In this Blog we will look back at Tracy and Ian’s Vow Renewal Ceremony which not only celebrated over 20 years of marriage but a very special family.
Where: Holiday Inn, Colchester https://www.hicolchesterhotel.co.uk/weddings/
When: September 2024
Who: Tracy & Ian
1st Contact: I met Ian and Tracy at a wedding Fair at Colchester United Football ground in April 2022. The world was just getting back to normal after the Covid-19 Pandemic and I was greeted by these two really tall people, one of which looked like he would rather be anywhere else and the other who was fizzing with energy and ideas.
Tracy told me that they were celebrating their anniversary and they wanted to renew their vows, that they had a hotel booked on a certain date and were looking for someone to be able to create a ceremony that celebrated not just them but their family – “easy peasy” I said, “have you got any idea of style and themes?” and I was regaled with ideas and plans whilst Ian looked out of the window.
It wasn’t that Ian wasn’t interested, this was the way their dynamic worked. Tracy is the planner and organiser, she has the creative ideas and vision and Ian agrees with those plans because they are so in sync with each other, plus he knows she’ll do a good job. If there is anything he doesn’t like he lets us know but for the most part he is a presence in the background, with an appropriate smile and nod in the right place, a quiet reassurance as Tracy creates a masterpiece.
After a video call later that month we were booked and ready for a planning meeting, which was held at their lovely home in Clacton. Immediately, I could see that family was the centre of everything and why paying tribute to this was so important to Tracy and Ian – time to get writing.
Wedding Day: Before we got to their ceremony date we had a change of location as their original choice was to be used to home asylum seekers, so a new hotel was found. Tracy had been through all the pieces they had kept from their original wedding date where white and gold were the key colours and so they replicated that this time round. Since the original wedding both Ian and Tracy had lost a parent, so in their memory there was a small ladder display placed at the top of the aisle with treasured photos of them all from the original wedding, as it was so important to include them in the renewal of their marriage.
The room at the Holiday Inn was decked out in chairs, dressed in white covers with golden sashes. A cream aisle runner was adorned with rose petals and decorative lanterns – which just about everyone kicked as they entered the room! A sparkling curtain was preceded by a glittery table cloth and 2 white blossom trees, I was being spoiled with my backdrop. Oh, and there was just one minor tweak to be made to the script – one of their daughters was now pregnant, so could I add in an extra grandchild when recognising their family members – absolutely!!
Tracy had asked me if I would escort their daughter Morgan into the ceremony room as she gets a little anxious, which was my absolute pleasure and then the rest of the girls would precede mum and dad into the ceremony room, resplendent as they were in their golden dresses. Once everyone was seated and I had made the necessary introductions, their daughters Brooke and Chloe read Edward Monkton’s ‘The Giraffe and the Monkey’ poem which everyone was given a copy of on their chairs, so they could follow along.
I told the comical story of how Ian and Tracy met and that it definitely wasn’t love at first sight but it was an appreciation of each other, their values and attitude toward family that brought them closer together and how it is those same values that have held them close throughout their marriage, through good times and bad. Ian and Tracy repeated their vows to each other before everyone cheered them out of the room for a drinks reception and photos.
Celebrant Led: It was a joy working with Ian and Tracy, we laughed a lot and despite Tracy’s vision there were some last minute changes which were easy to accommodate as a Celebrant but might have been problematic should they have used a Registrar.
A registrar is not required for a Vow Renewal as the couple is already legally married. The do advertise the service in their capacity as ‘Celebrants’ but it still has the promise of a boring and stuffy ceremony which would in no way have suited these two lovely people.
After the event, I received the best feedback on Facebook:
“No Thank you is enough, for all the time love that Shelley showed us on delivering a vow renewal that was perfect. Shelley talked us through everything and her articulation of our love story and our family unit was amazing and heartfelt. Shelley made changes and helped us create our perfect ceremony.
Shelley you’re amazing and I cannot thank you enough for everything.
