Guys. This is one of the most beautiful and sentimental features we’ve written in a long time. It’s a vow renewal – at 10 years – and boy was it full of love. The groom wore the jacket he got married in ten years prior (respect for multiple reasons here) and their children made up their bridal party. Both count the moment they laid eyes on each other at the ceremony as their most memorable. Kristie (who donned Chaos & Harmony shoes and a RUUSK ring) says, “When I came down the hill towards our ceremony, Ben saw me and burst into tears, which made me burst into tears. It was a very emotionally charged moment and I’ll never forget it.” Emotionally charged is exactly how we would describe it and can we tell you, if you’re not on board for the vow renewal, we can pretty much guarantee you will be after this! Lucia.B Creative caught it all on camera and The Wilderness Chef catered, so we knew we were in for some damn good content. Scroll down for more…
THE WHY “There were two things that potentially planted the seed. We were going to be in Palm Springs around the time of our 10 year anniversary and I have an obsession with it, so thought it was the perfect opportunity to say our ‘I do’s’ again. Also, the fact that our daughter, Ruby, had been a little upset that she and Lola were not included in our wedding day 10 years previously (even though they weren’t even a thought at that stage). I remember thinking ‘how am I going to raise this crazy idea with Ben’ and then it ended up being Ben who asked me if it was something I wanted to do.”
LITTLE LOL “The day before our vow renewal, the kids still had no idea what was going on, so Ben and I had some invitations made for each of them and gave them their own personalised invitation on the morning that we were leaving. They were excited, but confused… ‘You’re getting married, again?’ While the kids were getting their heads around what we were saying, Ben dropped to one knee in front of them and proposed to me again with the RUUSK ring he gifted me for our ten years.”
THE VENUE “We had to shift our plans from being in the American desert to being somewhere within NSW and Carawirry Forest Escape caught my attention because it was in such a beautiful dense forest. We wanted it to be intimate, with our kids only, and take the time to do things like write our own vows to each other and have a really special meal all together. The kids were as emotionally blown away as we were with how special the day ended up being for us all.”
FAVE DETAILS “I cut some of my original wedding dress up and had the girls’ flowers tied with the fabric, the boys all had a piece of the dress on their buttonhole flowers and the girls had a piece of the dress in their hair as ribbons.”
REFERENCES “I have been lucky enough to work in the wedding industry for a few years now, so I have met some amazing vendors along the way. Danelle from Blossom Love is one of my closest friends, Loren from Sprinkles & Cream Cake Design has been making delicious cakes for my family for years and I have known Somerset for a couple of years and when I found out she was becoming a celebrant I knew straight away that there was no one else who could be more perfect for us. Lucia.B Creative, our photographer, is my best friend, so I didn’t want to have anyone else there with us on the day. As for our other vendors, I basically used Hello May as my inspiration board and used the Directory to find some vendors we had missing as well as many hours down the Pinterest rabbit hole.”
A WORD OF ADVICE “Absolutely do it. If it’s a little idea you’re not too sure of, you have to grab hold of that and go for it. It really was the most magical day for us, it still gives me goosebumps thinking of all of the small moments. Nothing will take away from our wedding day, but our vow renewal gave us something we weren’t expecting and somehow strengthened the already strong bond we have. The trip down memory lane of our life together was really special and I think it’s something all couples should do if able.”
STANDOUT VENDORS “Lucia.B Creative was amazing over the whole weekend and on the day doubled as my maid of honour as well. Everyone went above and beyond for us and it was special having each of them involved, but if I had to pull one [vendor] from one moment of the day, it would be the ceremony. Somerset went above and beyond with all of the emails and meetings to get to know us as a couple and get to know our family as a whole, so she could deliver the really special ceremony we were after. Not only was the ceremony special, Somerset also had this amazing, calming presence when we were all emotional and was so patient, even when our kids started going rogue and off-script during the ceremony.”
If you want to see more from some of our fave vendors featured in this story, check out the following Directory links. You’ll find more information, contact details and real weddings galore at RUUSK and The Wilderness Chef. But first…
CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Lucia.B Creative Florist Blossom Love Stationery Maya and Love via Etsy (Invites) Wild Wonder Design Co (Place Cards) Ceremony & Reception Carawirry Forest Escape Catering The Wilderness Chef Cake Sprinkles & Cream Cake Design Hire Items Timbermill (Table & Chairs) Pretty Pedestals (Glassware & Cutlery) Celebrant Somerset Lewis Rings RUUSK
Candles Black Blaze & Southern Lights Candle Co THE BRIDE Bridal Gown Asos Shoes Chaos & Harmony Accessories Blue Nile (Earrings) Hair & Makeup Makeup By Bonnie Lee Bridesmaid Dresses Aubrie THE GROOM Jacket Simon Carter Shoes R.M. Williams Groomsmen Suits Shirts & Pants Country Road