Tracy contacted me in March about planning a wedding anniversary vow renewal ceremony for her parents. Her parents would be celebrating their 50th year wedding anniversary in September. She wanted the vow renewal ceremony on July 18 since all the family members could be together on vacation in St. Petersburg Florida. I was excited to work with her to create this special ceremony for her parents and their family. I put a package together which included ceremony officiant, arbor, and music for the ceremony.
The ceremony was this past Saturday on the beach at The Thunderbird Resort in St Petersburg. Jim & Ann (parents) have four children and six grandchildren. All of them were present for the ceremony. A mid afternoon thunderstorm brought some concern about the weather so as soon my husband, George Sr, & I arrived the family members all wanted to help us out and get started with the setup and proceed with the ceremony. The Granddaughter helped me with decorating the arbor and building an aisle runner with purple petals, while others helped carry things out. It ended up being a gorgeous evening. The storm passed and the beach was less populated. The sun came out and we had a beautiful vow renewal ceremony on St Petersburg beach.
Jim & Ann were married 50 years ago on September 21st in Wisconsin. All the family members are from Wisconsin. Jim & Ann and others now live in Florida. Ann wore a beautiful white wedding gown and grandchildren threw flower petals as she walked down the aisle. She requested The Wedding Song by Mary Macgregor to be played as she walked down the aisle. As I performed the ceremony and looked into their eyes I could see them reflecting on their marriage journey. Over 50 years and the love still showed through in their eyes. When it came to the ring exchange, Jim surprised his bride with a beautiful ring. Ann was tearful. I had them take a moment to hug and play part of a song Ann wanted in the ceremony, “The Wind Beneath My Wings” by Bette Middler.
After the ceremony the family gathered together and asked me to take a few photos for them. They all helped once again with taking things down and bringing things back to the car. They were so thankful. The daughter said, “I’m just so glad I found you. You’ve been so wonderful. Can’t thank you enough.”