I do... take 2

Have you ever been to a vow renewal ceremony? I had never been to one until last week, and I have to tell you, it was so precious and made such an impression on me, that I felt compelled to share it with you.

First allow me to give you a little background information, as this was a very unusual situation. The couple renewing their wedding vows were essentially strangers to me. I'd met the husband once, a few months ago, during a conference he was attending at our military base. He and my husband work together, although he's stationed in a remote location, geographically separated from his family for a year. I had never met his wife.

Fast forward to about a month or so ago... My husband told me that this guy had invited his wife to meet him here for a different conference, and once the conference was over, the two of them were going to renew their wedding vows. The interesting and somewhat tricky part was the fact that she was totally unaware of his plans, and he needed a little help pulling it off.

My first thought, honestly, was the possibility that this couple's marriage might be a bit rocky, considering the time and distance involved with these kinds of separations. Extended deployments and remote tours are challenging, so maybe this guy was doing something extra special because he was desperate. You hear about this kind of thing all the time. I sincerely hoped he was confident that his wife would accept his proposal. How sad and humiliating would it be if this whole thing blew up in his face?

A few of us local folks were helping with the planning and execution of this special event, and after receiving a few emails from this guy, it quickly became apparent to me that my initial concerns were totally unfounded. He was completely sincere and obviously crazy about his wife and I found myself getting very excited about being in on this wonderful secret.

Okay, so dwell on this for a minute, looking at it from the wife's perspective, will you? Just picture getting on a plane, minus your children, so you can rendezvous with your husband, a deployed military man serving his country in some not-so-desirable place. You haven't seen him in several months, you're meeting him at the beach in southern Spain and you have a whole week together. Granted, you can't sit and hold hands and stare into his eyes during the conference, but you get to see him every single day for a week. That sounds pretty fabulous, right?

What this woman didn't know is that her husband was planning to ask her to marry him all over again. It wasn't just a "Hey, let's renew our wedding vows while we're together" kind of thing. He'd purchased a ring (an exquisite one, I might add) and was going to literally get down on bended knee and pop the question. He'd arranged for a military chaplain to perform the ceremony, invited a handful of guests, arranged for a bouquet of flowers, had dinner reservations at a great restaurant afterward, and even had a mini wedding cake waiting. Oh yeah, and the wedding was to be held in a castle... really! Photos would later take place on the beach, close to sunset.

I ask you... how romantic is THAT? Do you have chills? Are your eyes brimming with tears? This story awakened the princess in me and every other woman with whom I've shared it. On the flip side, the men who were either witness to this event or merely heard about it, shook their heads in despair and disbelief, and muttered things under their breath like, "Thanks a lot, dude! Way to set the bar impossibly high!" or "Great... my wife is NEVER going to let me forget this."

Would you like to see a few photos from this fairy tale-ish second wedding? Yeah, I thought you might, and I'm happy to oblige...


This is El Castillo de Luna (Luna Castle), which translates to "Castle of the Moon." The proposal and subsequent wedding took place here. It's reported that Ponce de León used the castle during his visits to the area. Oh, and King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella supposedly stayed here as well. How many people can say they got married where that kind of history exists?





This is the room where it all took place.


A small crowd of guests waited for the happy couple to arrive.


This is the big moment we'd all been waiting for... the proposal! I think the blushing bride was surprised, although I don't know for sure. The surprise was nearly given away more than once during the week, so she may have had her suspicions, but if she did, she very graciously kept them to herself. ☺ Sidebar... Do you just love her sassy coat or what?


One of our base chaplains performed the vow renewal ceremony.


I loved it when they turned and faced one another. The vows are coming up!


I was rather grateful to be behind the camera and "busy," otherwise I would have been searching for tissues I'd forgotten to stash in my purse.


Just look at our beautiful bride... she's positively glowing! And why not? She's in love with her husband of 18 years and they're celebrating that love in such a simple, sweet and incredibly romantic way.


I love hearing couples repeat their wedding vows. I get this little peek into their relationship, as they share their feelings for one another. This moment is solely for the bride and groom, and yet the couple allows invited guests to witness this very private, personal pledge of love. I so appreciate the vulnerability that exists at this point in the ceremony. Each person is pledging their love and devotion to one other, in the presence of God, as well as everyone else in the room. It's such a lovely promise, don't you think?

I must confess a huge faux pas right here. Are you ready for this? I missed the kiss! I know, I know... I can't believe it either. How does one miss the kiss? All I can hope is that the other person taking photos captured it.


Taking photos during a wedding felt a little intrusive to me, but everyone wants photos of this special event, right? If I could have willed myself invisible, I would have. This particular moment... the prayer... felt the most intrusive of all. It should be the most sincere moment of the entire ceremony, shouldn't it? I didn't want to take anything away from that.


There was some time between the wedding and dinner to walk a short distance to the beach for photos. We were so thankful for beautiful weather, especially since it had been raining the day prior and the skies seemed to promise more the day of the wedding. Do you feel your head tilting as you look at this photo? Note to self: Hold the camera level next time! That's what people get when dealing with amateurs! ☺


Here they are... the happily "re-married" couple!


This archway provides beautiful views, no matter through which side one looks. From this direction, one can see Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la O (Our Lady of the O Church) in the background.


Just a little closer view of the happy couple


The view looking from the opposite side of the archway is equally beautiful, as we can see the ocean in the background. Unfortunately I don't have Photoshop capability, or I would have already cropped out the people behind our couple.


Think they were getting tired of smiling? Maybe not, but they probably were tired of posing. We put our cameras down for a while and just enjoyed the scenery.


I'm thinking the groom did a mighty fine job picking out this ring. That's some serious bling!


The happy couple gathered with their guests at a restaurant in the Hotel Duque De Nájera for dinner.


Okay, I missed the kiss, but I got a staged kiss.


A local military spouse made this beautiful mini wedding cake for the occasion. She actually made a second cake to be sure there was enough for everyone. Both were delicious!


The huge sparkler on top of the cake was on behalf of the restaurant, a little Spanish touch I suppose. I never dreamed I'd see fireworks accompany a wedding cake, but there's certainly a first time for everything.

So there you have it... a secretly planned proposal, followed by a castle wedding most little girls (and big ones too) only dream about. I'm so happy to have been there, and I wish this special couple many, many more years of wedded bliss. Here's to love and marriage!