Wedding Date on Sep 22, 2018

Jodie and Ryan's love story is one characterized by fate, adventure, and vulnerability. It begins with Tinder. After being matched on the dating website in 2014, Jodie and Ryan chatted online a little, but then started dating other people and deleted their accounts. One year later and both single, they each hopped back onto Tinder. A week later they were matched again. Not wanting to lose this second chance, Ryan quickly asked for Jodie's number so they could meet. Upon seeing the familiar area code, he asked her where she was from, and they soon realized they had lived about 15 minutes from each other their entire lives in a small town in Missouri. Since they both now lived in Denver, this seemed like fate! They met up for drinks for their first date, and on their second date, Jodie opened up to Ryan about her tough past and about losing her parents much too early in life. After she finished telling him, Ryan responded by asking her the question, "Do you think your past made you who you are today?" She replied with a "Yes", to which Ryan added, "Well I really like who you are". Swoon. With an answer like that, it's no wonder they were engaged a few years later. When Jodie and I first spoke on the phone about wedding videography, she told me about her and Ryan's unique vision for their Colorado wedding. Not only did they want an intimate, non-traditional vibe, but she wanted to honor and remember her parents throughout the day. One way she planned to do that was by writing them a letter and then having all the guests read it at the ceremony. I asked her if she had any home movies of her parents because I'd love to incorporate them into the video. She tearfully and excitedly replied that yes, she did have videos of her parents and that she loved the idea of including them! For their final video, I included footage of Jodie's parents as well as her reading the letter she wrote to them the morning of her wedding. I also included footage that Ryan had taken of him and Jodie around the time he proposed to her. The final film is something I've always dreamed of creating. It's a very human story filled with love, loss, and hope - things that we can all relate to because they make up what it means to be alive. It's raw and authentic - all thanks to Jodie and Ryan's vulnerability and trusting me with their story. Creating this film inspired me to love my family and friends a little harder and to never assume I'll get a tomorrow. I hope it does the same for you after you watch it. ​Thank you Jodie and Ryan for sharing your story with all of us. I feel so honored to have gotten to know you both. I feel like I know Jodie's parents now as well, and I'm a better person because of that.