St. Paul's Lutheran Church

Wedding Day

Wedding

Torrington Elks Lodge #372

Reception

Jack and Jill Party

Justin and I met in October 2013, through mutual friends. We played music together with our friends Jill and David in a worship band we called Reign. We were friends, and by 2015 we were best friends. All throughout 2015, before I went to college, we became better friends and supported each other in every way. I fell in love with him, though I tried to fight it because I was afraid to move five hours away. While I was away at college, Justin remained my best friend, helping ease my transition into college and help me discern which major God was calling me to. When I came home for Christmas break, Justin asked me out on my birthday, Christmas day. Though we were still five hours apart most of the time, we started to make plans for the future. On December 24, 2016, the day before our one-year anniversary, Justin proposed.

How we met (Rachel's version)

On December 24th, 2016, Justin took me out "for an adventure". It was perfect timing for a proposal (which he knew) because we were all dressed up, my nails were done, and we were going to see my entire family afterward for Christmas parties. That morning, we took a drive and Justin took me to the place we first met, our friend David's house. David doesn't live there anymore, so we just creepily drove by and parked on the side of the road, reminiscing. Then he took me to Applebee's, where we had our first date and many, many dates after that. We had some of our favorite appetizers. After that Justin took me to Stillwater Pond, the place where we would often go to play worship music outside. It was at this place that we both first realized that we were falling in love with each other. When we got there, we stayed in the car to listen to one of our favorite worship songs, just taking in the scenery and the memories of Stillwater. When we got out of the car, his friend Desirae was there with her camera set up. Justin told me that part of his anniversary gift to me was a photo shoot, as he knows I love getting our pictures taken. A few minutes into our winter photo session, Justin got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I obviously said yes, and then we had the rest of our photo session, featuring the beautiful new ring. After a while, we left Stillwater to go to my house and share the news with my parents and my brother. Then we travelled around for Christmas eve, seeing my whole family and church family and announcing the good news. It was a perfect day.

How he asked (Rachel's version)

Accommodations

Days Inn Torrington

492 E Main St, Torrington, CT 06790, USA(860) 496-0811This is the lowest price for hotels in the area. It is less than a mile from the reception site. We do not have many out-of-town guests, so we have not reserved hotel room blocks.<a href="https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/days-inn/torrington-connecticut/days-inn-torrington/overview?CID=LC:DI::GGL:RIO:National:03166" target="_blank">Visit Website</a>

Torringford Manor B & B

1440 Torringford St, Torrington, CT 06790, USA(860) 201-5459This Bed and Breakfast has five guest rooms, offering King, Queen, and Twin beds. It is about 3 miles from the reception site.<a href="http://www.torringfordmanorbandb.com/index.html" target="_blank">Visit Website</a>

Our Story

Our Wedding

How We Met

How We Met (Rachel's Story)

Justin and I met in October 2013, through mutual friends. We played music together with our friends Jill and David in a worship band we called Reign. For me, this was a dream come true. That previous summer, I had gone to a camp that changed my life and ignited my passion for Jesus. When I came back, I was longing for opportunities to play worship music and longing for good Christian friends. I found all of that in Jill, David, and Justin. We were friends, and by 2015 Justin and I were best friends. All throughout 2015, before I went to college, we became better friends and supported each other in every way. We love singing worship songs together and finding new bands to cover. I fell in love with him, though I tried to fight it because I was afraid to move five hours away. While I was away at college, Justin remained my best friend, helping ease my transition into college and help me discern which major God was calling me to. When I came home for Christmas break, Justin asked me to be “his girl” on my birthday, Christmas day. Though we were still five hours apart most of the time, we visited each other, and made it work while we were dreaming of our future together. On December 24, 2016, the day before our one-year anniversary, Justin proposed.

How We Met (Justin's Story)

[October 2013] It all started when a friend asked if I would like to join a worship band for an upcoming youth group retreat at St. Joseph Church in Winsted, CT. After agreeing in principle to join the group I would first have to audition with the other members to see what our dynamic was, how I fit in, and if we had what it took to lead worship for this retreat. It was more of a collective audition than an individual one. Then Jill, the friend who recruited me to the group, asked if the two members who were unfamiliar with each other would play a song together, just the two of them. The song: “Our God (is Greater)” by Chris Tomlin, which was the theme song for the retreat. The two band members who had never met before: Rachel and me. &nbsp;

We played the song mostly straight through and in a key that was way too high for me to be totally comfortable singing in (I’ve learned that’s how it is for all of the original keys for Chris Tomlin songs). But apparently it was good enough for Jill and our drummer, David, and the praise and worship band Reign was born. &nbsp;



From that first band rehearsal I learned that Rachel was special. It was impossible for me to not notice how uniquely gifted she was. I remember hearing her sing and just being like, “Whoa! I have never heard a voice like that before.” She has the kind of voice that gives you faith that heaven is real. And she had this quiet confidence; subtle and subdued, but noticeably present. Beyond her talent and the confidence that came with it, it was also obvious that she was kindhearted and driven. I always counted it an honor and a blessing to be able to collaborate musically with her.&nbsp;



The band grew closer as we played together more and did other projects like leading worship for contemporary services at Rachel’s home church, St. Paul’s in Torrington, CT. It became tradition for us to go out to Applebee’s after these worship services. This along with other group outings like Jesus Culture and Hillsong concerts made us a tight knit group. Unfortunately, over time Jill and David received calls to go elsewhere and only Rachel and I remained. We continued leading worship together, however, and eventually God opened a door for us at First Church of Winsted to collaborate with Muddy Boots. All of these worship opportunities were such blessings. However, the most amazing worship experience I have had to this point in my life was a Mother’s Day afternoon at Stillwater Pond with Rachel. I can honestly say I have never felt closer to God than I did in those moments. &nbsp;



All of this leads me to the proposal story. Everything preceding this was about the friendship Rachel and I built through worship. That firm foundation of worship and friendship has served us well and I believe it will continue to.&nbsp;

How We Got Engaged

How He Proposed (Rachel's Story)

On December 24th, 2016, Justin took me out "for an adventure". It was perfect timing for a proposal (which he knew) because we were all dressed up, my nails were done, and we were going to see my entire family afterward for Christmas parties. That morning, we took a drive and Justin took me to the place we first met, our friend David's house. David doesn't live there anymore, so we just creepily drove by and parked on the side of the road, reminiscing. Then he took me to Applebee's, where we had our first date and many, many dates after that. We had some of our favorite appetizers. After that Justin took me to Stillwater Pond, the place where we would often go to play worship music outside. It was at this place that we both first realized that we were falling in love with each other. When we got there, we stayed in the car to listen to one of our favorite worship songs, just taking in the scenery and the memories of Stillwater. When we got out of the car, his friend Desirae was there with her camera set up. Justin told me that part of his anniversary gift to me was a photo shoot, as he knows I love getting our pictures taken. A few minutes into our winter photo session, Justin got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I obviously said yes, and then we had the rest of our photo session, featuring the beautiful new ring. After a while, we left Stillwater to go to my house and share the news with my parents and my brother. Then we traveled around for Christmas Eve, seeing my whole family and church family and announcing the good news. It was a perfect day.

How I Proposed (Justin's Story)

[December 24, 2016]&nbsp;She’s a Christmas baby so I didn’t want to&nbsp;propose&nbsp;on her birthday, or on Christmas&nbsp;for that matter; that just would have been too much. I did, however, want to do it before we gathered with family so we could share the news with everybody and I wanted to&nbsp;make sure that it was caught on camera.&nbsp;This just seemed to be the right day.&nbsp;&nbsp;

It was overcast and a little rainy that day. A fresh coat of snow covered the ground.&nbsp;I picked her up&nbsp;late that morning&nbsp;to take her to&nbsp;David’s house&nbsp;where we first met&nbsp;(which he had moved out of at that point and we just creepily sat outside in the car) and we reminisced a bit.&nbsp;Then we went to&nbsp;Applebee’s to go where we shared our first meals out together. After some delicious apps the plan was to head over to Stillwater where we had those perfect moments of&nbsp;worship&nbsp;on that Mother’s Day.&nbsp;That spot was special to us, even sacred. Even more so since that is where my mother’s ashes were spread.&nbsp;&nbsp;







I told Rachel that I had an early anniversary present for her&mdash;a little photo shoot since I knew we would be all dressed up (she LOVES being all dressed up) for church and Christmas Eve festivities. I will&nbsp;be&nbsp;forever grateful to Desirae&nbsp;Carr&nbsp;for being our photographer that day&nbsp;(THANKS DES!).&nbsp;After I got my cue from Desirae that she was ready I got down on one knee and asked the love of my life to be my wife (and we have some pretty great pics of it).&nbsp;And on June 30, 2018 she will be just that&hellip;and I will be her husband. That I could be so blessed is beyond me. Thanks&nbsp;be&nbsp;to God and may we always bring God honor and praise by the way we live our lives in marriage. May it always be rooted in worship and&nbsp;in&nbsp;friendship.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Our Future

Ultimately we want to move where God moves us. Our main goals in life are related to ministry and family.&nbsp; 







We want to go where God calls us and fulfill his will in all things. We want to have a complete&nbsp; openness to where the Spirit leads. One of our dreams is to plant a church someday. We have been dreaming about this for years and we would love to see it become a reality. In the more immediate future, we will be attending graduate school/seminary next year. Whether this takes us as close as Gettysburg or as far as California, we are excited about the opportunity to learn more about how to serve God in this society and to do this in a new and exciting place. &nbsp;







As mentioned in our stories, music has always been an important part of our relationship, and we hope it will continue to be. We would love to focus more on songwriting and to eventually record an album together. We would love to find ourselves leading worship together again in the near future. We want to use our music to glorify God in our ministry.







We also love to travel and explore new places. This year our goal was to visit the four main cities near Messiah - Philadelphia, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore. In the future, we would love to explore more US cities by way of a Volkswagen Bus. For years we have talked about our dream of getting a VW Bus, painting the outside wild colors, and sleeping in it as we explore the whole country. We would love to see this dream become reality in the upcoming years. In addition to the US, we have big dreams for international travel. Though we want to literally travel to every country we possibly can, our top three interests are the Holy Land (including following Paul’s journey in Greece), Australia, and Italy. We are so excited for the opportunity to travel to Cancun together on our honeymoon, as our first of many international trips together.







A few years down the road we want to start a family. We want our kids to be loving, caring individuals. We want them to be selfless and have an attitude of service to others. We want them to fulfill their heart’s passions and their joys, to follow what drives them and makes their hearts glad. We want to be examples of God’s love to our kids in the way we love God, love them, and love each other. We want them to come to know and love God because they know God loved them first. Our families are important so we don’t want to be too far from our family when we’re raising a family of our own.&nbsp;







Our hearts are swelling with excitement in anticipation of our upcoming wedding day! We look forward to this unique opportunity to share the amazing grace God has given us and to share the joy and love we have. We can’t wait for June 30th so we can start our forever!

Our Story 1

Details

Jack and Jill

Maasser Park : 112 Rockhall Road, Colebrook, CT 06098

 Saturday May 26th, 2018













$20 per person, $35 per couple, $10 children 8 and under









Come for good food, raffles, games, and more!





Spread the word - invite your friends!



 



<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/722417738145914/">Click to Facebook event here</a>

My cousin Grace has been my best friend since birth. As little girls, we played Barbies together&nbsp;and always dreamed of our weddings. Now we can actually plan one! Grace is a journalism and&nbsp;communications student at UCONN and a really talented reporter. She and I share a love for singing, shopping, and sushi. I am so excited to have her as my maid of honor on our wedding day!&nbsp;



Grace Gagnon

Timmy is my little bro. There's no one else I could possibly pick as my best man. He has been by my side his whole life, literally. We've been through so much and I can't wait to have him there as my best man on the biggest day of my life to date!

Timothy Carty

Abby is my youngest cousin on my mom's side. Over the years, we have grown very close and she has become one of my best friends. I can always count on her to be completely honest with me and faithfully be by my side through it all. I am so honored to have her by my side for our wedding day!

Abigail Brauer

Brian is one of my best friends. He served as a marine for our country and he's an exemplary husband and father. We played football together as kids, we go to NFL games together, and we play in the same fantasy football leagues. So, yeah, we love football. He's a Patriots fan, but I love him anyway. He's my main lifting partner so I'm glad to have him spotting me on our big day!

Brian Becker

Libby is one of my cousins on my mom's side. Throughout the years she and I have grown very close and she is like a sister to me. I love how unique she is. She loves reptiles, metal music, and strange piercings, so basically we have nothing in common. Even so, I love her and I'm so excited she will be one of my bridesmaids!

Elizabeth Brauer

Adam is Rach's "little" bro. He's working on becoming an Eagle Scout. He's gifted musically and keeps getting better and better at guitar. I'm pretty sure he knows the lyrics to almost every song. Dude has such a big heart and I'm proud to be able to call him my "little" bro and have him in my squad for our wedding!

Adam Seleman

I feel like I've known James my whole life. James served in the army for our country and is a loving fiance and father. He is my Buffalo Bills brother, so we have shared in some serious suffering. We played football together as kids, go to NFL games, and compete in fantasy football; the football bond is real. I'm pumped to have him in my crew for our wedding!

James Gulyas

Marissa is one of my cousins on my dad's side. She is an extremely talented musician, studying Music Education at UCONN. She has a sweet soul and a bubbly personality. She is one of my best friends and I am so glad she will be joining our wedding as a bridesmaid!

Marissa Brevetti

Greg and I have been friends for about 10 years. We have worked together at Fairchild Parts in Winsted for the past 7 years. We share a serious passion for football and much of our friendship has revolved around playing flag football, going to NFL games, and playing fantasy football. He'd be disappointed if I didn't mention he's a huge Dolphins fan. I'm excited to have him on my team for our wedding day!-------------------------------------------

Greg Criss

Steph is Justin's younger sister. Though I have only known her for a couple years, I love her very much. I am so excited to be a part of her family and to have a sister in her. She is a strong, confident, beautiful woman with incredible loyalty to her family. I am so excited she will be one of my bridesmaids!

Stephanie Takeman

Ivana is Justin's oldest niece. She is an amazing young woman and an incredible dancer. We are extremely excited to have her be a part of our wedding. She will be our junior bridesmaid!------------------------------------------

Ivana Takeman

TJ is my nephew; my brother's son. This little man fills my heart with all kinds of joy. He shows some serious innate skill as a percussionist, even at 5 years old. I know this because we jam together sometimes. Also, he totally has a crush on Rach. This might be a tough day for him. Either way, I am overjoyed to have him be our ring bearer!

TJ Carty

Lexi is Rachel's youngest cousin. She is a sweet and sassy, beautiful girl with a huge heart. We are so excited to have her be one of our flower girls!

Alexa Schweitzer

Saige is Justin's niece. She's a feisty one so watch out. Also, we're pretty sure most people are jealous of her hair. We are so excited that she will be one of our flower girls!

Saige Oligny

Wedding Party

Photos

Q + A

Registry

This is the lowest price for hotels in the area. It is less than a mile from the reception site. We do not have many out-of-town guests, so we have not reserved hotel room blocks.

This Bed and Breakfast has five guest rooms, offering King, Queen, and Twin beds. It is about 3 miles from the reception site.

Justin & Rachel

Justin & Rachel

Travel

Days Inn Torrington

Torringford Manor B & B