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A woman who said she spent more than $30,000 on a wedding she “hated” found a new way to have a “beautiful” and “stress-free” marriage experience: renewing her vows for less than a thousand dollars and loving every minute of it.
Alexandrea Acevedo, 27, of Orlando, Florida, said she had a “giant wedding” with 200 guests years ago, but felt “stressed” and “anxious” all day, she told news agency SWNS.
Today she feels like she did “what everyone wanted” instead of having the wedding day of her dreams.
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.”
Alexandrea Acevedo is shown posing with her husband, Michael, for photographs on their wedding day. It really was “for the guests,” he said of the event. (Syndey Thornton/Olive and Birch Photography via SWNS)
By contrast, reflecting on her wedding years ago, she said the event was “so expensive… We were so young. It was a difficult time. I don’t know why we did that.”
She said the event cost her and her husband “a little over $30,000. It was a huge waste of money. We could have put it toward a house deposit. “A wedding is not for the bride and groom, it is for the guests.”
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He added: “We put all this energy and stress (into) a big shiny event. Why did I go through all that for a few hours? We did what everyone wanted instead of what we wanted.”
“Why did I go through all that for a few hours?”
The couple met in January 2017.
They got engaged in April of that same year after a whirlwind romance.
The couple on their wedding day in September 2018: “It was like a blur.” (Syndey Thornton/Olive and Birch Photography via SWNS)
The now mother of four said she wanted “a pretty dress, a photographer and to go to the mountains,” but some family members wanted the opposite, SWNS reported.
Alexandrea Acevedo said: “When we raised the idea of running away and doing it on our own, they had a fit… So we ended up having a giant wedding“.
He said he spent more than a year planning a garden-themed event for 200 guests.
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She said: “I planned everything on my own… Everyone’s in your ear.”
He said that today he barely remembers his wedding day in September 2018, as he was so stressed about everything.
“I was very anxious all day,” she told SWNS.
The couple decided to renew their vows last year and had a completely different experience than their wedding. (Syndey Thornton/Olive and Birch Photography via SWNS)
“I don’t really remember much about it. It was like a blur. There was a lot of chaos.”
She said she knew her family wanted her to “eat her food and say hello to everyone,” but she said she felt “exhausted” by it all.
She said: “This is supposed to be the happiest day of my life. It ends up being for everyone else. You can’t even get to enjoy your meal“.
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After their wedding, the couple began to create the family life they wanted. Today they have four children, ages 9, 6, 2 and four months.
As their fifth wedding anniversary approached, they decided to renew their vows to celebrate.
The vow renewal, they said, was “completely stress-free. It was just about us, not pleasing others.” (Syndey Thornton/Olive and Birch Photography via SWNS)
So they hired a photographer, SNWS reported, and drove to the Fred W. Symmes Chapel, Cleveland, South Carolina, with their three oldest children in September 2023.
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The mother said: “We had a moment between Us, the children and God.. It was completely stress free. “It was just about us, not pleasing others.”
He added: “It was such a beautiful day.”
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The family spent the rest of the day enjoying lunch and walk.
In total, they spent less than $1,000 renewing their vows.
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The wife and mother said she hopes to encourage others to plan the wedding they want as a couple the first time.
She said: “When it comes to your marriage, it should be what you want, not what everyone else wants. It should be about you and your family as a couple.”
