Good morning on this Monday, and why don’t you run and get your coffee or your tea, and I’ll wait for you right here. Latte

All set? Good!

Well, tomorrow is my actual anniversary — we will be married twenty-five years — but Saturday, Samwise and I held our twenty-fifth anniversary vow renewal. It started out as a simple idea, but it quickly cascaded into a larger party/event. I can tell you that the past two weeks I have been falling a bit behind on my work and the business school course I’m taking, because I’ve been focused on planning. But the ceremony was beautiful, and Sam and I both loved it, and we got to see a lot of friends. In general, it was a wonderful way to mark our quarter-century of being together.

My friend Tiffany gave us the wonderful gift of taking over as event coordinator, and not only that, but she got our gardens in order. Here are some of the beautiful pictures of the work she did.

For our anniversary, as a sort of gift to both of us, I bought a sign for the yard. We named our property Rowanwood Grove when we moved in and now we have an actual sign for it.

My assistant Andria bought us the beautiful lanterns hanging from either side of the sign. She also did a tremendous amount of work helping with everything from the baking — because, of course, with my histamine intolerance and food allergies we had to make everything — to helping Tif with the gardens, to setting up, and putting things away.

We decorated like crazy with silk flowers and garlands and lights and re-did the heart broom, and all sorts of beautiful arrangements. We didn’t have real flowers inside due to the number of allergies present.

 

 

 

 

My workout partner Jo stood as our officiating priestess, and my niece Jade and my best friend Carol were part of the ritual — they were my bridesmaids/ritual participants.

A number of friends were able to come, including several people who were at our first wedding, one of Sam’s sisters and one of his stepbrothers showed up from out of town, and a friend of mine flew in from Kansas. We had been planning to have the ceremony in the yard, but the sun turned to rain so we adjusted for the indoors. My ceiling still sparkles with the stars that Tiffany hung up.

We use the original ceremony, adapting it for our renewal, and our personal vows were similar yet slightly different, taking into account the years we spent together and what we’ve learned. We used our original wedding broom, but spruced it up the event, and I wove a new handfasting cord for the ceremony. We managed to have directional altars even though we had to move it inside.

 

All in all, we had a wonderful time and, even though I’m glad the planning is over because it was exhausting, we made a good choice to step into this new phase in our relationship.

So, what has been one of the most significant and joyful events in your life?

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But First, Coffee: Here Comes the Bride (Again)
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9 thoughts on “But First, Coffee: Here Comes the Bride (Again)

  • 05/06/2018 at 3:06 pm
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    Congratulations & wishing you many more years to come. The pictures were gorgeous. The birth of my children & granddaughter by far are my most significant and joyful.

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  • 05/03/2018 at 9:59 am
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    Congratulations!!! Beautiful pictures!! Thank you for sharing this special occasion with us!

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  • 04/30/2018 at 5:21 pm
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    Congratulations!!!! I guess the most joyful experience in my life was the birth of my son. He’ll be graduating from high school in a few weeks which I’m sure will be another joyful experience. I’m so proud of him.

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  • 04/30/2018 at 3:55 pm
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    Wishing you a most happy anniversary! I did a hand fasting for my daughter’s 25 wedding anniversary (and for my oldest daughter’s actual wedding). I love doing them! So glad yours turned out well. Sending many blessings.

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  • 04/30/2018 at 2:50 pm
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    Wishing you continued happiness!

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  • 04/30/2018 at 12:32 pm
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    I’m so happy for the two of you. Congrats and hope for many more years to come.

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  • 04/30/2018 at 12:02 pm
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    Significant? Going back to school. Joyful? Almost all the time that I’m with my husband.

    And your 25th renewal – sounds soooo lovely!!

    Reply
  • 04/30/2018 at 9:53 am
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    Congratulations! I am always happy to see couples who are happy together for years. I myself have not been so fortunate, but even at my age have totally given up. I think my happiest time was when I graduated w/ my BGS from U of M. I worked really hard to earn it and it made me feel proud of an accomplishment.

    Reply
  • 04/30/2018 at 8:55 am
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    One of the most significant and joyful events in my life occurred 25 years ago, as well, but I was moving into the first home I owned independently. I had also had it built to my liking, so it was, and remains, my perfect sanctuary.

    Reply

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