An Epic Vow Renewal in Zion National Park
Celebrating milestones big and small helps us to put things into perspective and to focus on the important things in life. When you make it to 10 years of marriage, and you are still in love with your spouse, well that is something to celebrate and what better way to celebrate than to renew your vows in Zion National Park on your ten-year wedding aniversary. That is what Gina and Michael did. Read on for the details.
"Michael and I met in high school, our first time hanging out with friends we went sleigh riding. Our friendship evolved over the next year, and we eventually fell for each other. That was 17yrs ago. We've been married for 10. We live in upstate NY, not far from the town we met in. We are raising two boys, ages 9 & 6 and three dogs. As a family, I like to think we enjoy adventure. We like to spend our weekends in the summer hanging out on the lake we live on, and in the winter we hit the slopes!
"Renewing our vows was important to me. We've been together for so long and married really young. We have both grown so much over the past 10yrs, between becoming parents and raising our family, to supporting each other in business endeavors, to buying homes and renovating them while we live there. It's been a hectic 10yrs, and I'm proud of us for making our marriage a priority and growing together. I'm proud of the man I married and am grateful that he continues to choose me to share his life with.
"The whole experience of renewing our vows in Zion was beyond my expectations. Taking the time to say things to one another that we already know, but maybe don't take enough time in our chaotic life to slow down and really say them. Reading our "vows" to each other allowed us to reminisce on our 17yrs, and how far we've come together. Our vows were a mix of funny, sweet and spoken from the heart. We both chose (without knowing) to end with a line from our wedding song by The Dave Matthews Band "Steady as we go."
"It rained on our wedding day 10yrs ago. We were supposed to take pictures in the Catskill mountains at an overlook, and b/c of the rain we didn't. I've had that regret for the past 10yrs. To me, these pictures make up for those pictures we didn't get to take on our wedding day. I will forever be grateful to Arika for this experience and these photos. - Gina Tarbell
