A continent apart…
Sometimes the sweetest love stories start with friendship.
Against the odds of geographical distance, cultural differences, and a global pandemic, that’s how it was for Joyce and Lucas.
After Joyce graduated college in 2019, she took a 12-month internship in Washington at CRISTA Camps. Soon after arriving, Joyce met Lucas. Lucas was from Italy and was already midway through his internship at CRISTA when Joyce began hers, yet they quickly became best friends…something he said he’d known would happen since she sat down beside him with a book and a blanket her first week in Washington.
Their friendship continued to deepen over the next several months. As Lucas completed his internship, he planned to head home to Italy, and knew he only had a few days left to tell Joyce that he felt more deeply for her than just friends.
After spending months showing Joyce how he felt about her, he finally told her with words on one of his last nights in Washington and asked for a date when he returned to America. Joyce shared the same feelings and agreed to a future date.
When the day came for Lucas to catch his flight, and they said goodbye, Joyce said that was the moment she knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.
However, geographical distance was not the only challenge the new couple would soon face. A few months into the new year, news came about a spreading sickness, and seemingly overnight, the world shut down. In hope, Lucas caught one of the last flights leaving Italy and returned to Washington with no plans except to see Joyce one more time.
They had that first date she had promised him. And then a second, and a third, and those led to many more.
After two years of dating, adventuring together, and facing life’s uncertainties side by side, Lucas knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Joyce. He organized the engagement with Joyce’s friend Esther, a photographer.
They planned a sunrise photoshoot, and Esther called Joyce to ask her to model for a “styled shoot,” telling her that she would plan everything for it, all Joyce had to do was wake up on time. Joyce agreed without suspicion, having no idea that photoshoot would change her life. After realizing the photoshoot (planned for April 1) was on April Fools, and knowing that it certainly was no joke, Lucas decided to wait one more day, and the “styled shoot” was postponed to April 2. That morning, before the sun was up, Joyce and Esther drove out to a local lake to begin shooting. As they moved to different locations, Esther led Joyce to a beautiful picnic spread where Lucas was waiting with breakfast and ring.
Needless to say, when he asked, Joyce said yes.
“We are most looking forward to going on even more adventures and seeing what life will bring,” Joyce said about marriage.
They were ready to start wedding planning, and they needed a venue.
“We chose The Venue at Shadow Rock because they fit everything we were looking for--a bridal suite AND a groom's suite, multiple designated spaces that don't require being flipped and the overall style and atmosphere,” Joyce shared. “It was a big bonus learning after we booked how amazing the staff who work there are!”
With their date booked, they moved on to other aspects of wedding planning, and it all came together beautifully. And, of course, Esther had to be their wedding photographer!
“We love weddings that are interactive and fun, so for our cocktail hour, we had a flower bar and paint-by number canvas,” Joyce shares. “The flower bar was set up for our guests to create their own bouquets and put them on display for their tables' centerpieces. For our guest book, we created a paint-by-number and invited our guests to contribute and sign the back of the canvas. Also, we did an anniversary dance that transitioned into our cake cutting. During the anniversary dance, cakes were brought to the guests' tables along with plates and silverware by the wedding party.”
Photos by Esther Ramirez
After the anniversary dance, Joyce & Lucas invited their guests to cut the cake for each table as they cut their own. They asked that the oldest couple at the table cut and serve the cake, or if there were no couples at the table, that everyone work together to serve their cake.
“We believe that the best demonstration of love is serving one another, and we wanted a time where our guests would serve each other at the table, even if they just met,” Joyce said.
After everyone had started serving their cakes, the parents were invited to give a toast.
It was a beautiful wedding with lovely details, and it was truly so much fun for the guests. The atmosphere was comfortable and relaxed, and the entire day just felt filled with joy and celebration.
After planning such a great wedding, when we asked if Joyce & Lucas had any advice for future couples, Joyce said, “My two biggest pieces of advice are this--before booking or making any major decisions, sit down with your significant other and choose three things that are most important to each of you (i.e. food, music, flowers, decor, photography, videography, venue). After choosing these things, then decide on your budget. The top things you chose is where the majority of your budget should go. My second piece of advice is to invest in your marriage BEFORE you are married. Begin pre-marital counseling, have the hard conversations, find a couple whose marriage you admire and ask them to mentor you. Wedding planning is hard work, and it takes time, but marriage is harder, and it lasts for life.”
From meeting in Washington, to being continents apart, to a global pandemic that brought them back together, Joyce and Lucas’ love story is proof that love can find you when you least expect it, that deep friendship is a solid foundation for a marriage, and that every cloud – even a pandemic – has a silver lining.
Their delightful fall wedding was a golden moment of joy and celebration to kick off the next chapter of their adventure together, and a start to the beautiful lifetime they will build side by side as husband and wife!
Photos by Esther Ramirez
