Steph & Joe's June City Wedding at Moss Denver

Steph & Joe

June 1st, 2018

MOSS Denver, Colorado

It was the first day of June; the warm wind still carrying cotton through the air, green saturating Colorado, Steph + Joe’s personalities culminating what the beauty of summer feels like. Friends + family packed into Moss Denver for a late afternoon ceremony as the sun shone golden through the building’s towering industrial windows.

They vowed things like “I am committing the rest of my life to you because you have + continue to make me a better man” + “I pray that we’ll still flirt with each other when we’re 80 + never stop kissing at stoplights” as everyone looked on with throbbing smiles + tears drenching their eyes.

Joe + Steph carry the presence of utter carefreeness–they feel like being barefoot on an eternal beach with no bills to pay, yet dig deeper, and you will find endless thoughtful conversations, wild giftedness, and a fierce love for everyone in their lives. And that is the secret of their intrigue–they both carry a deep investment into life + all it has to offer.

“We’d gone snowboarding once together. I didn’t remember him, but he remembered me,” Steph giggled. “Then, we were at Kat + Bobby’s wedding, and I remember just staring at him. I thought he was very cute. After the ceremony we said hi + talked a little bit.”

“I could tell she was definitely into me, so I went with it + danced with her,” added Joe.

But these two wanderlustful souls had a more spontaneous rendezvous in mind. They were at a venue on the river, so they went down to the water together + jumped in– music playing in the background, stars sparkling, fancy clothes soaking.

Steph smiled, “I just thought it was such a fun one night with someone.”

She waved goodbye + ran off to catch her departing friends.

Joe quickly got Steph’s number through a friend + asked to go on a date. They went out on the 4th of July, but Joe was convinced she wasn’t into it anymore. She was just hesitant, and Joe was the opposite. So he persisted.

The third date welcomed deeper conversation about faith + doubts + both were vulnerable. Steph had thought Joe was fun to be with; but after she saw his depth, she was all in.

Then came their four-week surf trip to California. “We hadn’t even been in a fight yet. So I was like, ‘what if it doesn’t go well or we break up?’ and Joe said, ‘we’ll just turn around’.”

“We had our first fight. And then many other fights. And it was a dreamy trip,” Joe recalled. “That’s where we fell in love. I fell fast + hard; Steph eventually did, too. Since then, we’ve just been living real life. We’ve been learning what it is to be adults but still be kids. Life doesn’t have to look extravagant for it to be extravagant.”

Steph elaborated,“It’s been cool to grow up a little bit together. You see your true darkness in a relationship + the Lord is helping us become better people because we’re with each other. It’s a hard process of sanctification + becoming our best versions.”

“I like that she’s unpredictable. She keeps it pretty interesting. There’s always things she does or says coming out of left field.”

“I like that he has a grounded perspective. His perspective on things is grounded, patient, thought out–he seeks truth. It helps me be rooted.”

So the evening carried these two free spirits + all their people into a whirlwind of the greatest dance party there ever was. And that was just the beginning of their lives as Steph + Joe Shaw.