Me + You

Natural green space, a timeless black and white wedding, and a well thought wedding planned by our very own Lis Simon Bride Ashley — a creative by heart and soul. Ashley and Joe’s modern romance wedding was absolutely breathtaking. It was a day filled with personal choices and loved ones.

T H E L O V E S T O R Y

Ashley and Joe first met in high school back in 2005 in Sioux City, Iowa - it was the classic case of good girl loves bad boy. Dating on and off for a few years they eventually parted ways to pursue their own paths - Joe serving in the Marine Corps for 6 years where he traveled abroad working at various US embassies and Ashley pursuing her degree and beginning her interior design career in Chicago.

For seven years the two would remain in contact, keeping tabs on each other's latest adventures, wishing the occasional Happy Birthday, and sharing song lyrics reminiscent of their previous relationship, but never thought a rekindled romance was in their future. That all changed when they both were back in town for Christmas in 2017. Still sharing a mutual friend [Robbie Maaske - one of Joe's Groomsmen] they all met up at a local watering hole and the rest was history. Ashley joined Joe in California and shortly after, the two moved to Denver where they purchased and renovated their first home together and currently reside.

T H E P R O P O S A L

December 27th, 2020

Ashley and Joe went to Hawaii the month before the proposal, and she was certain that it was going to happen there. “When it didn’t, I wasn’t sure when it would happen, so I was completely caught off guard when Joe proposed to me on HIS birthday”. Their immediate family were all gathered in the living room to watch him open gifts and the last gift he opened ended up being a ring. Right before he started opening gifts, he had told his brother to secretly record it, so knew something was up, but no-one else knew and were just as surprised as Ashley. Similarly to her dress, Ashley didn’t know exactly what she wanted and doesn’t wear a lot of jewelry – Joe designed the ring, and she was blown away with just how perfectly he got it!

T H E D R E S S

“My dress shopping experience was fairly relaxed”

Ashley had over a year to decide, and she didn’t feel pressured to pick something right away, “but it was important to me to have my mom and sister be a part of the experience”. They both live out of state, and when they visited for her sister’s wedding a few months after the engagement, her sister agreed to share the weekend with Ashley dress shopping. They went to three stores and the last, ‘The Little White Dress Shop’ in Denver was where she found her dress. “I didn’t know exactly what I was looking for, but wanted something that felt simple, yet romantic and detailed”. There wasn’t a mirror in the dressing room, so she wasn’t able to see herself in the dress before walking out to show her mom and sister. It was still covid so they were wearing masks and couldn’t get the full reaction, “but when I walked out, my sister gasped, and my mom’s eyes were so big that I knew it was the one!” As soon as she saw herself in it, she could imagine the whole day. She didn’t buy it immediately and spent a few weeks looking at the photo of herself wearing the dress to make sure she still loved it. Ashley took her best friend back to see it in person and both agreed it was perfect – “I went with the Ivory colour way for a slightly softer look and loved the mix of the crepe and lace and the gorgeous train with full buttons down the back.”

T H E W E D D I N G & R E C E P T I O N

June 10th, 2021, at The Oaks Plum Creek 321 Players Club Drive Castle Rock

The reception was indoors “which was a saving grace, because it was a HOT day in June”. The couple chose to have a sweetheart table and did their first dance as they entered the reception space before dinner. The first part of the reception consisted of dinner [a Mexican style buffet], speeches, a champagne toast, and the cutting of the cake. Afterwards, they moved the lounge where everyone danced for hours, enjoyed cocktails at the bar, and took photos at the Photo Booth for the Guest Book. A few minutes before the night ended, they had everyone clear out early and shared a final dance for just the two of them.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM YOUR SPECIAL DAY

Anecdotes from the Bride:

We wrote our own vows to each other, and Joe’s uncle became an officiant so he could marry us.
We both did dances with our mom since my dad has passed, but we found some great ways to incorporate him throughout our day, like a seat in the front row of our ceremony, his photo placed in a charmed wrapped around my bouquet so he could walk me down the aisle and my mom and I danced to an upbeat remix of his favorite song.
There were so many magical moments that day, but I would say my favorite was the first look and out final dance we shared just the two of us, it was so nice to have one last moment to take it all in.

PREPARATIONS AND INSPIRATIONS

Modern Romance – the overall theme.

Ashley is an interior designer by trade, so she approached the design of their wedding similar to how she designs homes. As soon as they got engaged, she started putting together concept boards for the overall vision for their day. “I’ve always loved a timeless black and white wedding, while my husband loves colour”. Like she does daily for her couple clients with conflicting ideas, she got to work on blending their two visions. Their engagement photos took place at the Paint Mines Interpretive Park of Calhan in Colorado, where you’ll experience colourful clay formations below grassy flat lands boasting varying shades of blush, peach, terracotta, white, and green. Coincidently, that colour palette is reflected in the interior of the home they designed together last year, “so when I proposed them to Joe, he was immediately on board”.