Chris & Bonnie
Married at Little River Baptist Church Feb. 24, 1996 | Renewed at Montpelier Center for Arts & Education, Feb. 24, 2012
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Bonnie and Chris Harlow recommitted to each other last year after reconciling from a separation. "Our relationship had been turbulent for a long time, and my husband wasn't ready to throw in the towel on us," Bonnie says. "Somehow he managed to capture my heart again. Chris knew I had wanted to renew our vows before our relationship took a turn for the worst, so he brought it up and I accepted."
The couple, who met in high school, wanted an intimate, contemporary ceremony and chose to recite a "blessing of the hands" reading instead of traditional vows. "The hands ceremony reflected our love and commitment with the understanding of God's influence on our lives," Bonnie says.
Bonnie worked with Angela Parker at Angela's Elegant Events to create a ceremony that was cozy, relaxed and elegant. "We are laid back personality-wise, but I do adore a little bling," Bonnie says,noting that she created a backdrop for the ceremony that reflected glimmery elements of Jiko at Walt Disney World Resort, the couple's favorite restaurant.
Even though the day was a whirlwind, Bonnie and Chris carved out a few minutes for themselves before the ceremony started. "Having one-on-one time to talk to each other pre-ceremony and also exchanging our vows again with dear friends and family that watched us as a couple go through all of our ups and downs had such a profound effect on me personally," she says. "We wanted to do this to show the love and devotion we have for each other. It was a choice to stay married and move forward as a couple and family."
Travis & Meghan
Married at Richmond Country Club, Nov. 7, 2009 | Renewed in Dingle, Ireland, Nov. 5, 2010
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Photography courtesy Travis Ely
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Meghan and Travis Ely were just as surprised as their families when they decided to renew their vows just a year after their wedding ceremony. "Everything just fell into place," Meghan says.
The couple originally wanted to slip away and get married, but instead they opted for a traditional wedding the first time around. "We were conflicted," Meghan says about the wedding. "We wanted to have family and friends and knew they wouldn't be pleased with us if we decided to dash off and do it ourselves."
The idea for the renewal ceremony surfaced when Meghan, who owns the wedding public relations and marketing firm OFD Consulting, was asked to speak at an industry conference in Ireland. In a conversation with the conference coordinator, Annie Byrne, she mentioned that she and her husband had always wanted to have a small ceremony overseas. Three months later, she and Travis were standing in front of a celebrant in the Gallarus Oratory, a stone structure sometimes used as a chapel, outside of Dingle, Ireland, with Byrne and a Celtic singer by their side.
Casually dressed in jeans, Meghan and Travis renewed their vows in a traditional handfasting ceremony with their hands wrapped together in red ribbon. Later they drove to Dick Mack's, a quaint Irish pub, for an evening of music and celebration. "It was wonderful," Meghan says. "I can look back and say we did it both ways. It made Ireland endearing to us. We have been back twice since."
Lonnie & Lesa
Married at the Emporia courthouse May 30, 1989 | Renewed at The Jefferson, May 26, 2012
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Jamie Hayes
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Jamie Hayes
Hayes and Fisk Photography
Lesa and Lonnie Thomas married in 1989 at the courthouse in Emporia after only a two-week courtship. Twenty-three years later, they renewed their vows in a traditional military wedding at The Jefferson.
Lesa, who was raised in Church Hill, and Lonnie, a Marine chief warrant officer in charge of the Pacific region, live in Surprise, Ariz., but Lesa was determined to bring the ceremony back home. "I am family-oriented, and a lot of my family wouldn't be able to afford to come" to Arizona, she says, adding, "I have always wanted to have a ceremony. I always wanted to be in a dress and have all the hoopla."
That hoopla included buying a wedding dress at Bridals by Lori in Atlanta, the shop made famous by the TLC show Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta. When the staff heard her story, the show decided to feature the couple's ceremony on an episode that aired last September.
Lesa planned the vow renewal ceremony in just six weeks with the help of the staff at The Jefferson.
"The staff was awesome," Lesa says. The couple had 100 attendees — friends and family from as far away as Hawaii and Italy — at the ceremony. One of their sons, Lonnie Jr., served as best man.
Even though she planned all the details, Lesa was unaware that Lonnie had arranged a traditional line of swords for the ceremony. As she headed toward the hotel's grand staircase, she saw a line of officers outfitted in Navy and Marine dress uniforms on either side of the staircase. "I was so nervous," she says. "I had no clue about the swords. We didn't rehearse with them. It made me fall in love with my husband all over again."
