A Vow Renewal at Deer Park Country House Hotel

Today we are featuring our first ever Vow Renewal, and it’s beautiful. When Naomi became Mrs. Graham Thomas on June 6th 2012, at St. Audries Park, Somerset, she had no way of knowing how many years of marriage they would be able to enjoy; all she knew was that she was marrying her soul mate in front of all their family and friends, and that nothing had ever felt more right.

Naomi and Graham’s wedding had happened against all odds, much to the delight of those who had gathered at the venue to witness their vows. In 2010, just six days after her son, Devon, was born, Naomi was given the heartbreaking news that the cancer she believed she’d beaten in 2009 was back, and that it was no longer curable.

To celebrate their wedding anniversary each year, Naomi and Graham renew their wedding vows. It’s a chance for them to celebrate their life together and have a wonderful day, just the two of them and their son Devon. This year Naomi and Graham renewed their wedding vows at the stunning Deer Park County House Hotel…

“Each year my husband Graham and I renew our vows. It’s not because we want another big party or anything like that, it’s because I have Secondary Breast Cancer. This is a terminal illness with an average survival rate of just five years; I have now had this for at least three and a half years. So, the simple fact is I don’t know when it will be my last wedding anniversary, so we celebrate it to the max. Most people renew their vows after 10 or 25 years, if at all. It would be a miracle if I was here for those, so why not remind each other how we feel about one another each and every single year.

“We don’t do this to keep others happy, we do this for ourselves, so each year we don’t invite any guests at all. This year it was just myself, Graham, our little boy Devon, a photographer, videographer and a celebrant. This way it is very relaxed and very intimate; there is no rushing around, we just do everything the way we want to do it. We try and get it filmed each year so that my little boy will have them as memories when I am no longer here, and of course we have the beautiful photos too.

“This year I wore a full bridal gown, opposed to last year when I wore a simple, floaty dress. The dress this year had been donated to our Wedding Outfit Amnesty Campaign, which we run in conjunction with Johnson’s Cleaners. Anyone can go to any branch of Johnson’s Cleaners across the whole of the UK and donate any wedding related items, such as bridal gowns, suits, bridesmaid dresses, shoes, tiaras — in fact, anything!

“The dress I wore shows the quality of the items that are donated. We then either use the items for our couples which we help at The Wedding Wishing Well Foundation, or they are sold and every penny goes back into the charity to help couples have the wedding day of their dreams.”