I’m not sure if any of you were reading this blog 10 years ago when we renewed our vows.
We stood in the same church in front of the same preacher at the same time on the same day of the month. And in the front of the church on either side of us, there stood the same maid of honor and the same best man.
A whole lot of sames.
Except this time, there was something extraordinarily different.
Four extra ordinary little people who were just a twinkle in their parents’ eyes were part of this ceremony. The twins sang and the boys escorted their grandparents in.
My husband and I said our vows again and I danced down the aisle.
It was a celebration and a day I will never forget.
I thought it couldn’t be topped.
I thought nothing could be better.
Until.
Until a couple of months ago….
…..when I found this.
It happened on a blustery Father’s Day.
My husband had one wish for his special day. He wanted to clean out the bins in the attic.
The bins had somehow collected more bins, and all those bins together added up to one giant, overcrowded, overflowing attic that was bursting at the seams. He needed our help, he told us.
Could we?
Would we?
Was it possible for us to gather together as a family and go through the bins and sort and reorganize and discard and donate and (hopefully) get rid of as many bins as we could?
At first, it was slow going.
Even though we wanted to honor the Father’s Day request, there were a lot of bins and a lot of fussiness. It was the weekend. There were movies to watch and cookies to bake and games to play and the last thing that the general population at Thistlewood wanted to do was sort through a bunch of dusty bins.
But then?
Someone found their award certificates from third grade. And then someone found a toy train set and someone found monogrammed onesies from when they were a tiny baby.
And all of a sudden, the treasure hunt was on.
We kept holding things up and telling stories and reminiscing and laughing and rolling our eyes and generally walking down memory lane.
I had already emptied four bins and reached for my next bin when I opened up the lid.
And gasped.
There it was.
In a bin with my wedding book and our wedding invitation and a tiny bridesmaid’s dress made out of the same material as my bridesmaids’ gowns…
….was my wedding veil.
A little rumpled.
A little worse for the wear.
(total aside: someone should have packed it better. KariAnne, I’m looking at you.)
This wedding veil.
It’s hard to tell in this picture, but it had a basic band with a little bit of a pouf and I wore the veil down so it covered my face until it was time to kiss the bride. My brand new husband lifted the veil and kissed me to the cheers of 350 of our nearest and dearest friends.
I took out the rumpled veil and put it on.
Just to try it.
Just to see what it felt like.
Just to see if that wedding veil was still as wonderful as the day it was placed on my head all those years ago.
As I stood there in 2025 wearing that veil, my husband walked over and took my hand.
And the gathered congregation of progeny put down what they were sorting from the bins….
…and pronounced us man and wife.
Then my husband lifted the veil and kissed me to the cheers of those amazing humans.
And just like our wedding and the vow renewal ceremony all those years ago?
It was epic.
In the middle of all those bins and papers and embroidered onesies and train sets and recognition certificates, all the years just melted away and I realized for the millionth time how truly, truly blessed I am.
Blessed to be married to my best friend who still knows how to lift a wedding veil.
Blessed to walk hand in hand with him through this amazing journey we call life.
Blessed to have someone to share my hopes and dreams and laughter and all the yesterdays, todays, and tomorrows.
I’d marry you again and again, Mr. Wood.
Forever and ever I DO. 🙂
I guess we brought a videographer to this ceremony. 🙂
I love it! The video is great!!!😊
love this! it is the unplanned moments and time in an attic that bring us joy! I shared with my girlfriends at book club that my husband understands when i joke that of if i had to save our bernese mountain dog or husband from a car i would save elliott’s bit but rod would be a close second. My friends gasped and my husband was like I completely understand your rationale. 🩷😉🐾
Adorable video, and what sweet kids to film that moment! ❤️
I love this story KariAnne- we need stories like this in this day and age. Mr. Wood is lucky to have you!
I love the story and the video! Life and marriage are to be treasured and celebrated, and you do that well. We had a silver celebration for our 25th in the church on Cape Cod we were pastoring at the time, and I wore my original wedding dress and my husband, his white suit. Our daughter sang and one of our sons emceed. It was wonderful! And now nearly a half century has passed since our wedding day, and we will be celebrating our 50th next summer. I have 10-15 pounds to go until I can fit in that wedding dress again, and my dream is to wear it as we dance celebrating our golden years. Thank you for the inspiration!
How simply precious. Each and every part of it. I don't think I will share with Mr. Watkins that one of his gifts could be cleaning out bins! lol HE would LOVE IT!! Me...the keeper of all things might cry! Until we found the treasures in the treasure bins.
A beautiful love story at it’s best 🥹🥰!
True love!!!
The sweetest!!! 🥹♥️
Another great story!! That clean-out-stuff bug must be going around, we are in the process of going through our storage unit. College degrees, old report cards, lots of the kids school and art work but in the one and only wardrobe box...my wedding hat. Yes, it was a hat, pale ecru lace lined very pale lavender satin specially made to go along with a Victorian inspired gown with the same lace and satin. A quirky choice at the time but now it's just a hoot to see it! You know, we really need to be able to post pictures in the comments.........I bet everyone could use a laugh this morning!
Oh KariAnne, I love these family stories and yours are the best! Smiles, Alice
A charming post filled with lots of love. Thank you for beginning my morning with a smile❣️
OMG! The two of you are just too dang cute. You still look like newlyweds, the way you look at each other! 😂🤣
Your stories always leave me teary. What a wonderful memory!
Thank you so much for sharing this sweet moment with your family. Those pictures of ya’ll with your children are adorable. And I loved the video that your daughter took. Way to sneak that in. Loved it!! Such wonderful memories and what a treasure these photos are.
This is so sweet and wonderful! Thank you for sharing!
This brought tears to my eyes! So very blessed you are! Last evening my son, his wife and my 2 grandchildren visiting from NC looked through my son’s “suitcase” of pictures and momentoes. So much laughter and a few tears. They are truly treasured moments.
You've done it again, KA - I am reading this with tears spilling down my cheeks, Golly, can you ever tell a story in the best most talented way. I sooooo love your blog.
What a beautiful story. KariAnne you have a way of making us all want to walk down that memory lane again... Thanks.
This made my day! What a sweet family you all are.
I love how you make every moment special. I have an old book by Jane Seymour "Guide to Romantic Living" where she discusses how to have a romantic life. I did a talk once at Valentine's Day on the fact that romantic living is not just for husbands or boyfriends and us. That you can do something that is "romantic" for anyone. I told the group their assignment for the week was to pick someone whether it was grandchild, friend, husband and do something for them that feels like romantic living. I was so surprised when one of the ladies who owned a nursery came to my house and planted a little garden of flowers at my entry! You including your children in the memories is romantic living. You are special
Another beautiful story. You always have the best takes to tell and I can so very happy I get to read them. I wish they didn’t always end with my tears , but hey, it’s worth it.
Aww so sweet! Blessings are wonderful!
What treasures hidden in your attic! Cherished moments. Thanks so much for sharing.
Oh I loved this....but sadly I saw no link for a video. Would love to see that!
Wonderful memories and family, so precious. Keep making them and sharing, love them.
Awwww. Happy in the beginning, happy part of the way thru, happy today, and obviously will be happy ever after. What a great story.
More tears! Love your stories -- thank you for sharing them with us. They always make me cry while I am smiling.
Oh KariAnn what a great story!!!
Loved the pictures and your sweet story. I have kept my veil too because my sweet aunt made it for me. But I never thought to try it on so this fall I’m going to because we will celebrate our 55 th anniversary!! We are total opposites too.
KariAnne, Fabulous pictures and a beautiful love story. You have so much to be thankful for. You make an extraordinary family.
Beautiful story caught in the sweetest of moments by your precious 4 people! Congratulations again and again!
Love it!!
Crying 😢... This story brought back memories of my own wedding 43 years ago this August. Thank You for sharing . Big Hugs
Just beautiful! My daughter wore my veil at her wedding 15 years ago. I still don’t remember why that happened but it made me so happy. We celebrated our 50th last year.
Love what you shared of your family sorting in the attic and remembering things ftom the past, ending with a love scene and happily ever after. Congratulations on all that you've accomplished with the love and support of your best friend and family.
KariAnne, this was such a precious post! How wonderful to find all those precious memories in your bins! Such a sweet picture of you with your veil and your dear and precious hubby just adoring you as he has done throughout your wonderful marriage. How nice of your twins to make a video! Just precious! May God continue to bless you with a wonderful marriage -- and making many precious memories in the future! You are so blessed to have one another and your precious family who just love you so much! Bless you all!
Aaaawwwww, Kari Ann🥹 my favorite stories are of weddings, and this one didn’t disappoint. Denny, you’re a real magic maker, suggesting an attic clean out for Father’s Day. Although I wasn’t one of the nearest and dearest 250 people at the original wedding, I feel I got a glimpse of what it was like to attend. A beautiful story and a beautiful family.❤️ The pictures were adorable, especially of the twins in their sweet little gold and cream colored dresses. How are your family has grown😊
So sweet♥️
What a great Father's Day. I loved seeing this, especially the pics of the kids when they were young. Have a wonderful weekend. Karen B.
Love this for all of you Woods!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Beautiful pics and lovely story. Thank you for sharing!
Dear Karianne & Family-What a beautiful post! You and your wonderful, beautiful family are the best ever. Somehow I also just read your post about your dear Dad and his love and nurturing of the blue hydrangea bush on the side of your Cape Cod house. My parents also lived on Cape in East Sandwich for seven years, and I have such special memories of visiting them from California. In 1990 they decided to move west again and landed in Corvallis Oregon. They lived the remainder of both of their lives there in a steel blue white trimmed beautiful Cape Cod style home that they had built. They both passed on in the late 2010s and we kept their home and have made some incredible memories over the years while they were alive and after they passed. My Dad had a tabby cat adopt him out of the blue when my Mom was failing and passed, and that wonderful kitty came to California with us and the cat passed six months after my Dad. Six years later during our annual summer visit to the Corvallis home, a tabby cat suddening appeared through the winding path near my parents mailbox. In exactly the same spot where my Dad's cat befriended him and jumped in his car to go home with him ten years earlier. I took that as a sign from Dad in Heaven! XX MaryBeth