We drove away from our wedding day promising to re-gather our friends and family for the milestones of our 5th, 15th, 25th and 50th anniversary years. Last weekend we gathered with our family and friends to celebrate our 15th anniversary! Our actual wedding anniversary was on March 11th but we decided to postpone our celebration because of covid restrictions. So since we celebrated on September 11th, it’s been 15 1/2 years exactly. It worked out perfect because not only did we get to have our celebration at our favorite wedding venue, Tiber Canyon Ranch, but we got to have Oliver join us too! I was 7 months pregnant back in March so getting to have him with us made it that much more special. We began our magical evening by walking out as a family to all of our guests. As we walked down the stairs hand in hand and approached all of the faces of the ones we love so dearly, my eyes began to well up with tears. I was overtaken by such an overwhelming feeling of gratitude as I held Oliver and looked over at Dan holding Everly. God has been so faithful and I’m in awe of how he has blessed us. We started with a vow renewal hosted by our dear friend and mentor, Rich Wilson. He also hosted our 5 year party 10 years ago. Having him there was so special to us. He and his wife Karen are so dear to our hearts. I loved getting to renew my vows and share my heart for Daniel. He truly is the man of my dreams and I love that my kids get to have him as their father. Hearing the words he wrote for me was so humbling. Men like Daniel are rare in this world and I’m just honored to live my life with him. At our 5th anniversary party we had a time capsule there for our family and friends to write us a note or leave us a treasure to open at our 15 year party. The time capsule was sealed back then by both our fathers and my grandfather with 3 different locks. And all three of them unlocked it with their individual keys on this night. It was amazing getting to open it 10 years later and see all the notes written, even from some who have since passed away; My grandma, my aunt, and Daniel’s grandparents. At home after the party, Dan and I enjoyed taking our time reading all of the words written to us years ago. The time capsule was filled up again on this night with notes from everyone that attended and we look forward to reading them in the next 10 years! The ceremony was followed by some special dances. Daniel and I shared a dance to a song that he wrote and recorded for me on the anniversary before our sweet Everly came into this world. She ran up and joined us during our dance and it was so precious. One of the lines in the song says, “planted that tree in the back of the yard and wait for those dreams while we watch it grow tall.” Daniel and I planted a plum tree in our backyard believing with all our hearts that we would have children one day, and when we had Everly our tree was in full bloom. Recently, we took both Everly and Oliver outside and harvested the plums together. We took all the plums inside and I got to make some plum jam to give to all of our guests on this night. Another special dance that took place was Daniel’s dance with Everly. Right after our dance ended the DJ said “Everly this one’s for you.” As soon as their song started playing Everly looked up at her Daddy, and with her eyes wide open, gasped, then reached out to him and he scooped her up in his arms. I’ve seen them dance together so many times at home but there was something so magical watching them dance under the beautifully lit oak trees to their special song. Daniel said at one point Everly looked around and softly said “woooww!” I’ll never forget the precious sight of them together that night. I’m so glad we have such beautiful photos and videos to look back on forever. After the dances we enjoyed a dinner together, then we got to surprise our parents with a special song. Both of our parents actually share the same wedding song by Paul Stookey called “There Is Love” (The Wedding Song). Daniel played it at my parents 40th anniversary vow renewal back in June this year. My dad has been asking Dan to record his own version of it for awhile now. So we were so excited to be able to surprise them with our own rendition of the song while they both shared a dance together. My parents have been such an inspiration to me. The love they share is so special and their marriage is such a beautiful example to us. At the end of the night, we sang happy birthday to a dear friend, enjoyed some cupcakes, and danced to close the night out. Daniel and I loved being surrounded by all our dear friends and family. This night truly felt like a little slice of heaven. Our hearts are so full of gratitude for the precious people God has placed in our lives. We’re looking forward to reading everyone’s notes to us in our time capsule at our 25th anniversary party! Special thanks to all of our vendors for making this night a dream come true for us:
Venue: Tiber Canyon Ranch, Officiant: Rich Wilson, DJ: Bob Stock, Portraits & Candids: Michael Kinney Photography, Photojournalism: Somewhere Studios Photography, Caterer: Tamara’s Catering
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