38 avenueJANUARY.18
ALEXIS AND CURTIS WOODLEY
MARRIED OCTOBER 18, 2014A
lexis and Curtis Woodley took seven years to decide to get married,
but only one month to plan their wedding. “It was pretty fast, but it
all came together,” says Alexis.
The Woodleys had decided they wanted an unfussy but meaning-
ful day, which they achieved by gathering their 50 guests together in
a smaller venue rented through the charity organization Servants Anonymous
(now called Reset Society).
Alexis describes the day as “the wedding I never knew I wanted.”
“I’m just not somebody who ever really thought about it that much,” she says.
The absolute best thing they did on their wedding day, says Alexis, was taking
a novel approach to creating a guest book. During the ceremony, they asked
each of their guests to hold a rock. Afterwards, the guests were asked to write
something on that rock for the couple. “The guests could sign the rock with
a thought or a drawing or advice they wanted share with us,” says Alexis. One
stone says: “Always choose peace.” Another: “You inspire me with your love for
each other.”
Alexis and Curtis now keep the rocks scattered in different spots in their new
home, in plant pots and on shelves. Their long-term plan with the collection of
rocks is to feature them in outdoor landscaping or in a greenhouse.
“It’s kind of the physical manifestation of the support we felt from the
people who held the rocks during the ceremony and the energy of the space
where we got married,” says Alexis. Her and Curtis both love to re-read them
periodically. “Even in times of trouble, those rocks are always there.”T
he first time Juan and Angie Rodriguez
got married was on July 7, 2013, in a
hacienda in Colombia surrounded by
friends and family. The second time
they said their vows, three years later,
was beside the turquoise waters of Lake Louise
with only a photographer there to witness it.
While the two events couldn’t have differed
more, Angie says both represented important
covenants to her and Juan.
Juan and Angie are both from Colombia
and met in their teens, but they lost contact
with each other when Juan moved away.
They would eventually reconnect when
Angie was studying in New York and she real-
ized through Instagram that Juan, a musician,
had an upcoming gig nearby. They met up and
Angie says she realized then that Juan “had all
the things I’d always looked for.”Angie says the highlight of their wedding day
almost five years ago in Colombia was the wedd-
ing party made up of people they genuinely loved.
Shortly after the wedding, the couple’s plans were
to move to Calgary, where Juan had been living
for 10 years and working as a musician, so they
wanted to make the most of their limited time in
Colombia. “It was really important for us to not
only care about details and decorations but to
share time with people that we knew we weren’t
going to see again,” says Angie.
Angie admits that first year of marriage in
Calgary was “pretty rough,” partly on account
of being in a new city. As a response, the couple
decided to re-state their purpose for marriage
in a private ceremony in the mountains.
“It was meaningful because it was just the two
of us,” says Angie. “It was a way to start from
zero again.”“IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT
FOR US TO NOT ONLY CARE
ABOUT DETAILS AND DECO-
RATIONS BUT TO SHARE
TIME WITH PEOPLE THAT WE
KNEW WE WEREN’T GOING
TO SEE AGAIN.”—ANGIE RODRIGUES“IT’S THE PHYSICAL MANIFESTATION
OF THE SUPPORT WE FELT FROM THE
PEOPLE WHO HELD THE ROCKS DURING
THE CEREMONY AND THE ENERGY OF
THE SPACE WHERE WE GOT MARRIED.
EVEN IN TIMES OF TROUBLE, THOSE
ROCKS ARE ALWAYS THERE.”—ALEXIS WOODLEYJUAN AND ANGIE RODRIGUES
MARRIED JULY 26, 2016Rocks photograph by Jared Sych; Juan and Angie Rodrigues photograph by Doris Alvarez Fotografía