We STILL Do 10 Years Later

“I loved you then, I love you now, I always have and always will.”

We decided we wanted to renew our vows for our 10 year wedding anniversary, but not the ones we said on our wedding day. Instead, we wanted vows that we wrote ourselves, reflecting the marriage and the journey we have been on the last decade. Ten years of marriage…it can definitely test a couple’s perseverance and we wanted to share that in our vow renewal.

Much like marriage, the actual moment didn’t really go the way I had pictured in my head. I envisioned a little “mini” ceremony where our children would walk down an aisle, both with “important” jobs to do. Then I would gracefully walk towards my husband in a gorgeous dress and we would share a romantic moment while reading our heartfelt vows.

Well, it didn’t quite go anything like that. Turns out it was about 90 plus degrees and the location we picked had not so long ago burned from a wild land fire. The ground was dirty and dusty and there wasn’t really an area to have an “aisle.” Our amazing friend and photographer found what she called was a “diamond in the rough” with a few pretty trees and some good lighting.

So we set up our little scene of a cake and some flowers and I crossed a desert like parking lot to my hot, sweat drenched husband to read the vows. Not so surprisingly we were interrupted a few times by the kids asking things like “when is the actual wedding?” and “is it time for cake yet?”

The day did not go as planned, making it feel much more like real life instead of my vision of a fairy tale, but THAT my friends is what it is all about. Marriage isn’t perfect because we as humans are not perfect. We can’t expect to live happily ever after if we never think there won’t be some pot holes, or dirty desert like parking lots, along the way.

Even though it was hot, dusty, dirty and the kids were clearly only in it for the cake, what we did for each other that day in front of God and our children was priceless. Committing to each other to keep fighting, to keep loving no matter how hard it may get, no matter the losses we may experience, THAT is the grit it takes to keep the flame alive.

It is also making a decision to put Christ first, each other second, kids third and everything else comes after that. We are still learning, by no means do I consider us experts, but because we have already seen many failed relationships, we are more determined to make any necessary sacrifices. And I want that for all of you too, I want you to know that even though these pictures are so lovely and my husband and I love each other so much, it’s not perfect. We are not perfect. But we have a God who IS perfect and we can choose to love like HE loves us and to forgive because we have been forgiven.

My dress was borrowed from the beautiful Mon Amie wedding shop in Costa Mesa. Their staff was super helpful in helping me find the perfect dress for our vow renewal and I felt like a bride all over again. If you are a bride to be, or looking for a vow renewal give them a call and set up an appointment.

Photography by my dearest friend and amazingly talented Lindsey Gage. She has captured some of our life’s biggest moments and I’m so glad she found that “diamond in the rough” spot for us on this day.

Hair by the lovely and very talented Stacy Alyson Artistry. In no time at all she had transformed my hair into a piece of art work, if you are ever in need of a hair/makeup girl, she is the one!

And in case you want to read what we wrote to each other, here are our vows…

MY VOWS TO CAMERON…

Cameron, we stand here today, an entire decade since we first said I DO. Ten years ago we promised for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health till death do us part. We promised to grow old with each other and to always love one another. And today, 3,650 days later, I want to recommit my life to yours.

10 years has brought us lots of laughter, joy, adventure, excitement, amazing memories, but more importantly, wisdom. God has blessed us with two beautiful children, a home, our health and each other. HE has truly entrusted us with much.

But living happily ever hasn’t always meant that we didn’t hit a few road blocks along the way. I would be remiss if I said that in 10 years we haven’t been challenged. There has been loss and heartache, disappointments and frustrations. We have sometimes forgotten to make our marriage a priority over raising kids. But I believe our setbacks will also become our comebacks, we have learned that…

“Love never gives up, never looses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance.” -1 Corinthians 13:7

What I realize now is that we are not just growing old with each other we are growing up with each other.

I’m not the same person you married 10 years ago, but I’d like to think that we keep becoming better versions of ourselves. I have watched you go from a career focused single guy, to a very attentive and loving husband to the most caring and self-sacrificing father. You have surpassed my dreams that I had as a eager girlfriend, to adoring wife and now a nurturing mother. I am exciting to see what the next decade will bring and the changes that we will walk through together, hand in hand.

But there is One thing that will NEVER change and that is my LOVE for you.

Because I’m not the same nieve girl I once was, I can’t promise to become a better cook or to have a cleaner house or to even keep track of all my 500 bobby pins. I can’t promise I won’t make mistakes or that I can even make you happy every single day of your life…BUT I do promise to try my best to love you with an everlasting love. To forgive quickly and to ask for forgiveness. I can promise to make us a priority, even when it seems impossible. I promise to love you (even when you are mad at me) because HE first loved us!

The scripture that was read on our wedding day, which is never more true, “A cord of three strands is not easily broken.” -Ecclesiastes 4:12 If we continue to put Christ in the center of our marriage then let no man EVER tear us apart.

So today, Cameron Thomas Hutzler, in front of our children, and God, I pledge to continue to LOVE you, honor you, pursue you, pray for you, encourage you and always kiss you goodnight.

I promise that I loved you then, I love you now, I always have and always will.

CAMERON’S VOWS TO ME…

My Dearest Jenny Rose,

September 20, 2008…I close my eyes and remember the day like it was yesterday.  The warm sun rising over the Victorian Estate, the buzzing of our guests arriving at the venue, our photographer snapping photos from every which angle, and the sweet smell of roses flooding the air.  And then there were the emotions.  The nerves of ensuring everything was just perfect, the laughter of opening your pre-wedding photo album, the anticipation of seeing you in your beautiful white dress, and the excitement of pronouncing our love for one another in front of all our friends and family.   On that day, there was no hesitation, no confusion, no question that our lives were meant to be shared with one another.

Fast forward to ten years later, here we stand together sandwiched between our two precious angels, embracing each other’s hands, gazing into each other’s eyes, and reclaiming our endless love for one another. Today, I am reminded of the three “most-certain” things that I first felt on the day we got married…

1. You truly are BEAUTIFUL…both inside and out. Whether you’re just rolling out of bed with your loose, frizzy hair sticking straight up or getting all dolled up for a fun, date night out on the town, I am continually in awe of your effortless beauty.

2. Becoming your husband was the single BEST thing that has ever happened to me. Your faith in who I am, your patience with my faults, your kindness with my short-comings, and your passion for life has created a husband that strives each and every day to become the Best version of Myself for both you and our beautiful family.

And lastly, 3. Jenny Rose, my love for you is unfailing and eternal.  I realize that Love isn’t perfect.  Though we joke, it isn’t a fairytale or a storybook and it doesn’t always come easy.  Love is overcoming obstacles, facing challenges, fighting to be together, holding on and never letting go.  It is short word, easy to spell, difficult to define, but impossible to live without.  Love is work, but most of all, Love is realizing that every hour, every minute, every second of it was WORTH it because WE did it together.

A wise man once said, “Nobody is perfect until you fall in love with them.”  Those words couldn’t be truer! You are perfect to me Jenny Rose and our Love is just as God has designed!

Today, in front of our two adoring children, and under the watchful eyes of our Lord, Jesus Christ, I recommit my LOVE to you!  I promise to honor you, respect you, cherish you, and protect you.  No illness, fear, fault, or hardship will ever steer me away from my commitment to US.  You are my everything, my world, my rock and my passion!

I love you Jenny Rose, Forever and Always!!!

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