We said those words over 34 years ago when we were married. We spent all those years in Ottawa, raising the boys and having so many special memories as well as working hard to allow is the lifestyle we are so enjoying now. So we wanted to celebrate this new phase and in a special way.

As we were packing up the Ottawa house I found some special jewelry pieces from Bill’s family that had languished in a drawer. We had the engagement/wedding ring set from Bill’s Mom and a brooch from his great aunt. Both of these were very special people to us and I wanted to be able to celebrate their memory. So we took the pieces to good friend in whose husband is a talented jeweler to create a ring that included my wedding set and the other pieces.

And we ended up with 2 very special rings. A new wedding band for Bill made from the gold of my old ring and his Mom’s set and a new ring for me with a contemporary design and the stones from all the pieces. We were thrilled with the result. The line in Bill’s represents the hills we bike and waves we paddle on. Mine feature my original engagement stone and all the stones from the other pieces.

So today we took the time to restate our original vows on the deck to celebrate the years past and to look forward to the years to come in this new phase. I could not fit into my original dress but I dug out my wedding hat for the ‘ceremony’.

We could use our original vows because my very talented maid-of-honor printed them in calligraphy for us and it has been on the wall in our bedroom since then.

We were so happy that we could do this here at the home we love and are growing to appreciate more each day. Thank-you Nicky and Derek for sharing this special time with us. And thank you to Ruth and Denis for making the rings. We will treasure them for a long time.