A woman who said she spent over $30,000 on a wedding she “hated” found a new way to have a “beautiful” and “stress-free” wedding experience: renewing her vows for less than a grand and loving every minute of it.
Alexandrea Acevedo, 27, of Orlando, Florida, said she had a “huge wedding” with 200 guests years ago, but felt “stressed” and “anxious” throughout the day, she told news agency SWNS.
Today, she feels she did “what everyone else wanted” instead of having her dream wedding day.
She and her husband, Michael Acevedo, renewed their vows last year, she said, and climbed a mountain with three of their four children, SWNS reported.
She said it was a “beautiful day”.
Reflecting on her marriage years ago, in contrast, she said the event was “so expensive… We were so young. It was a difficult time. I don’t know why we ever did it.”
She said the incident cost her and her husband “just over $30,000. It was such a waste of money. We could have put it in a house deposit. The wedding is not for the couple – it’s for the guests.”
She added, “We’ve put all this energy and stress into it [into] a big shiny event. Why did I go through all this in a few hours? We did what everyone else wanted instead of what we wanted.”
The couple met in January 2017.
They got engaged in April of that year after a whirlwind romance.
The now-mother-of-four said she would like a “beautiful dress, photographer and to go to the mountains” – but some family members wanted the opposite, SWNS reported.
Says Alexandrea Acevedo, “When we brought up the idea of going off and doing it ourselves, they had a good time… So we ended up having a giant wedding.”
She said she spent over a year planning a garden-themed event for 200 guests.
She said: “I planned everything myself… Everyone is in your ear.”
She said that today she hardly remembers her September. Wedding day 2018 as she was so stressed about everything.
“I was very anxious all day,” she said.
“I don’t remember much of it. It was like a blur. There was so much chaos going on.”
She said she knew her family wanted her to “eat her food and say hello to everyone” but said she felt “tired” from it all.
She said: “This is supposed to be the happiest day of my life. It ends for everyone else. You can’t even enjoy your meal.”
After their marriage, the couple began to create the family life they wanted. Today they have four children, 9, 6, 2 and four months old.
As they approached their fifth wedding anniversary, they decided to renew their vows to celebrate.
So they hired a photographer, SNWS reported, and drove to Fred W. Symmes Chapel, Cleveland, South Carolina, with their three oldest children in September. 2023.
The mother said: “We had a moment between us, the children and God. It was completely stress free. It was just about us – not about pleasing everyone else.”
She added: “It was such a beautiful day.”
The family spent the rest of the day enjoying lunch and walks.
Overall, they spent less than $1,000 renewing their vows.
The wife and mother said she hopes to encourage others to plan the wedding they want as a first-time couple.
She said: “When it comes to your marriage, it should be what you want – not what everyone else wants. It should be for you and your family as a couple.”
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