Donna and Hayward have such an amazing story! Congratulations to this wonderful couple on their recent renewal of vows – we just love their love story and feel blessed that they were so gracious to share it with us…. and you! It may look long, but do read on!
All about Donna and Hayward…
Occupations: Retired Military
How they met: We originally met in the Sr. NCO Club on New River Air Station in Jacksonville, N.C. After watching me laughing, drinking and dancing with several Marines seated at my table, Hayward finally came over and asked me for a dance. Within a couple weeks after our first dance, we went out on our first date and we were never apart again after that. Our vow renewal was a surprise for my husband. I planned the ceremony over the span of a 12+ month time period without him knowing anything. And to explain how and why this “secret” vow renewal ceremony came to be and was so precious, you must have the background information concerning our initial wedding.
My “boyfriend” (at the time), an E-9 in the U.S. Marine Corps, was deployed to Iraq when he asked me to marry him and I ended up purchasing a beautiful home for us. My family are quite religious and do not believe in the idea of couples living together without being married, so drastic measures had to be taken if we were to live under the same roof when he returned from his deployment. I decided that I was going to surprise him by our getting married on the flight-line… as soon as he touched down in the helicopter from the deployment… there would be hundreds of people there, at low to no cost as we just purchased a home and were now expending money to decorate/remodel it, several media outlets would be present, etc… it would be perfect! I immediately contacted a Chaplain in Jacksonville, N.C. and asked him if he would marry us… he said yes, with one caveat…we both had to have premarital counselling before he would marry us. I asked him to provide the premarital counselling for me only (I had to drive over 1 ½ hours just to receive this counselling) and I informed him that I would ensure my “boyfriend” received counselling at the deployed location and would let him know of the arrangements I came up with. I then contacted my “boyfriend’s” Commander on the ship, told him about my situation and asked for his assistance in having my “boyfriend” receive the necessary premarital counselling. As my “boyfriend’s” boss, he thought my idea was great and was happy to help. He contacted the ship’s Chaplain and told him the story. As my “boyfriend” took a break at almost the same time every day, it made it easy for the Chaplain to simply meander out to the break area and have “discussions” about marriage, life, expectations, etc. with him. Once my “boyfriend” had completed the necessary number of counselling sessions, the ship’s Chaplain contacted my Chaplain and informed him that the requirement had been met.
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