Sanctuary Gardens 10 Year Vow Renewal in the Beautiful Okanagan

Lauren Megerdichian
April 27, 2023
Categories: Real Weddings, Romantic, The Blog

Design/Vision/Vibe: My love for ethereal and whimsical details is alive and stronger than ever. We decided for our vow renewal we wanted to use our original wedding colors, soft pink and blue. We wanted to create an elevated fine art version of our original wedding day. Soft colors, delicate details, carefully crafted florals, pretty jewelry and of course the love of my life, our boys and some close family members made for the most perfect evening.

Story: Being a photographer myself, I am so used to capturing everyone else’s special moments, memories and events. It felt so surreal to have the roles reversed as I celebrated my 10 year anniversary with a very intimate vow renewal at Sanctuary Gardens. For context, Tom and I got married as wee little babies! We dated for 6 months, were engaged for 3 months, and married after 9 months of knowing each other. I was freshly 20, and my husband was 23 when we tied the knot. Tom and I have been chatting about how the past ten years have seemed to go by in the blink of an eye, but at the same time the beginning of our relationship feels like a lifetime ago. Time is a funny thing. The thing about getting married so young is that Tom and I got to grow up together. We navigated adulthood together: university degrees- together. First “real jobs” together. First house, together. We have been a partnership and a team as we’ve grown up. I’m so grateful I get to navigate life with Tom. It truly was SO special to ponder on the past ten years and celebrate each other and how far we’ve come in our relationship.

We said our vows overlooking the most picturesque mountains of Sanctuary Gardens in Kelowna, BC. The sun was setting behind the mountains and the wind was blowing through my Anthropologie dress that I am SO utterly obsessed with. The wind made the organza gown dance and flutter in the summer air. The off-the-shoulder movement, and sweeping floral, diaphanous organza is fit for a fairytale. Tom’s blue suit perfectly coordinated with the blue delphinium in the floral design and also in the tones of the Okanagan lake and mountains. I was lucky enough to have Teryn Lee Photography and Nory Films come to document this day. It was magical! I am forever grateful and will cherish these memories with my family for a lifetime.

Floral and decor: I work at a fine art floral studio, Lovella Lifestyle, and have become best of friends with Angela, the floral designer. If it wasn’t for Angela, the fiercely talented woman behind Lovella, this vow renewal never would have happened. She was the mastermind behind this and really encouraged me to do something big to celebrate my 10 year anniversary. Typically Tom and I would just get a babysitter for a couple hours and go out for dinner, but Angela was convinced we needed to do something bigger for our 10 year. I’m so grateful for her encouragement to make this special day happen for my husband Tom and I. I’ll spare with you all of the details for my love for Angela but I will say that pulling this off required lots of details aligning perfectly, and a lot of hard work. She included so many whimsical florals in the floral design including: garden roses, majolica spray roses, lisianthus, ranunculus, sweet peas, and my all time favourite flower: delphinium. Angela special ordered the delphinium from Holland and they were the most fluffy, beautiful shade of blue and they just make my heart sing. The delphinium tied the whole design together adding color, texture, height and whimsical dimension. While I adore every part of the floral design, my jaw dropped when I walked up the hill to see the grand floral arch standing tall overlooking Okanagan lake with the mountains as a picturesque background. It absolutely took my breath away.

Cake: For our cake we opted for a lemon cake with blueberry compote and vanilla buttercream icing. Not only was it was delicious but it was also so pretty! I am so in love with the soft buttercream floral design that our cake artist, Flour and Cake did. It was placed on top of an elegant cake stand with a gold base and a stone marble top. Lovella provided the most beautiful florals to perfectly frame the cake; making everything look so pretty and like a water-colour painting in the film photos from Teryn Lee Photography.

Stationery: The first dance song from our wedding was “A thousand years” by Christina Perri. Patricia from Studio Dukesa included the lyrics of this song with custom hand written calligraphy on hand torn paper. There were so many thoughtful touches to our heirloom stationery suite from Studio Dukesa. She also included a hand drawn illustration of our venue using foil on handmade paper, a custom floral envelope liner, scrolled name cards, and a wax seal from Patricia’s personal collection. She incorporated our colour palette perfectly with the soft blue envelope and soft pink ribbon. The gold foil and custom calligraphy added so much elegance to the overall design. I love how our stationery honoured our first dance song from our wedding, while also highlighting the venue from our vow renewal and tying together the fine art design.

Music: Like I mentioned before, our first dance song was “A thousand years.” This song means a lot to Tom and I, and both of us referenced these lyrics in our vows: “Jennifer Jean, what a decade it’s been. We met each other on January 5, 2012 and my life was forever changed from that point on. You came into my life like a ray of sunshine and you’ve continued to bring light into everyday of my life and into the lives of everyone around you. I am so happy to celebrate this day with you.” These are the words I heard as Tom began his vows: my heart racing, my chin quivering, and butterflies dancing in my stomach even though we’ve been together for ten amazing years. I feel so blessed to have found a man like Tom. As I concluded my vows to Tom I said: “there is a quote I reflected on a lot when we were dating and discussing marriage. It goes: “Aim high, but do not aim so high that you totally miss the target. What really matters is that he will love you, that he will respect you, that he will honour you, that he will be absolutely true to you, that he will give you the freedom of expression and let you fly in the development of your own talents. He is not going to be perfect, but if he is kind and thoughtful, honest and full of faith, the chances are you will not go wrong and that you will be immensely happy.” Thomas, thank you for loving me and respecting me. You have made me so immensely happy. Thank you for honouring me and my freedom of expression, and for believing that sameness does not equate to oneness. Thank you for choosing me, everyday. I can honestly say there is no one else on this planet I feel more unwavering love from. Thank you for loving me unconditionally. I remember the first time we kissed I was smiling so big that you kissed my teeth. 10 years later and I still can’t stop smiling. Loving you is easy. Like the lyrics from our first dance song say, “I have loved you for a thousand years, I’ll love you for a thousand more.”

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At the end of the vow renewal we danced to the song, “Heaven” by Calum Scott. This song highlights how it feels like heaven when you’re with your soulmate. Tom and I have always talked about wanting to create a safe haven and “heavenly” home, so this song reflects the love we are cultivating together and now with our two boys. This song also softly played as Tom and I had a private picnic at the end of the vow renewal with food provided by the fabulously talented, Gathered Food Curation and Styling.

Final thoughts: Planning and designing this vow renewal was so special for me. It was so fun to reflect on our wedding ten years ago, and also reflect on how our relationship has grown over the past decade. I loved incorporating nostalgic details while adding a fine art flair. I couldn’t be happier with the evening. I’m a big believer that all couples should celebrate their milestones together. I’m so thankful to all the talented vendors who made this dream come to life for my husband and I.