We are renewing our vows after one year of marriage...

by Tracey Doss
(Aurora, IN USA)

My husband and I were best of friends. We married last year (September 18, 2010) The wedding was beautiful as it was a destination wedding for us to the beautiful TN mountains. I had a dream about my late father. I had gone to bed that night worrying about the place in which to get married. I had my father on my mind. In my dream, I climbed the tallest mountain and as I reached upward, my father's hand touched mine and that is when the mist parted and I saw him pointing to a beautiful garden. I associated the mountains for TN since my father loved it there. (We're from Ohio) ... So the next morning I looked for the garden and found Rosewood Gardens. It is privately owned, but after x amount of months, we exchanged vows underneath the white wedding arbor in the Wine and Rose garden. It was breathtaking.

I am an environmentalist, I love flowers and the outdoors, and this was the most beautiful wedding ceremony I could have ever imagined. We had the most beautiful music, and when the ceremony ended, that is when the sadness began. We (all 25 of us) went to a local eatery in TN and dined. It was special. We had a beautiful butterfly decorated 3-tiered cake. I remember having a very delicious meal with my family and two very special high school friends ( that I didn't see for almost 20 years!) After the dinner, we had planned on driving to the Bed and Breakfast where we were to have a sunset cruise and a very lovely room. But we never got there. We sat in traffic for almost seven hours because of a local car show held in TN every year. We didn't know, we were not local.

I was married once before and it was horrible. I never got to my honeymoon then either. So it was extra painful. I love my husband, but I wanted that closure. we ( We have three children together and I had two sons from my previous marriage that he has helped me raise since three and 18 months old)sat in the car and when we finally arrived at the cabin, no one uttered a word, the wedding day ended in disaster.

Bryon and I are renewing our vows on September 18, 2011, exactly one year after exchanging our wedding vows. We are doing this at the same garden, underneath the same white wedding arbor and I feel that it will be the closure we need.