Vow Renewal Date: August 8th, 2023
Gown Designer: Stella York Bridal
Venue: Hawaiian Beach
Photographer: Tetiana Me Photography
Favorite part of your gown: “The complete surprise in my Husband’s eyes.”
Why did you pick your dress: “Long story long… our ceremony was a renewal of vows; 25 years of marriage. At first I purchased a casual champagne dress, something casual and simple. In my mind we had already had our wedding day years ago… however my husband had more special plans. The day before traveling to Hawaii for our family vacation and vow renewal my husband asked about my wedding dress. And to my surprise he was very disappointed that I hadn’t purchase a full wedding gown. In a scramble to surprise my husband to show him how special our vow renewal truly was to me I called Tara in a panic. What a beautiful experience it turned out to be because with in a few hours she had me at her shop trying on dresses. It was surreal to find a dress in such a rush. It fit me perfectly… it was stunning. But the truly heart stopping moment was when I walked down the beach and my husband did a double take. He was shocked to see at after all I did have a truly stunning wedding gown that match the sentiment of our special vow renewal day.”
The best part of the venue: “Open beautiful skies; with a gentle breeze. Best sunset in the big island.”
Three words to describe your day: “25 years of Love.”
Your inspiration for the wedding: “Hawaii is our home away from home. It’s where we hope to some day retire. The beach, the sunsets and the breeze… we wanted a Hawaiian ceremony that would encompass all those things.”
How you met: “We met in September of 1997 at the Lucky Wishbone. We soon started dating and before the year was over we were married with a very intimate small wedding with family and friends. This year we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary and to mark the occasion we renewed our vows by the sea as a family. Hawaii holds a special place in our hearts and we wanted to have our children be part of our commitment of love; not just to one another but to our family.”
Any other fun memories / moments from the day: “My most heart felt memory is how our children reacted. Emma is 10 years old and in mid ceremony she was sobbing. Really big tears. I reached for her and she tells me: mom don’t worry these are happy tears. Really happy tears. Then I look at our son Nicholas who is 13 years old and he too had tears down his face. In a much more serious way he wiped his face and says: I may or may not be crying. In that moment I knew that both our kids were true witnesses to our love and our life together. And they understood what our vow renewal truly meant.”
