10 Year Vow Renewal: Our Intimate Ceremony at Crane Estate

Two wild kiddos that keep us guessing, a tenacious Boston terrier, many crazy times, life changes, and 10 YEARS later we are (as our amazing photographer Lena so eloquently put it) "stronger than ever". If I said it has been easy I would be lying you guys! We have put in the hard work, marriage counseling, trips away without kids to reconnect, supporting each other through hard times, loss of family members and health issues. It has been a challenging and rewarding road as a married couple and I am happy to say we have come out on top, together.

During the past couple years we have both made bold moves to grow - both personally and professionally. Matt and I both got a new jobs, I started grad school, launched my design business, we had a second child, in addition to so many other things! We are proud of how far we have come together and blessed that we have grown as a unit rather than growing apart. Matt is my better half - the ying to my yang. We thought long and hard about the best way to celebrate us making it ten years and all the work we have done to keep our relationship strong. Initially we planned to have our ceremony in the church, but we still longed for romantic outdoor ceremony we never got to have because our wedding was during hurricane Danny in 2009. We thought about having our vows done in a local garden, or even in our back yard...but every time we visited Crane Estate it just felt like the right place to re-commit our love. Our home was built in the same era as Crane Estate and we identify strongly with many aspects of life in the roaring twenties. The lawn parties, the fine china, the dapper clothing - so much of the twenties elevates the everyday in a way I try to recreate for modern day. Also! When the new year hits it will again be the 20s, so we are trying to get in the spirit now! We wrote our own heartfelt vows and I almost cried reading mine out load! Matt wrote the sweetest things in his I want to frame it - so sweet and supportive of my creative energy.

This time around, we wanted an intimate wedding. We did the big 150 person wedding, and although it was lovely - it felt very rushed and I spent more time trying to make sure I hugged everyone and thanked them for coming than I did savoring the whole experience. We decided for our vow renewal to keep it small and invited our parents and kids (oh and of course our incredible photographer Lena)! That's it. It was so nice to take it slow and enjoy every minute together. Instead of the day flying by warp speed, it felt beautifully slow and memorable in the best way possible. Our style has changed a lot! While our flowers for our first wedding were tropical colors and bright as can be, this look was softer, more casual and a bit more rustic. I couldn't be happier with how the flowers came out, they are truly my style represented in flower form! My hair was also looser and more low key than the original wedding. In 2009 I did a structured side bun. This year I did my own hair - sporting a halo braid with a flower crown and long bangs instead. I used the tutorial from For the Dainty Days! The look was more classic meets boho. I changed into a tea length off shoulder Anthropologie dress (I got on super clearance!) after the ceremony to be more comfortable at the lunch reception afterwards.

Once again, I did my own makeup (brave I know since I am no makeup expert by any means!) and this time I wore a beautiful set of True Glue eyelashes to add some drama. I absolutely love the look of falsies - but want to limit the chemicals I come into contact with and this brand seemed to check all the boxes. They worked well and came off easily! Highly recommend.

Our oldest son “officiated” the ceremony in the Italian Garden and our photographer Lena captured the whole day as we played with the boys and got some romantic couple shots. Since we are both complete introverts (who typically seem way cooler online than we do in person lol), Lena MADE the day by getting us to relax and be in the moment! Her energy, ideas of poses and positive attitude kept the day light and allowed us to show our silly side in a way that really shines through in the photos! Everyone we have showed the pics to so far has said something along the lines of "Ohh! beautiful! I can feel the LOVE!" which is exactly the vibe we hoped for. Anyways Lena is amazing and we highly recommend her if you are tying the knot or doing a renewal, she will take it to the next level.

Our vow renewal was a throw back in many ways (sans Hurricane Danny this time)! I wore the same Marisa 737 gown that I wrote so much about on this blog in the early days. I mean this dress is basically the reason I started my blog in the first place! Our 2009 wedding was pre-Pinterest days so I had to be resourceful in finding wedding inspiration ideas. I am an OG bride and I did crazy things like joining a support group on The Knot with other Marisa 737 brides to exchange bustle ideas! Oh the good old days. I do have to say though, it was really nice to have Pinterest to help with planning this time around, especially for hair and bouquet ideas. I also wore the same jewelry, and we were so blessed to get our flowers from Jess at Cymbidium Floral again! As you all probably remember, she is the amazing florist who created my bouquet for our wedding in '09 that was selected to grace the pages of The Knot magazine. While we skipped the professional photographer for our first wedding to save money, this time we invested in a spunky photographer I have followed and adored for over a year - the very talented Lena Mirasola! She is a bundle of fun and the way she photographs is just beautiful in every way. She brings out the joy in her subjects in a way I have never seen before.

After the ceremony we headed to Briar Barn Inn for an intimate reception lunch! This restaurant is incredible (highly recommend the fish tacos) and I hear they have a kick ass brunch too that we want to try real soon.

It was such a magical day, Matt, if you happen to read this - I am thrilled to marry you all over again. I am lucky to do life with you and couldn't imagine going through these wacky adventures with anyone else!

Photographer: Lena Mirasola

Florist: Cymbidium Floral

Dresses: Marisa and Anthro

Matt and Kids Suits: J. Crew

Venue: Crane Estate

Reception: Briar Barn Inn