Full Throttle Distillery & Grill

Wedding Day

Ceremony

Reception

Our Wedding

The transition from Wisconsin to Texas was a big one. The heat was different, the food was spicier, and the idea of leaving home at 18 to navigate the unknown by myself was a little terrifying. Okay, a lot terrifying. But on that first day of freshman orientation at St. Mary's University, I wasn’t thinking about how far I was from home, or how much I missed the Midwest. I was distracted by something much simpler: how weird it was to be surrounded by so many strangers - and one guy who, for some reason, didn’t feel like a stranger. I’ve said it a million times, but I’ve never had an immediate connection with anyone the way Seany walked into my life like he owned the place. There wasn’t anything particularly memorable at first. I think the first time I spoke to him, I made fun of his wallet. It was one of those long, leather, “Southern style” wallets that looked like it was from a movie about Texas and I couldn't help myself to poke fun at him. Sean laughed it off in a way that seemed to make him more approachable.Then came our first memorable interaction - a meal at the cafe at St. Mary’s. I’d been eyeing the table assigned to our freshman orientation group, trying to figure out where and who to sit by when I saw Sean’s plate. I mean, his plate was stacked higher than anyone else's. I made a joke about how he could go back for seconds, and he grinned, like he was ready for some friendly banter. That was the first moment I realized Sean and I could really be friends. He had this easy confidence about him, an openness that made me feel like I could take a deep breath in a place that still felt strange and new.&nbsp;Something I was always particular about was my name. I never liked when people would shorten Kennedy to “Ken” - it just didn’t feel right. The moment he called me Ken for the first time - with that charming, dimpled smile of his and soft southern drawl - something shifted. Suddenly, it didn’t seem so bad. In fact, it felt... right. For the first time, the name “Ken” felt like it belonged to me in a way Kennedy never had. It was his way of claiming me, and in that moment, I let him. Now, Ken is who I am - not just to him, but to everyone. Funny how love can change the way you see yourself, isn’t it?Freshman year passed in a blur of classes, many Whataburger runs, and figuring out how to navigate life away from home. But all that time, through every study session at the commons, and late-night hangout on the bench outside my dorm room, Seany and I remained just friends. The funny thing about friendships, though, is that they often look like something more. People on campus started to assume we were dating. Maybe it was the way we were inseparable, literally. And how we were always in the same places at the same time. Or maybe it was how comfortable we were with each other—our inside jokes and the way we could sit in silence without it being awkward.Our mutual friends would joke about how Sean would make it out of the friend zone eventually, just jokes obviously. And everyone, literally everyone, was right. Except me.While I was happily clueless about Sean’s feelings, he had known from pretty much the beginning. He'd quietly carried that weight of attraction, hoping, maybe even waiting for the moment when I’d wake up and realize there was something more between us. I was too wrapped up in the whirlwind of freshman year and living away from home to notice how he looked at me differently than he looked at the other friends we shared. How he would always be there for me when I needed him, no hesitation or questions asked.It wasn’t until much later, after months of laughing and making memories, that I started to pick up on the little things. The way he’d linger a little longer when he dropped me off at my dorm. How he seemed to smile just a little bit more when we were alone, or rearrange entire plans with our friends just to make sure I could be there. That summer, after our freshman year, we found ourselves in a place where it felt natural to take that next step. It was no longer about figuring out who we were in college or if we should just be friends - it was about the undeniable feeling that we were meant to be something more. Not only that, but being back in Wisconsin made me realise I couldn’t go more than just a few hours without missing this man. The thought of spending the entire summer, let alone the following school year without him, was torture. I knew I had to get back to Texas ASAP and thankfully UTSA played out in my favor.When I made my way back to Texas that next fall, in true Sean fashion, he had a “Welcome-Back-To-Texas” gift and we had a whole day in Austin planned together. We each picked a spray paint color out at the closest hardware store and made our way to Austin’s graffiti park, which was closed for the summer but Sean sweet talked the cop, the way he does. Once we got through the fence Sean sprayed “Will you be my girlfriend?” in big red letters after I goofily painted a giraffe with the sky. Undoubtedly, my answer was yes. And just like that, Sean went from my best friend to my boyfriend. Now, nearly six years later Sean is still my best friend and I couldn’t be more excited to call him my fiance. We share a life together here in Colorado and even added a puppy, Luffy, to our family. Over time, I’ve grown to love Seany in ways I never expected. Every adventure, laugh, and dream we have shared since then, has only deepened my certainty that he’s my person. Sean isn’t just the love of my life, he’s my best friend, and I’m so grateful for every moment that brought us here. Cheers to a lifetime!

Ken's POV

Much like any other single 19 year old entering college, I was eager to make new friends, imagined the memories I was yet to make, and of course determined to find my next date for Friday night. What better opportunity to get a lay of the land than the cheesy orientation all incoming freshmen were required to attend. All of my new classmates poured into the St. Mary’s gym and needless to say, someone had caught my eye and actually it was easier than you think. Ken’s blonde hair, blue eyes and 6 foot stature towered over the 5 foot Mexicans across the gym and felt as if a spotlight had singled her out to me. At that moment I knew what I had to do. I knew that I had to make my way over to her and tell her my favorite ice cream flavor or what animal I would be or whatever the orientation leader’s icebreaker was going to be. I remember it clear as day, something like musical chairs where we would walk around the gym aimlessly to music and when it stopped we would pick someone to talk to and give our answers for whatever question the orientation leader asked us.&nbsp; When the music began, I started making my way walking towards the area that Ken was in and abruptly the music stopped and I spoke to someone kindly and waited for the music to start again so that I could meet my captivator. I practiced my approach so that I could come off as a confident, stong, and outgoing person to make a good first impression. After a couple rounds of the musical mingle game I finally made my way to Ken and alas, this would be our first conversation. I couldn't be more honest when I say I couldn’t even tell you her name after our first encounter or one word that either of us said. I felt like I was fighting for my life and was in survival mode the whole 10 second interaction. Welp… It wasn’t exactly the first impression I had hoped for and knew I had to get another chance. Later that day we were back in the gym and got the chance to sit next to her in the stands. I had finally relaxed and was able to talk to her like a normal human this time. Immediately she made fun of my ostrich leather bifold wallet. “Playful banter” I thought… I definitely thought I had this in the bag. I told her a little bit about myself and between my wallet and boots I was wearing, she was convinced I rode a horse to school and had tumbleweeds roll by as I walked or only drank sarsaparillas or something. I don’t know. She got a kick out of it and I was totally gonna run with it.&nbsp; After going back and forth for a while we started to share details about our lives and discovered we had a lot in common. She told me what her family was like and I did the same. She showed me her dog Bentley and I showed her Bella and Sydney. I told her I played baseball in highschool and I had made it onto the San Antonio Express Newspaper my senior year. Surely she would be impressed. She shared she played softball similar to me. I was a better ball player than her I thought and this would make her fall for me. Through more conversations she mentioned she made the newspaper her freshman year and was the starter for all four years and broke state and highschool records. Quickly changing the subject for my own sake, we kept the conversation going and to this day it feels like we never stopped talking.&nbsp; By the time class had started a week later, we were inseparable. All of the activities leading up to the first day of class she was my buddy that was going to tackle all of the awkward and cheesy orientation activities with. We had great chemistry and had become great friends. “How could I distinguish myself from the rest of my peers?” I thought. Obviously, I had to give her a nickname. From this moment on, she was Ken. We had started to build a friend group and we all became close and consistently hung out whenever we had the chance. Everything was going fantastic. I was convinced someone was going to ask me to write a book on how to easily get the girl. Much to my surprise, I found myself in no man's land… I was put into the friendzone… The achilles heel of courtship. My dream of being with Ken had no light at the end of the tunnel. Despite my chances of dating Ken being less than 1% (I always knew there was a chance), she was still my best friend and wanted to spend any free moment I had with her. Quickly I memorized her classes, what time they were, what building they were in, what route she would take to each class. I would wake up early to sit on the bench outside of her dorm for her 8am’s so that I could walk her to class and get some one-on-one time with my best friend first thing in the morning. It's not stalking if she was excited to see me. It really was the best way to start the day. Countless meals at the cafe together and hours and hours of us hanging out in the first floor library made us unbelievably close and at that point it didn't even matter if she was my girlfriend or not. We had the most fun just being together. My favorite joke our friends would tell us was that only Ken and I could make our entire friend group a third wheel.&nbsp; Our freshman year was filled with countless memories, and items on the Texas bucket list she had to do if she was going to be my friend and live in Texas. So many hangouts and spur of the moment trips when I discovered she had never heard of certain Texas things. After seemingly the best first year in college we could have, she dropped a nuke on me. She wasn’t going to come back to St. Mary’s next year and was headed back to Wisconsin with no plans to come back to Texas. My chances with Ken went from less than 1% to now just outright impossible. It rocked my world. I was never going to be with her and I had just lost my best friend. We had a proper send off with all of our friends at our group's favorite restaurant, B-Daddy’s BBQ. We took a photo saying our goodbyes (above) and she handed me her pillow from her dorm that she didn't need anymore and after a sappy drawn out goodbye she left for Wisconsin with her mom. Getting in my truck I threw the pillow on the passenger seat and heard an odd crinkle. She had left a note for me inside the pillow case.&nbsp; After reading it, I had learned that she had realized that there was something special about our friendship and hinted that there were some feelings that we needed to talk about. BANG! I’M SO BACK IN THE GAME. I finally saw a glimmer of hope and a faint light at the end of the tunnel. After talking about it with her mom, we had planned a surprise trip for me to go to Wisconsin as one last hail mary. We had a great trip with many great memories and lots of cheese curds. I totally did the unthinkable. I made it out of the friendzone. I did the unthinkable for all mankind I thought returning to Texas a champion. She brought me back crashing to earth when a month later she told me that she wasn’t my girlfriend. How? We had the best trip and confirmed how we had both felt about each other. What was the problem? I never even asked her can you believe that? After all that I didn’t even lock it in. When she told me she had decided to go to UTSA, it felt like God gave me another chance and I couldn’t make the same mistake twice. I wasn’t going to mess this up and visited her in Austin with her uncles Cody and Oscar to visit my best friend and to leave with a girlfriend. I had the perfect plan and we showed up to graffiti park in Austin only to see it fenced off and have it being patrolled by a cop. I went to ask the cop what was going on and what I was there to do and he told me that no one was allowed to enter the park. He then told me that he was going to hold his post and that he was promptly going to eat his lunch in 5 minutes and that I should absolutely not go to the fence on the other side of the park outside of his visibility and cracked a subtle grin. Ecstatic, I go back to the truck, grab Ken and take her to the opposite side, pull back the chainlink fence for us to crawl into the park. We both started drawing pictures with spray paint and when Ken saw that I had written “Will you be my girlfriend?” in red spray paint and at last, she became mine. On that day August 12. 2019, I FINALLY made it out of the friend zone. Since then, about 6 years ago, we have made countless memories, graduated college, and started a new life in Colorado, and got our first addition to our family, a brown poodle named Luffy. It's hard to imagine that in the grand scheme of things these last 6 years became the preface to the story of our family. It's hard to imagine that all of our memories up to this point are only the beginning. I never would’ve imagined 6 years ago that this is where our lives would have taken us. Life with Ken has been an adventure with twists and turns that neither of us could have predicted. No adventure was too big for us when we were just best friends. I know that we can take on any obstacle head on and take any adventure wherever that may take us, as husband and wife.

Sean's POV

Our Story

Photos

Wedding Party

Wedding

Church: St. Catherine's - Chapel on the RockAddress: 10758 CO-7, Allenspark, CO 80510Mass: 4:00PM - 5:00PM

Full Throttle Distillery &amp; Grill at Estes ParkAddress: 231 Moraine Ave, Estes Park, CO 80517Time: 5:30 - 10:30 PM

Wedding Information

Near The Stanley HotelMake yourself at home in one of the 52 air-conditioned rooms featuring refrigerators and microwaves. Complimentary wireless internet access keeps you connected, and satellite programming is available for your entertainment. Bathrooms have shower/tub combinations and hair dryers. Conveniences include desks and coffee/tea makers, and housekeeping is provided daily.

Hotel Estes

Near Estes Park Memorial ObservatoryMake yourself at home in one of the 54 air-conditioned rooms featuring fireplaces and LCD televisions. Your pillowtop bed comes with down comforters and Egyptian cotton sheets. Complimentary wireless internet access keeps you connected, and cable programming is available for your entertainment.

The Estes Park Resort

Near The Stanley HotelMake yourself at home in one of the 59 air-conditioned rooms featuring refrigerators and microwaves. 40-inch flat-screen televisions with cable programming provide entertainment, while complimentary wireless internet access keeps you connected. Bathrooms feature showers, complimentary toiletries, and hair dryers.

Discovery Lodge

Near Stanley VillageStay in one of 147 guestrooms featuring LED televisions. Complimentary wireless internet access keeps you connected, and cable programming is available for your entertainment. Private bathrooms with shower/tub combinations feature complimentary toiletries and hair dryers. Conveniences include desks and complimentary weekday newspapers, as well as phones with free local calls.

Holiday Inn Estes Park by IHG

Air Bnb/VRBO! Lots of extra options to stay close to Estes Park or to get the mountain getaway with a little more privacy!

In Estes Park (Grand Estates)Make yourself at home in one of the 49 air-conditioned rooms featuring microwaves and minibars. Complimentary wireless internet access keeps you connected, and cable programming is available for your entertainment. Bathrooms feature showers, complimentary toiletries, and hair dryers. Conveniences include phones, as well as desks and separate sitting areas.

Coyote Mountain Lodge

Travel

Check out the wildlife or go for a hike. Its rutting season for Elk! Make a reservation for a timed entry to the park - Reservations are required. Reservations for October 1st - October 19 are available for reservation starting September 1st at 8am MDT *URL for reservations *<a href="https://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/fees.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Fees &amp; Passes - Rocky Mountain National Park (U.S. National Park Service)</a>

Rocky Mountain National Park

Tour the historic Stanley Hotel - The hotel featured in Stephen King's The Shining Tour is 60 Minutes long and $25 per person

Stanley Hotel

The Estes Park Aerial Tram&nbsp;safely whisks you above the treetops to the summit of Prospect Mountain!Elevation: 8,900 ft Open from Friday, May 16th thru Sunday, November 2nd in 2025.Our regular hours are 8:00am – 7:40pm (Mountain Time) every day.From September 2nd we close at 6pm the rest of the season.Last tram up is one hour before closing.Last tram down is ten minutes before closing.

Estes Park Aerial Tramway

For green fees: <a href="https://evrpd.com/18-hole-golf-course/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Premier Golfing Experience at Estes Park’s Golf Course</a> Our golf courses enjoy locations surrounded by spectacular mountain views. During most of the year, you can play a round of golf while sharing the course with herds of deer and elk with an occasional coyote or two watching. The Estes Park 18-Hole Course is a championship length par 71 golf course, complete with full practice facility, pro shop and restaurant, Mother’s Café. Across town, the Lake Estes 9-Hole is an executive par 31 course and disc golf course with pro shop and snack bar.

Estes Park 18-Hole Golf Course

Try this 3.2-mile out-and-back trail near Estes Park, Colorado. Generally considered a moderately challenging route, it takes an average of 1 h 39 min to complete. This is a very popular area for fishing, hiking, and snowshoeing, so you'll likely encounter other people while exploring. The trail is open year-round and is beautiful to visit anytime. You'll need to leave pups at home — dogs aren't allowed on this trail. This scenic hiking trail through the Tyndall Gorge to Emerald Lake is an extremely popular route in Rocky Mountain National Park. Starting from the Bear Lake Trailhead, hikers will walk through pine forests, past pristine alpine lakes including Nymph Lake and Dream Lakes, and be treated to beautiful vistas of rocky peaks. Throughout your trip you’ll come across incredible views of Flattop Mountain, Hallett Peak, Glacier Gorge, and Tyndall Glacier. The parking lot for Emerald Lake Trail is at the end of Bear Lake Road - a short drive from Estes Park in Colorado. The parking lot fills up quickly during the summer season, so you may want to consider taking the shuttle bus to Bear Lake instead of driving.

Hike Emerald Lake

Grab coffee or wine on the patio next to a pond surrounded by mountains and enjoy the scenery.

Coffee on the Rocks

Grab a drink, play at the arcade or hit the lanes. The bullpin has a nice patio with mountain views, a bar, and several bowling lanes

The Bull Pin - Elevated Entertainment

The Mustang Mountain Coaster in Estes Park is a fun, scenic ride through the beautiful Rocky Mountains. It’s a unique way to experience the area, with winding tracks and amazing views along the way. Whether you’re looking for a bit of thrill or just want to enjoy the scenery, it’s a great way to spend some time outdoors while visiting Estes Park! One ride: $20Three rides: $35

Kennedy & Sean

Kennedy & Sean

Photos

October 28, 2018

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