Colorado Vineyard Engagement

We met in a very unique way that we both thought would have ever been the place to find our soul-mate! We met at Country Jam in Grand Junction, Colorado the summer of June 2013. I went with my sorority sisters to this event and Landon went with his friends from Fort Collins, Landon recently got home from the Navy and I just graduated from the University of Colorado and we went for a fun-filled week to celebrate our big accomplishments. The night I met Landon was the first night of the week in which it was an eventful night for my group in which our ride had to leave the event. When I met Landon I was not in the best of mood at first due to our current circumstances, but the first thing he said to me was, “Hi Neighbor”. Landon’s campsite was the very next campsite over to mine and he invited our group over to hang out with his group of friends he came with. I did not realize he was single at first because he was helping a girl get back to her campsite, but later that night once he returned we hung out that whole night dancing the night away and every day after that. He ended up giving me a ride home from this 5-day event and he wasn’t sure if I was just using him for a ride, but I sure wasn’t haha. We continued to see each other and fell in love that summer and were inseparable after that! How we met taught us both that fate works in funny ways and it really is true that you will find the most perfect person when you least expect it!

What excites us the most about the big day is officially being husband and wife together! We cannot wait to start our lives together as Mr and Mrs. Landon & Ruth Barnes! Prior to meeting one another we came across many trials that we hoped and prayed for the perfect person to fill our lives and we did! We feel so very thankful and blessed to have one another and we cannot wait to start this life journey together with starting a home, raising a family, supporting each other in our hopes and dreams, and always knowing your best friend is by your side! June 2nd, 2016 cannot come fast enough!!

Ruth: What I love most about Landon is how he makes me smile every single day! I love his heart and how caring he  to those around him. He is so silly and he relaxes me especially when my life is more than hectic. I love his hard work, dedication, and determination in every thing he does. No matter what Landon sets his mind to he accomplishes it because he never gives up. I know that in our marriage he will be a hard-working, kind, and supportive husband who will never give up on our love. He is my best friend.

Landon: What I love most about Ruthie is that she is always happy. She always makes me laugh and smile when I am around her. I always have a great time when I am around her and I love how she makes me feel. I love how she is always there for me and she supports me through everything! I love how hard working she is and that she is very dedicated to what she loves. I know she will be a wife that comforts me and supports me no matter what comes our way. She is my best friend.

We are getting married in Palisade, Colorado at the Methodist Church and then celebrating our love at local winery. We chose this location because this is where Landon grew up and we wanted to make sure his grandparents would be able to come to this big event for us. Unfortunately my grandparents passed when I was very young, so I wanted to make sure that we could have Landon’s grandparents attend the event because it meant so very much to both of us. We had the help from our wedding planner, Morgan Barb from “Organized Bliss” help us actually on our 2 year anniversary find the perfect location. We came across Canyon Winds Winery and we fell in love. Landon and his family have a small grape farm in Palisade and the past 2 years we have been learning how to make wine. Landon and I fell in love with this craft and have enjoyed doing this together. Once we thought about having our wedding at a winery we thought that it described our love story perfectly since we met over in this area, could have all of our loved ones being there, and sipping on a glass of wine always reminds us of the memories we have shared together.

The advice we could give couples with planning for the big day is communicate, communicate, communicate. We have learned so much more about each other in this process and even though this is a very happy time in our lives there are stresses that can come along with it too! We make sure we check-in with one another to make sure we are on the same-page with the planning and understanding our next steps. We defined our roles on what we feel most comfortable helping out with which helped us feel like a team in this process. Finally, we do make sure we have Landon and Ruth time outside of wedding planning. Weddings are expensive so our out to dinner date-nights have drastically decreased, but we make sure we do the little things for one another which makes our love still feel special. The little things like dancing in the kitchen, reading a book together, cooking dinner, and relaxing at home has helped us remember what is most important and that is loving one another