My Renewal Ceremony
On July 5, my husband and I will celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary. On July 13, we will renew our vows to commemorate the event. Two weeks ago I shared some of the details of our original ceremony so this week I thought I'd share some of the inspiration and ideas behind our renewal.
First things first, this is NOT a wedding. This is not Sarah's chance for a do-over. I've looked at my fair share of renewal ceremonies online and so often it just seems like the bride is playing dress up. Now, don't get me wrong. I LOVE playing dress up but this isn't a costume party. It's a celebration of my marriage, my family, and the life my husband and I have built together.
So... there will be no long white wedding dress, no big fancy wedding cake, no seated dinner, no walk down the aisle.
Now, I DID get a new dress. Let's not go overboard here. I wanted something tea length with a 1950's silhouette. I loved this dress and used it as my inspiration. I ended up with something pretty similar to my original dress in that it's mostly lace but it's short and ivory and VERY comfortable to dance in. I'm going to add a colored ribbon around the waist and similarly hued ballerina flat to cut down on the bridal aspect even more.
I also happen to be very good friends with the best and most creative florist in the tri-state region who I have given complete and total creative control so there WILL be flowers.
The bouquet is the inspiration for the floral theme - lots of bright summery blooms and overflowing arrangements. It's going to be stunning I have no doubt and a complete surprise to me which is even more fun!
We're having the ceremony in our front yard at sunset. Our plan is to walk out together with the boys and then exchange a few words underneath the giant maple in front of our home. My three dear friends from college who performed at our original wedding will be reprising their roles at this ceremony, which means the absolute world to me.
Afterwards, we're going to go around back and eat dessert and drink and dance the night away. Several years ago I attended the wedding my dear friend (and herKentucky contributor!) Amy Hille Glasscock. It was a gorgeous and thoughtful wedding from top to bottom but one of my favorite touches was she had friends and family bring pies to fill up the dessert table. I absolutely loved the idea of all that food made with love by people who knew the couple best so we'll be stealing Amy's idea. No cake just long tables full of pie!
Otherwise, my only plan is to have lots of twinkly lights, a loud speaker for my friend Mike so he can keep us rocking and dancing all night long, and lots of gangsta rap for when Mike takes a break.
No stress. No drama. No notebooks or Pinterest boards filled with high expectations and higher budgets. I did that the first time. This time it's about me and my amazing man and celebrating the relationship that has defined my life for the better part of a decade.
Oh... and there might be some Dip 'N Dots.
~ Sarah Stewart Holland
First things first, this is NOT a wedding. This is not Sarah's chance for a do-over. I've looked at my fair share of renewal ceremonies online and so often it just seems like the bride is playing dress up. Now, don't get me wrong. I LOVE playing dress up but this isn't a costume party. It's a celebration of my marriage, my family, and the life my husband and I have built together.
So... there will be no long white wedding dress, no big fancy wedding cake, no seated dinner, no walk down the aisle.Now, I DID get a new dress. Let's not go overboard here. I wanted something tea length with a 1950's silhouette. I loved this dress and used it as my inspiration. I ended up with something pretty similar to my original dress in that it's mostly lace but it's short and ivory and VERY comfortable to dance in. I'm going to add a colored ribbon around the waist and similarly hued ballerina flat to cut down on the bridal aspect even more.
I also happen to be very good friends with the best and most creative florist in the tri-state region who I have given complete and total creative control so there WILL be flowers.
The bouquet is the inspiration for the floral theme - lots of bright summery blooms and overflowing arrangements. It's going to be stunning I have no doubt and a complete surprise to me which is even more fun!
We're having the ceremony in our front yard at sunset. Our plan is to walk out together with the boys and then exchange a few words underneath the giant maple in front of our home. My three dear friends from college who performed at our original wedding will be reprising their roles at this ceremony, which means the absolute world to me.
Afterwards, we're going to go around back and eat dessert and drink and dance the night away. Several years ago I attended the wedding my dear friend (and herKentucky contributor!) Amy Hille Glasscock. It was a gorgeous and thoughtful wedding from top to bottom but one of my favorite touches was she had friends and family bring pies to fill up the dessert table. I absolutely loved the idea of all that food made with love by people who knew the couple best so we'll be stealing Amy's idea. No cake just long tables full of pie!Otherwise, my only plan is to have lots of twinkly lights, a loud speaker for my friend Mike so he can keep us rocking and dancing all night long, and lots of gangsta rap for when Mike takes a break.
No stress. No drama. No notebooks or Pinterest boards filled with high expectations and higher budgets. I did that the first time. This time it's about me and my amazing man and celebrating the relationship that has defined my life for the better part of a decade.
Oh... and there might be some Dip 'N Dots.
~ Sarah Stewart Holland
