that would begin as soon as the celebration ended. This gave birth to a peace and beauty on their wedding day that can only come from Christ.

From the Bride: From the very beginning of our relationship, prayer was at the center. In fact, Adam was so nervous to ask me out on a date that he spent an hour pacing around his apartment, praying the rosary in hope I’d say yes when he called me. (Spoiler alert: I did). 

We always prayed before meals and went to Mass together on Sundays. The first time I told Adam that I loved him was in a church. We committed to a holy hour together every week and met with our mentor couple several times after engagement in preparation for the sacrament we would be living out together. Later, leading up to our wedding, we asked religious orders, family, and friends all across the United States to pray for our special day, and we could feel the grace of their intercession. 

Adam and I were ecstatic when we found out we would have three priests con-celebrate the wedding: Fr. Joe Mclagan, a good friend of Adam’s, Fr. Mark-Mary, a good friend of mine, and Fr. Brendan Rolling, a mutual friend from my time in FOCUS. They had each played a pivotal role in our lives and in our relationship, and it was a blessing to have these young, vibrant priests at the altar as we exchanged our vows. 

When Adam and I picked our wedding date, we didn’t know it was the feast of Saints Louis and Zelie Martin, parents of St. Therese of Lisieux and the first married saints with children to be canonized together. 

This was kindly pointed out to me later over a team dinner at World Youth Day by Sr. Bethany Madonna of the Sisters of Life. After that, we asked daily for their intercession as well as the intercession of St. Faustina. In fact, I had multiple ‘run-ins’ with St. Faustina leading up to our wedding day, including her relic being present for veneration during our marriage retreat. 

With our priests, families, and patron saints all aligned, we were prepared and ready to celebrate the sacrament. All that was left to do was walk down the aisle at St. Thomas More Catholic Church.

Many of our friends and family are fallen-away Catholics or non-practicing Christians. We wanted everyone to feel welcome, included, and uplifted during the nuptial Mass, but more than anything we wanted them to experience the liturgy in its fullest form. 

The music was performed beautifully by our friends; the piano, violins, and guitars made for a serene and reverent atmosphere. There was a profound sense of calm and peace during the ceremony, and the Mass proceeded without a hitch. Fr. Mark-Mary gave a moving homily, Fr. Joe read for the consecration, and Fr. Brendan looked so stylish with his goatee! Later on we had more people compliment the liturgy than the reception, which is exactly what we wanted.

The moment Adam and I hold most dear from our wedding day was our “first look.” It happened before the ceremony in the adoration chapel behind the church. Adam was praying in front of the monstrance before I arrived ten minutes later. When we saw each other for the first time, so many emotions flooded out of us: happiness, joy, relief, and a spirit of peace that we were beginning our lives together in the best way we knew how, in front of and with Christ. We knelt down and prayed together for a few moments, asking the Lord to be with us on that day and the rest of our days together. 

People will tell you “the day goes by so fast,” and it does. In the blink of an eye the wedding celebration begins, and then it’s over. All the toasts were funny and heartfelt, and the tacos were all-you-could-eat, but nothing moved us like those first moments in the chapel, the first moments of the rest of our lives.

Photography: Sam Regula | Church: St Thomas More Catholic Church, Centennial, Co | Reception: The Inn at Hudson Gardens | Videographer: Justin Ruiz Media | MUA & Hair: Kacie McIntosh | Flowers: Christy Joy McPherson Caterer: Y. Lo Epicure | Cake: Three Daughters Cakes

Amy + Jake | Midwinter Mountain Wedding

Amy says she would have laughed out loud if, back in middle school, she’d been told she would marry the shy young man who asked her to dance at their school’s cotillion. But providence delights in revealing to us the most wonderful surprises.

Amy and Jake became fast friends in high school when they found themselves on the same speech and debate team, making each other laugh and offering support through breakups and debate competitions. The next thing they knew, they were dating.

The two attended the same college and same semester abroad in Rome, where their faith and relationship deepened. It was in the Eternal City that the realization hit: their vocation was marriage, to each other.

During Amy’s summer job in Alaska, Jake flew out to visit and brought her to a mountain lake. In true Harry Potter fan style, he presented Amy with a golden Snitch, saying, “since you’re such a catch, will you marry me?”

 From the Bride: The beginning of our engagement was indescribably precious. At the time, I was living with a priest and his wife--they were former Methodists who’d converted to the Catholic faith after marriage. Immediately after Jake proposed, we received a blessing from the priest and were able to worship in the perpetual Adoration chapel at his parish. Throughout our engagement, we prepared through a weekly holy hour and guidance from our college chaplain, who would marry us. We celebrated Valentine’s Day with an Engaged Encounter retreat. Although our 18-month engagement often felt endless, it allowed us to prayerfully prepare every moment of our wedding day.

 When planning the wedding, we knew certain trends related to vendors, timing, and dress weren’t entirely our style. We opted for a morning wedding with a brunch reception in the parish hall, with a wall of windows letting in the daylight. We were married in the same church my parents had met and married at, and which Jake’s grandparents had attended throughout their lives in Colorado Springs. We chose bright colors and shorter bridesmaids dresses, despite the midwinter date.

I knew I would cry throughout the day, but I didn’t realize just how much! It all started when Jake and I met to pray together before the Mass. As I held his hand, behind his back so he couldn’t see me, we both teared up. Fortunately, I was carrying a handkerchief from his grandmother, who had passed away earlier in the year, as my Something Old. My tears continued as my bridesmaids and sister-in-law prayed over me before the Mass, showering me with their love.

As my dad and I walked down the aisle in the glorious morning sun, the truth of the moment hit me: we were finally entering into our vocation. To do so in the church we’d grown up in felt like home, and each part of our liturgy reflected that. We used chalices that were donated in Jake’s grandparents’ names and had family share their musical gifts throughout the Mass. Nothing was more precious than being surrounded by our loved ones as we made our vows--ones I could barely finish through more happy tears.

Two moments from our wedding Mass stand out in my memory. First, as our priest recited the nuptial blessing over us, he asked each attendee to offer up their intentions for us and ask for any graces they wanted us to receive in marriage. I have never felt the Holy Spirit more powerfully than in that moment of silence.

Second, to honor our Blessed Mother, Jake and I offered her roses as my sister sang the Ave Maria. Choking up with tears from the beauty of the moment, we prayed a Memorare to Mary, asking that she bless our life together.

 Along with tears came wonderful laughter throughout the day. As we signed the marriage license, our wedding party was cordoned in the confessional. One of our groomsmen popped a bottle of champagne to celebrate and spilled nearly the whole bottle on the floor, leading to some wonderful photos of our horrified and cracking up bridesmaids.

For the reception, I’d learned calligraphy for invitations and place cards and handmade them with my sister. We painted wine bottles for centerpieces and printed crossword puzzles for guests to complete. Jake’s cousin created a beautiful wooden cake stand with our initials on it, which now sits at our front door.

After Jake’s dad blessed the food, we greeted our guests at the head of the buffet line. I highly recommend this –nobody skips out on food, and this lets you forego a receiving line! Our brunch included our favorite foods: breakfast burritos, crepes, grilled cheese and cinnamon rolls.

 In lieu of a first dance, we chose to include a scavenger hunt and musical chairs game for the wedding party. They competed to determine whether the Maids of Honor or Best Man would give their toast first. As the Best Man and my sisters alternated singing and sharing memories, I couldn’t help but cry again. My sweet sisters stole the show, and our guests talked about their speech for weeks after.

We emerged from the reception to cheers of joy and a shower of confetti, captured perfectly by our photographer. Since we were leaving early the next morning--New Year’s Day--for our honeymoon, we stayed at the hall to clean up and attend evening Mass. What a blessing it was to spend that first peaceful hour after our guests departed in prayer and thanksgiving for the gift of marriage!

Venerable Fulton Sheen writes, “The vocation to marriage is a vocation to happiness, which comes through holiness and sanctity,” something I think about when I’m asked how married life is. It is both new and familiar in ways I never expected. On one hand, it is a natural continuation of our relationship. Day-to-day chores are the same; our relationship and love for each other are not drastically changed. However, there is an incredible intimacy which wasn’t there before. We continue to grow--spiritually, emotionally and physically--together as we’ve developed habits of prayer, tradition and sacrifice, all reflecting the beauty of our vocation to true happiness that began on our wedding day.

Photography: Lionhearted Photography | Church: St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church, Colorado Springs, CO | Wedding Reception Venue: Julie Penrose Hall, St. Paul Catholic Church, Colorado Springs, CO | Rings: Shane Co. (Bride), Hurdles Jewelry, Boulder, CO (Groom) | Caterer/Cake/Flowers: Bon Appetit Catering | Dress: Leanne Marshall | Shoes: Sseko Designs | Bridesmaids Dresses: Adrianna Papell | Photobooth/Emcee: HEPS DJ and Photobooth