It was what both of them thought would be an ordinary Sunday afternoon. Jazmin and Devin met on April 30, 2017 and had no idea the rest of their lives would be changed forever. Devin is from Indiana and graduated from Indiana University in 2015. His first job out of college was in Madison, Wisconsin and he moved there the summer of 2015 where he gained some lifelong friends (groomsmen: Chris, Mike, and Ross) from the company they all worked at. Two of his other close friends from childhood, high school, and college (best man: Matt and groomsman: Seth) had moved to Denver, Colorado and Devin planned a trip to go visit the two of them in 2017. Devin was only visiting for a weekend and Sunday was the last full day he would be there. The guys decided to go to Viewhouse, a bar in downtown Denver, to get brunch and watch some hockey. Jazmin was downtown with her friend Abby (maid of honor) getting brunch as well but they were at a different restaurant, Snooze in Union Station. Afterwards, Jazmin convinced Abby to go stroll around and find something fun to do. They walked over to Viewhouse. They decided to go up to the rooftop and ended up sitting at a table next to a group of guys who seemed to be having a good time. Next thing you know, the tables had merged and everyone was hanging out together. Jazmin and Devin hit it off…but Devin flew back to Wisconsin the next day.

I remember the first moment I looked over and saw Devin. His blue eyes are hard to miss but it was really his calm and gentle demeanor that caught my attention. After Devin flew back home the day after we met, I had no expectation that we would keep in touch. I mean, he lived all the way in Madison, Wisconsin - what would be the point? But somehow, we just never stopped talking. There wasn't a single day that went by that we didn't talk to each other. Then, a few weeks after we met, he asked "would it be weird if I came back to Denver to visit?" I was like "no, not weird at all!" because I wanted to see him again but I'd be crazy not to think, well wait, is this a bad idea and do I really even know this guy? He came back to Denver at the end of May 2017 and flew in on his 25th birthday! We went out to breakfast in Boulder and continued getting to know each other. Come July, I thought maybe I should go visit him in Madison. Now this is when I really thought maybe I'm the crazy one. It was different when he came to visit me but now I'm considering going to a strange state I've never been to before all by myself to meet up with a dude I've only hung out with twice?! Thinking back on it now, it doesn't really sound like the safest thing to do. I still went. And he turned out to be a normal person and my life wasn't at risk thankfully. (Sorry mom! But my friends at least had my location on their phones in case anything went wrong lol). For a long 2 and a half years, Devin and I flew back and forth visiting each other and dating long distance. It was hard but only in the way that your heart aches and you just genuinely miss being with the person you love. It was never hard when it came to trust, communication, or really anything else. Our relationship became so strong and those 2 1/2 years were the building blocks for the rest of our relationship and now soon to be marriage. In September 2019, Devin moved to Denver. I was ready for him to propose about 6 months after that but he's clear headed and a man of sound judgement. I, on the other hand, am very much driven by my emotions. He did uproot his life and move to Colorado for me so I figured I should try to be as patient as possible. It came close to another 2 1/2 years after he moved to Denver until he proposed. It was the most perfect day I could have asked for and I’m so thankful our paths crossed that Sunday afternoon.

I remember when the girls from the table next to ours decided to join us that afternoon at the rooftop bar in downtown Denver. I remember trying to catch the eye of one of the two girls in particular, but it was a sunny day and she had her sunglasses on so I couldn’t be sure if she was looking my way or not. Thankfully as the afternoon wore on we were able to strike up a conversation and exchanged numbers, even though I didn’t live in town and was heading home the next day. The next morning on the way to the airport I thought maybe I would text her and extend the conversation. It was casual at first, since at the time I didn’t know when, if ever, I would be in Colorado again. But as the days went by, the text messages and conversations continued, and eventually turned into phone calls as well. I could tell early on that these conversations were different than others. Jazmin was easier to talk to than anyone I had ever met and it seemed like we had so much in common. My birthday was only a few weeks later and it wasn’t hard to decide how I wanted to celebrate - I wanted to go to Colorado again. On my second trip to Denver Jazmin and I continued to get to know each other and even though it was still early, I could feel something real and special when we were together. She showed me around the town of Boulder, which holds a special place in her heart, and little did we know…our relationship had begun to form. It was a long distance relationship at first. It was a few months later when Jazmin made her first trip to visit me in Wisconsin, and I was so excited when she did. I remember telling my mom that a girl I had met in Denver was coming to visit me for a weekend, and I think it was obvious how important this particular girl was to me already. That visit only strengthened my feelings for Jazmin and we continued dating and traveling to visit each other for many, many months. We traveled to each other’s cities and cities in between. We learned each other’s favorite foods and favorite music. We experienced each other’s lives over the phone and cherished the weekends or holidays when we could be together. I looked forward to every “next trip” to Colorado and hated every ride to the airport on the way home. As the trips became more and more frequent it was more and more evident that Jazmin and I had crossed paths for a reason and it was simply meant to be. Our relationship grew and progressed to a point where despite my comfortable job and great friends in Wisconsin I knew I had to make a move. I quit my job, found a new job in Denver, packed my apartment, and moved to the Rocky Mountain state. I knew long before moving to Colorado that Jazmin was my person, but spent some time settling into my new job and new city. We eventually moved into our own place together and after another year, it was time to, as they say…put a ring on it. My parents were in town a few months after that and I took Jazmin to the mountains under the pretense of showing them the sights. It was the perfect chance to ask her the most important question of my life…and thankfully she said Yes!