April 11, 2023 we renewed our vows in front of our family and 4 boys at Villa Magia in Positano, Italy!!
On April 11, 2013 we married at The Castle Post in Versailles, KY and we always said that we would have a big vow renewal once we hit year 10.
I took my wedding dress and revamped it. Took out the original satin lining and all the tulle and created a smaller, more comfortable lining. This made the lace overlay the main focus of the dress.
I wanted a little bit of a sexy version of my original dress, so I cut a slit in the side of the lace and added lace trim and tons of rhinestones and jewels to make it sparkle in the light.
The veil was something I didn't do on my wedding day so I added it for this. :-)
Brandon was in an ivory suit for our wedding so this time he went with navy and my goodness, he looked sharp!!!
A light blue button up and the Italian tie he found while we were in Rome, topped off the look!!
My bouquet and all the flowers for the day were created by Francesco Di Bianco. They were STUNNING!!!! I couldn't stop looking at them they were so beautiful!
Kasen felt so handsome in his suit! I knew it would be warm so we went with shorts for them. I ended up relying on Mayoral for their suits and shorts. They have a great selection of linen and cotton dress clothes for boys.
This moment was so precious... them seeing mommy for the first time all dressed up and ready to walk the aisle to daddy! :-)
Then it started!!! We all walked the aisle to "Nervous" by John Legend.
Bryce was supposed to be next but JJ ran and caught up with him!!
It's crazy how this brought back all the nerves and butterflies from 10 years ago when we said "I do" for the first time!!
Kasen opened us in prayer...
Bryce read a scripture verse and each family member that was able to come read a verse or quote...
JJ was a ham for the camera and tried to steal all daddy's attention ;-)...
We said new vows to each other...
And then reread the old handwritten vows that I had saved in my gown bag from our wedding.
I know it may seem extravagant or redundant to do a vow renewal, but I've grown to not worry much about what other people think of my life.
For me, this was us celebrating our love and reinforcing our commitment to each other. It was also about showing the boys what love and commitment looks like in real time. Showing them that 10 years is a milestone and everyday together is worth celebrating!
After we said our vows, everyone came up and prayed blessings over us as they played Cece Winans "Goodness of God".
We kissed...
And kissed some more... ;-)
The Villa Magia staff brought up Prosecco to make a toast....
And they surprised us with the most delicious lemon cake I have EVER tasted!!!
We went back to the condo we rented and had an incredible dinner by a local private chef!! Everything was grown on his farm and was INCREDIBLE!!!!
Look at this amazing dinner view!! I still can't believe this was home base for an entire week!! Talk about DREAMY!!! The link for this condo is in my Amalfi Coast post.
The boys loves their kids meal - which was a more simple version of our dinner.
Just look at that smiley fellow!! ;-)
This one always like his pasta with no sauce and... hmmm looks like we caught him forgetting his fork?! :-/
Superman gave me his jacket because it was CHILLY!!!!!
I think someone turned on some music because, well, there was dancing!! :-) for just a couple minutes!
Muahhhhh love this man so much!!!
It's crazy to me how fast 10 years can go by! This was one of those distant dreams that I had in my heart and when it finally happened, it was like time stood still for us - just for this moment.
People always said how you grow deeper in love and I could never imagine how that's possible. But now I know!!
Don't think for a second that we have it "figured out" or our marriage is perfect!! We have to work on ourselves and our marriage just like everyone else! It's like anything, if you don't work it, it won't work.
We're blessed to have a church family that encourages marriage classes, counseling and retreats or vacations just the two of us. That's all helpful but ultimately, marriage is a 3 way covenant between two people and God. I guess over these 10 years I have learned that if God isn't at the center, it's dysfunctional. Keeping Him at the forefront draws us closer to each other.
Thanks for reading!!
Xoxo
D