Jocelyn + Caleb’s Spruce Mountain Ranch Wedding | Larkspur Colorado Wedding Photographer

Jun 23, 2017

Jocelyn + Caleb were married at Spruce Mountain Ranch in a Christian ceremony officiated by Caleb’s minister and father. Every step of the way, they expressed their gratitude to God for bringing them together and giving them the gift of each other. As Caleb read his wedding vows, one line stood out to me. He said, from this point forward, he would use her to define the word beautiful. Even when they were old and wrinkled, she would be the meaning of beautiful for him. They talked about sacrifice, commitment, and putting each other first above all others–making each other their number one priority. Then, towards the end of their ceremony, they braided a robe to remind themselves that this marriage was a promise between the two of them and God. All in all, it was a beautiful day!I asked Jocelyn to tell me a little bit about Caleb, and here’s what she had to say:

“We actually met at a young adults group at our church.”

“We talked at a coffee shop after our young adults group was done meeting. We stayed after everyone had left. Both of us liked each other but were trying to play it cool, so it was a trick sitting down at a table together and pretending that it just happened by accident. We talked until the coffee shop closed and then stood outside for a little while. Other sneaky “getting to know you” non-dates include him teaching me how to longboard in a parking lot (so that he could hold my hand), bouldering at redrocks (again, because holding hands) and chips and drinks at chipotle (mostly because we were a little broke).”

I asked Jocelyn to share her memory of her favorite date, and she said:

“Wow! There are so many that stand out! I think one of my favorites happened pretty early on. Caleb used to have a side job of fixing those penny machines that are at all the national parks and such, so he could get in places for free when he was fixing their machines. One time, he had to fix a penny machine at the Great Sand Dunes and he took me along with him. We got A&W cream soda on the way up, and spent a ton of time wading in the water around the bottom of the dunes. We tried hiking a little, but I wimped out pretty early on. On the way back, we went to Cracker Barrel and ate BLT’s. Maybe not too fancy, but that was a special day.”

She says the most attractive thing about Caleb is, “His greek god-like chin and hair… Just kidding! While Caleb’s Tarzan-esque looks are super handsome, I think the most attractive thing about him is his authenticity and intentionality. Caleb is one of the most genuine people I know. He loves so well and is willing to sacrifice anything for the people he loves. That is freaking hot. It’s the most attractive thing about Caleb to me– which is saying a lot because I mean look at that majestic curly mane of his!”

When he proposed, “Caleb was so sweet and surprised me with a whole day filled with things that are really special and sentimental to the both of us. He took me to breakfast, and a lot the places where we had significant things happen in our relationship. Then he took me to the mountains and surprised me with sushi in a cabin that he had decked out in rose petals and Christmas lights. We danced a little bit, then he took me to a frozen-over lake and proposed to me there.

Caleb is always so sweet to surprise me with special dates, but let’s just say by the time he took me to the lake, I knew. ;)”

I asked her to share her favorite memory together:

“Oh my gosh, there are so many! Caleb and I are all about just doing life together, so a lot of my favorite memories are of us just goofing off or sharing our hearts late at night. Late nights drinking maté, that time we danced under the fireworks in Missouri, the times looking at the stars and talking at garden of the gods…just a lot of little things, but they are all so special to me.” “Caleb knows I love surprises, so he tries to surprise me somewhat frequently. On Valentine’s Day, I thought I had to work, but Caleb had called my workplace and gotten me the day off! He was standing in the parking lot with balloons and flowers when I got there. Then he took me to eat Mediterranean food and we went and saw Lego Batman! What a guy!” “Whenever we’re driving somewhere and I forget to turn on music, Caleb will start making his own. Sometimes it’s humming, sometimes beatboxing, sometimes a full on song. It usually takes him 1-2 minutes before he realizes he’s doing it. I love it.” “He’s always on the lookout for little things he can do to help me out or make my day awesome. He pays attention to me to find out what I like and is intentional to spoil me with those things later on.”Caleb pretty much goes barefoot all the time, and his wedding day was no exception. In fact, the bride and the entire bridal party went without shoes in his honor. Good thing Spruce Mountain Ranch has so much grass! I actually heard no complaining about uncomfortable feet at this wedding. They might be onto something here!

“I respect so much about Caleb. Not just things he does, but so much of who he is and the way he lives his life. Caleb is someone who has a strength and consistency of character that is really rare to find. I respect his relationship with God and the way that he lets that define everything about his life. When Caleb commits to something, he really means it. His love is unconditional and real to the point where he is willing to encourage people with real things that he sees in them, as well as call them out on things he sees them doing that may hurt them later. He is always willing to make sacrifices for what he believes in and the people he loves. His faithfulness and genuineness makes him the best type of friend. I am so honored and blessed that I get to be is best friend!”

“Literally my biggest impression of him before we started getting to know each other was that he was just a legitimately cool person. I thought everything about him was cool, but of course I wasn’t going to tell him that!”

Jocelyn says she’s excited to marry Caleb because, “There are so many reasons, it’s hard to narrow down! Honestly, the idea of not having to say goodbye at night has to be one of the highest on my list.”

Jocelyn says she’s the lucky one in this relationship because “Caleb is seriously so loving! Even on my hard days, his love for me doesn’t change. Just watching the example he sets makes me want to be a better person.”

I asked Caleb to tell me a little bit about Jocelyn, and here’s what he had to say:

The first time her met her, “It was at a coffee shop. I remember thinking that she was the coolest and most beautiful girl I had seen… I had no idea.”

“I remember she told me that she played the harp, and thinking that, that was definitely the sexiest instrument a girl could play. Then, we started talking about deeper things, about our hearts for people, and the calling God had put on our lives individually. We stayed at the coffee shop we were at until they closed, and kicked us out; then we stood outside for another hour or so.”

“Our first date.. I guess technically our first date was at Chipotle (because I had a gift card).. but our real, not real, first date was at red rocks. We went on a hike, and I held her hand as I ‘helped her up rocks’.”

“The day that I asked her to marry me, I took her to a lot of different places, and that was probably my favorite. My favorite part of that date was: I took her on what she thought was a hike, and we “stumbled” on a cabin up in the woods that had lunch, and wine, and candles, and rose peddles, and we ate lunch and danced in that cabin.. That was my favorite.”

The most beautiful thing about Jocelyn is “Without question it is her heart for God’s will, her heart and incredible love for me and everybody. The way she can easily make anybody feel accepted and loved. So I guess in short.. her love.”

“I don’t know if this is my very favorite [memory], but it’s definitely up there.— The first time we kissed. We were at Garden of the Gods park, sitting in the back of my junky truck talking and looking at the stars, and God’s crazy beautiful creation. We had just said we loved each other for the first time, and we kissed. It wasn’t crazy romantic, but it’s a memory I will cherish until I die.”

“Upon graduation of a 9 month program, Jocelyn surprised me by giving me a graduation gift that was the coolest thing ever! She got me a huge broad sword, with my name engraved in it and my class year. It was amazing!!!”

“She does this thing with her eyes. When she laughs, or feels awkward, or really for any reason.. she squints one of them – It’s kind of like a half wink – It’s super cute. And I love it.”

The nicest thing she’s ever done for him is, “Continued to love me even though I am an idiot, even through super hard times, even when it would have been way easier to not.. Might not have been the average answer, but that is by far the nicest thing she has ever done for me.”

“I really admire her perseverance; she has been through a lot of stuff, and we have been through a lot of stuff together. Jocelyn and I are definitely not perfect, but one thing that is always consistent about Jocelyn’s personality is that she will persevere. She will keep fighting for what she wants. It is a really awesome blessing to be one of the things she wants.”

“I knew she was THE ONE one morning as I was spending some time with God praying about what He wanted for my future, and asking Him what the heck was happening with this girl that I freaking loved… after that, He began to make it clear that she was the woman I was going to end up with.”

“I am excited to see where God leads us as a couple, I am so excited to get to know her even more than I do now. I am excited because she helps me be a better versions of myself. I am excited because I know two is better than one, and God has awesome plans for us, and I can’t wait to see what they are.”

I asked Caleb to tell me one reason that he’s the lucky one in this relationship, and he said:

“Only one?!? I could list a thousand. To completely ignore the fact that she is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN ON THIS PLANET, the fact that she is way smarter than I am, the fact that she could literally have any guy ever…. to ignore all of that, I would say, the one reason that I’m the lucky one is because I get to be the one receiving her love, receiving her attention, I get to be the one who gets to know her heart more than anybody else… I can’t imagine anything better.”