52 years and such an honor...

Monday afternoon, on my way to set up for a wedding, I got a phone call from Valerie, telling me she was on the Eurodam, headed for St. Thomas, and wanted to know if she could get married...tomorrow! Turns out, she was really looking for a vow renewal. She had 12 others joining them and just needed something simple - some flowers, an arch and a little coordination.

We often do vow renewals - sometimes for couples that legally married just a week or two before coming to the islands. Either they did the legal paperwork back home and wanted the ceremony here or they had the big wedding back home to make family & friends happy....but had really wanted an island ceremony for themselves, so they do the ceremony on the honeymoon just for fun. We've helped people renew their vows for their first anniversary, 8th, 10th, 25th - 32nd....you name it. I didn't ask Valerie on the phone how many years it had been, so I was shocked when she told me it was 52! Not only because 52 is such a significant number, but because look how YOUNG they looked!



And so, so in love...



I have never felt so honored to be a part of something. It was magical. They had run off as teenagers, behind her parents unapproving backs, and married...just the two of them.

On this day however, they were surrounded by children & grandchildren.




It was so touching, loving and beautiful. Congratulations Valerie & Mike.




(PS And thank you Sunny Liston of Sunny Liston tours for referring them to me! Thanks for adding to the majic of the day!)

Something to be thankful for...

Chenoa and Mike renewed their wedding vows earlier this month on Magen's Bay. There are many different reasons why a couple will decide to renew their vows...they hit & survived a rough patch and want a new beginning...they are celebrating a big milestone anniversary...their mainland wedding wasn't their dream wedding and they want the sand in their toes to say I Do all over again...whatever their reasoning, we are happy to help. Mike & Chenoa though, has a different story and I loved that we (and mainly Eric Johnson of Paradise Pictures) were able to help.

A few years ago, their basement flooded. Among many possesions ruined was their wedding album. The photos were destroyed and they were heart-broken. The decided to have the photos redone but with an upcoming cruise to the Caribbean, they decided, why not redo the whole thing?? They laughed as they recalled their old wedding photos with the old school puffy sleeved dresses and the reception decorated with balloons! I love looking at those old albums, I can only imagine!

Eric did a wonderful job with their photos, even without balloons and massive sleeves!