25th Wedding Anniversary

Today as Curt and I celebrate our 26th wedding anniversary, I’m going to take you down memory lane and sharing some pictures from our 25th Anniversary in Siena, Italy.

When Curt and I got married we promised each other that we would renew our vows and celebrate our 25th Anniversary in Italy and this is something we both looked forward to. As time got closer we started planning our trip and like any couple, we had to compromise on a few things. Curt wanted this trip to be just him and I but I really wanted Jeremy and Vanessa to share our special day with us. I was even willing to compromise and renew our vows in the states so Jeremy and Vanessa could be part of it and then take a trip to Italy. We came to a resolution by extending our trip to three weeks instead of two weeks and allow the kids to be with us for a week. Not a bad idea if you ask me.

It was also important to us that we renewed our vows on July 2nd since this is our wedding date. That meant going to Italy during the busy travel season. At first, we wanted to renew our vows by the beach but the more we thought about it the more we realized it didn’t make sense. We were going during peak season the beaches were going to be crowded unless we found a little secluded area. So we decided to shift and look for a different location that had a true feel of Italy. This took us to Siena, Italy. La Certosa Di Pontignano to be exact. It’s a is a Carthusian monastery and church as well as the official conference center of the University of Siena. It also has a hotel and a restaurant. We stayed here for two days and enjoyed the tranquility of this place. This place is absolutely beautiful and the perfect backdrop for our vow renewal. The Italian style gardens, cloisters, the vineyard, the small church, and olive orchard gave the perfect Tuscan feel. We had everything we wanted in one place.

We pretty much had the area to ourselves on the day of our anniversary. We found out that day that the region of Tuscany holds a horse race every year on July 2nd. It’s a big deal for them and something all the locals look forward to.

We didn’t want anything extravagant for our special day so we kept it very simple. Our little ceremony was short. We didn’t have an officiant, just our kids to witness our love and our photographer Camilla, whom I’m forever grateful for capturing our special day and these beautiful images. We got together and prayed first and then we read each other’s vows. Unbeknown to each other, we each also wrote on our vows a special message for Jeremy and Vanessa which made this extra special. It was a very emotional day for us. We cried and laughed a lot and also forgot our tissue! How can we forget the tissue?

On our last dinner with Jeremy and Vanessa, before they headed home, I asked them what was the highlight of their trip? Jeremy said, “witnessing you and dad renew your vows was very special and the highlight of my trip.” And this here was totally worth having the kids with us!