vow-renewal-ideas

Fifteen Year Vow Renewal in Sedona, Arizona


vow-renewal-with-kids

Amanda and David celebrated their 15 year wedding anniversary in Sedona with their children and a vow renewal! They had originally planned to do their celebration in St. Maarten, but due to covid had to change plans and stay in the state. Sedona was truly the perfect place for them. They had been to Sedona as a couple and as a family in the past. It holds a special place in their heart, so much so that Amanda has  Gibraltar Rock ridge tattooed on her wrist. We met at a location that was an easy enough hike the whole family could enjoy with amazing views of Cathedral, Gibraltar Rock and Little Horse. We settled in and took in the view as we waited for Jesse, the flute player, and Jen Paul, the officiant, to arrive to start the ceremony. The kids set up a circle made of crystals for their parents to stand in during this special ceremony. I knew the ceremony was going to be sacred and beautiful with Jen and Jesse being a part of it. Their ceremony was filled with surprises from both kids and each other. Ellen their daughter, sang a song for her mom during the ceremony and David gave Amanda a new wedding ring. They recalled memories from their time dating, the proposal at Amanda’s parent’s house with tons of red roses, their wedding in Philadelphia and pregnancy when they found out they were having twins! They shared new traditional vows with their kids being a part of the readings and new hand written vows to each other celebrating the last ten years and committing to their forever forward again. It was such a joy to capture their ceremony filled with emotion, love and such strong family values. It truly was a celebration.

The sun set just as the ceremony was finishing up and we hiked back out under the most colorful Sedona sky. We all took a break for dinner before meeting back up on the other side of town for some photos under the milky way! These were some of the photos they were all most excited about! We arrived at the parking lot and the night was clear, you could see SO many stars! We took a short hike and had fun taking photos under the milky way, it was a perfect way to end the day. Congrats, to Amanda and Dave for celebrating ten years as a family and couple. I wish you all many, many more happy years together!

spiritual-vow-renewal

From their ceremony:

“I didnt fall in with you. I walked into love with you, with my eyes wide open, choosing to take every step along the way. I do believe in fate and destiny, but I also beleive we are only fated to do the things that we’d choose anyway. And I’d choose you; in a hundred lifetyimes, in a hundred worlds, in any verison of reality, I’d find you and I’d choose you.” – Kiersten White’s novel The Choas of Stars

elopement-with-kids
wedding-vow-renewal-ideas

Vow Renewal Planning Tips:

  • Hire an officiant if you want it to feel like a ceremony, be formal, or have help with coordinating the ceremony. Do not hire an officiant if you want to fully go with the flow and have an informal reading of vows.
  • Hand write your new vows ahead of time and/or you could re-read your original vows to each other. (Extra tip: If you are getting married you could hand write a letter to each other has new husband and wife and then read it to each other years later at a renewal)
  • Ways to include your kids: have them recite the vows, tell your love story, let them hold your flowers and/or rings, etc
  • Don’t stress, this is a celebration! Purely think about what you two want out of this ceremony and your desires to have it, then plan around that. Take your time planning and be open to ideas.
  • You could do the vow renewal at your original wedding location, somewhere that holds significance your lives together or somewhere you two have always wanted to go!
sedona-vow-renewal-photographer
vow renewal - adventure + vow-15.jpg

Looking for a photographer to capture your vow renewal or elopement!?

Sedona and Washington based, I am here to help you find the perfect spot to celebrate your love, plan the experience you imagine and be there to capture your story the day of! Email me to inquire about your special day from elopements to vow renewals. All love deserves to be celebrated! <3