John and I renew our vows every five years.  We decided to do this because we were married so young and agreed at that the commitment meant we would grow together, not apart…the vow renewal was a way for us to come back to those vows and mark how much we’ve done in our lives.  We also wanted to have this ceremony be an example to our children and mark the passage of time with them.  Each time we do this, our vows mean so much more and we get more emotional.  We KNOW what better and worse, richer and certainly poorer, sickness and health truly mean now.  We have examples and stories from our long history of the dedication and perseverance that is needed to keep a marriage healthy and happy.  And the passage of time hits us even more as this time we also said vows to our children and they understood what we were saying.

One of “our songs” is Kiss Me by Sixpence None the Richer.  I chose this as inspiration for our renewal, especially because the words mean even more to us now.  We wanted it to be just us five, alone on a beach on the north shore…to make it a truly strong memory for our kids.  Emily at Orange Verb made us a map of our adventures so far together, Sarah Elizabeth Artistry gussied up my hair and face (when she asked me if I wanted my freckles to show, John shouted from the other room “LEAVE THE FRECKLES!”), Studio C Floral designed the most gorgeous flowers with a lovely fall color palette …just stunning!  We embraced the Up Nort’ aesthetic with natural textures, soft plaids, and nothing I do is complete without Cocoa and Fig‘s Minnesota pies on a stick!

The girls were so excited to not only have flower wreaths but flower fairy wands, too!

The kids were jazzed to be a part of the day, the girls have always wanted to be “flower girls” and Cooper was the official photographer as we said our vows.

We started the ceremony by talking about our adventures and putting pins in all the places we’ve been.  Then John and I exchanged vows and a few tears and then snuggled with the kids and told them how much we loved them and how important our family unit is to us.

Cooper wanted to take a few more picture of us, he did a great job!  Maybe this WILL be a multi generational business!

We sat on the beach and watched the stars come out.  Lyra snuggled with me while John took pictures of the lighthouse, and Cooper and Ainsley used one of our lights to play near the water.  It was quiet, and peaceful, and pretty much perfect.

Whether you’ve been married a couple years or decades, I HIGHLY recommend a vow renewal.  It is meaningful and sweet, can be a huge party or a small intimate gathering, what matters is taking the time to tell the people you love that THEY matter!!!