our 10th anniversary party

What a day we had. On Saturday we celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary by renewing our vows and then partying it up with about 50 of our closest friends.



It was an absolutely lovely day. It was, as my friend Jennifer said afterwards, like a wedding with none of the stress. What surprised me, though (I know this may sound silly seeing as I helped PLAN the thing) was that it was just like a wedding. I knew we were having a party, but I hadn't really processed how much it would be another wedding and it was utterly overwhelming in a fabulous way. I never imagined it could be so great.

I loved wearing my original wedding dress, and was awed at the emotions it stirred in me to be a bride again. As I put my dress on, I was nervous, but couldn't figure why (I mean, I married the guy ONCE already), and then it dawned on me everyone was going to look at me say mushy deep things to Wade (which again, I know I do all the time when I teach, but...you know.) It is also strange when you are the bride you don't get to see everyone arrive one by one, you just walk in and suddenly people from every season of your life are in the same place at the same time, like a dream. This was really a good dream come true. While there were a lot of people who I would have loved to have had there, so many came that were such a surprise.



God totally blessed me and helped me find just what I wanted to say to Wade just when I needed to say it. He was so handsome, he was and still is better than I ever dreamed a man could be. He also looked really hot! (My dad loaned Wade his Cub Scout cuff links, which made me cry when I saw them. I also had flowers from my favourite flower shop, The Flower Box, which...yes, made me cry when I saw them.) My brother sang, and I really missed my sisters. I wore earrings from Caroline and carried my Pooh bear necklace from Liz ( you can see it in the photo above) with my bouquet to have a piece of them with me.



None of our original wedding party could be with us (but they ALL wanted to be - love you guys...) but our dearest friends nearby all stood up for us. (Jennifer is missing from this shot below - she was moving her car! - but when I get one with her I will post it too.) The guys all wore Utilikilts that Wade won with his Utilikilt prize winnings and we were all lookin' pretty fine.



My bridesmaids were INCREDIBLE. They were just what I always hoped bridesmaids could be, baking scones for breaky, painting my toes, buying jewellery, looking after my baby, driving and flower-wrangling and photo-taking and getting their own kids there all in one piece. And, when Sandra heard I had never had a fancy-schmancy wedding cake, she organized Angela and her friend Julie to help and they MADE THIS CAKE:



I KNOW! And this is me seeing the cake for the first time:



And then, to top it all off, Angela and Leigh managed to surprise us by arranging for all our friends to chip in to buy us a new laptop...and not just any one, but the best you can get. They gave us an empty box to open, and when all the $$$ arrives we will be getting the new model of the Mac Book Pro that will be released in October. I know! I know!



Wade was wearing Eleanor asleep in the sling when they gave it to us...needless to say, she woke up.



So I have spent the last 2 days processing all the bliss. God has been really speaking to me over the last year or so about waking up to my emotions, being awake for my own life and that if I numb myself to pain then I will also be numb when the joy comes around too.


I am so glad I was not numb to joy this day. It was so, so much goodness I have had to work to take it in. It is too much. It is the extravagance of God in all His goodness. There is no logic as to why I am so blessed , but I am grateful to God and all those I love and who worked so hard for making Saturday such an amazing celebration.



all photos copyright 2007 Sandra Vander Schaaf Photography