Sinjin & D.J.: It Takes A Village

D.J. & Sinjin

No matter how small your gay village is, there are always surprises to be had. Such was the case for Sinjin and D.J. who, after living in Denver for 10-years—a small gay village by all accounts—had not met. That was, until, a Saturday night in April of 2019. The two were at a bar: D.J. celebrating being able to remove an arm brace after a ski accident, while Sinjin was showing off Denver’s bar scene to out-of-towners.

After an hour of clocking each other, D.J. walked up to Sinjin and said: “You’re the tallest guy in the bar, so I needed to come meet you!” Their connection was instant leading to a long conversation about Durango, D.J.’s hometown, friends, and how both of their parents had also met at a bar, and yes… bewilderment about not having met before. The two strolled Downtown Denver until 5 a.m. stopping only because the two had commitments the next day.

It might not come as a surprise that, after 10-years of not running into each other, their second encounter would hours after the first, when D.J. walked into a restaurant, for a pre-planned date with someone else) where D.J. was having brunch with his father. As Sinjin said: “I tried to keep our interaction short but was mortified when my father stood up to shake hands with D.J…. and D.J.’s date!”

Their next date took some time to get on the books, with Sinjin traveling (pre-Covid) extensively and, as he said of D.J., “his being very extroverted and social, it wasn’t easy getting priority on his social calendar!” But fates intervened, this time in the form of a thunderstorm two months after meeting. “I was arriving from a work trip and D.J. was at the airport headed to Chicago for the weekend. We decided to get a glass of wine and chat while waiting for D.J.’s flight. By the time of his departure 3-hours later, we knew “this was it.” Lightning struck.

If it took 10-years to meet and a little while getting the first date on the books, it will come as no surprise that the two moved fast. By the following year, the couple had decided to buy a house… and engagement rings. As the two set foot in their new house for the first time, D.J. popped the question. And much to surprise and delight, both of their families were hiding in the garage awaiting Sinjin’s ‘yes.’ Not only did they celebrate the couple’s engagement, but they also celebrated reuniting after the initial COVID lockdown. Talk about bringing the families together!

Because of D.J. and Sinjin’s shared love of Puerto Vallarta, the Mexican beach resort was an obvious choice for their wedding. “We wanted to show it to our families, but also keep our wedding small,” Sinjin explained further about their decision to have a destination wedding. They also had the support of wedding planner, Talbot Ross, who, based in Puerto Vallarta and Punta Mita Mexico, is an expert in weddings and weddings in Puerto Vallarta. “He made sure he was ‘groomzilla’ so we didn’t have to be! He kept us calm throughout the process and shielded us for anything that wasn’t going to plan on the day.”

Oh, and about keeping it small, 122 guests made their way to Mexico and made for Talbot’s largest destination wedding! With few options to hold a wedding of this size, outside of the large American resorts in Puerto Vallarta, D.J., Sinjin and Talbot, opted for a VRBO that could fit all the guests and staff. “To create more space, we even covered the pool and used it as a dance floor,” Sinjin pointed out.

In the spirit of more is more is better, the couple asked their good friends, Richard and Steve (in full disclosure, Richard is co-founder of Men’s Vows), to serve as celebrants. As Sinjin explained: “Their marriage is a model for the marriage we want ours to be like, so it was meaningful to have them guide us in this process. Steve specifically mentioned the Supreme Court ruling around LGBTQ marriage and the importance of marriage generally, which really gave the ceremony an even deeper sense of purpose and gravitas.”

Gravitas led to gettin’ down, as guests were treated to a surprise dance by the newlyweds followed by fireworks. And food turned into dancing turned into more food! “We provided late-night churros and tacos, to replenish guests after dancing!” 

Reflecting on the day and planning process, the two shared the following: “Let go! There is nothing like the joy of your spouse having everything they wanted in a wedding. Let go of the details and trust the process.” Especially if that process is being run by great folks like Talbot, their photographer Elizabeth Lloyd, and videographer Graham Mattock.

As newlyweds, the two took to another house for a minimoon. “We went to Imanta Resort - a twelve house complex in the Jungle outside of Punta Mita. It was very secluded and special. At the time we were there at the resort, there were no other guests, so we had the entire property to ourselves, perfect to recharge and connect with each other… as husbands!”

Credits

Ceremony & Reception Venue: La Mansion

Photographer: Elizabeth Lloyd; @elizabethlloydphoto

Videographer: Graham Mattock; @instagrajam

Planner/Designer: Talbot Ross

Officiants: Steve Okuley and Richard Dusseau