Krista is a very good friend of mine. She and her husband were separated for nine years! Yes, that’s years, not weeks or months. It was a very long process, but thanks to many prayers and counseling, they were reconciled. They wanted to have a vow renewal ceremony to celebrate. When they first married, they did it at the Justice of the Peace and, therefore, Krista wanted a “real” wedding.
We had only a few months to plan. Off we went. Their children made up their wedding party. They have six - four sons and two daughters, but the oldest son lives out of state and couldn’t make it because of work restrictions.
Krista knew she wanted yellow to be one of her main colors as it is Michael’s favorite color. She also sort of wanted a Victorian theme. As money was very tight, we worked with the bare minimum, bartered and negotiated. She was able to borrow a wedding dress from a friend that she absolutely loved and fit her perfectly – no alterations needed. A good friend of hers is a professional wedding photographer, so he wasn’t going to charge her anything. Another good friend of both of ours served as the DJ using his iPod and mine for a variety of music. I provide linens for a local caterer and because of my relationship with them, I was able to get the wedding cake at wholesale price. I also did all the flowers at minimum cost.
I made lace posy balls for the girls. They really loved them. Krista wanted Calla Lilies for her arm bouquet and Michael wanted yellow roses for the altar arrangements. For the reception, she bought candles at the dollar store and I used my hurricane shades and filled them with yellow rose petals. I was also able to borrow black overlay tablecloths. To sort of bring in the Victorian theme, we decorated the head table with three porcelain teapots. She bought two at a flea market and one was mine. 
It took her awhile to find dresses for her daughters in the color of yellow that she wanted, but she did. My granddaughter was the flower girl as my daughter used to baby-sit for Krista. It took me a couple of days to find the perfect yellow flower girl dress, but I did and it was perfect. The color yellow, the material and style were almost a perfect match to the girls’ dresses and I hadn’t even seen them at this point.
Realizing she couldn’t afford to have the reception in a mansion or country club, I suggested a very nice restaurant in Potomac – Normandie Farm, since she was only planning to have about 60 guests. We scheduled a site visit and she was impressed, the price was right and we booked it – exactly one month prior to the ceremony date. Whew!
All in all, everything went well. Her family loved it and enjoyed every minute of being together.
May you have many, many more years together, Michael and Krista. Congratulations!
