Andrew and Janelle: Sweet 16

Vow Renewal: May 9 2025

We spend so much of our lives in the event industry watching people on their mountain top days; weddings, anniversaries, and moments where love takes center stage. I’ve always loved being part of that and we had been talking about the idea of a vow renewal for about four years but we just didn’t know when or where or what it should look like.

Then 16 years crept up on us and we saw it was a Friday and somehow it felt just right. We liked the idea of marking it with something unexpected. Sixteen felt fun, unique, completely ours. So on May 9th, we invited some of our friends and family to celebrate with us sixteen years to the day.

The location solved itself in the best possible way. Our friends Mathew and Ryan had just moved into the Pillsbury Mansion literally two weeks before our anniversary and when we visited, they looked around and said, "You need to do your vow renewal here." It clicked instantly.

The mansion reminded us so much of the Glensheen up in Duluth, where Janelle and I got married. Both places have these grand staircases in the heart of the home that’s wide, welcoming, the kind of space that feels alive with history. We also wanted our boys to be part of it, not just watching, but understanding what it means to build a family, to choose each other again and again.

I wanted to make this memorable and special for Janelle so I had a few surprises up my sleeve… of course I did.

At our wedding, she had wanted lilacs but I’m super allergic, so she went with baby’s breath instead. This time, our friends at Arts and Flowers had just gotten a fresh box of lilacs, and they crafted her dream bouquet, complete with white peacock feathers. I was so proud of myself for sneaking it into the mansion, tucking it into a cooler with ice, totally prepared. Except, as I stood there on the stairs, I realized I’d forgotten to give it to her. Matthew saw the panic on my face and sprinted down the stairs to grab it and made it back just in time to hand it to her, seconds before she walked down the grand staircase. She was crying, laughing, shouting to everyone, “It’s not about Andrew, it’s about the flowers!” Everyone cracked up, and that bouquet got its moment.

Our friend Doug Pagitt led the vow renewal, and in true Doug fashion, it was less about a ceremony and more about an invitation. He told our friends, if you’d like to renew your vows with us, go ahead and turn to your partner and renew your own love along with Andrew and Janelle. So standing in that room, surrounded by people we love, couples were quietly turning to each other, whispering promises.

After our little ceremony on the stairs, they opened the house for a tour. We even pulled out our original guest book along with a stack of Polaroids from the wedding day. Friends and family stood up and told stories and gave toasts and the whole room was filled with the kind of love that brought me right back to that day 16 years ago. But I had one more surprise…

I never got to meet Janelle’s dad, he passed away before we started dating but he’s always been part of our story. He was a pianist and his favorite song to play was “Piano Man.” So without Janelle knowing, I brought her dads old tip jar and schemed with our friend Melody. We roped in Ryan and Stacy, whose wedding I’d photographed years ago, and mid-event they snuck in through the basement with a harmonica and accordion. After the toasts, Melody sat at the piano and we danced to “True Companion.” We invited others to join us and soon the dance floor was filled with couples that we love.

That was supposed to be the final song, but instead, I told Janelle we had one more and she better sit down for this one. We dedicated it to Janelle’s dad, our piano man. Mel started playing “Piano Man” and Stacy and Ryan came out with their harmonica and accordion. Everyone was laughing and crying and singing along and it felt like a scene out of a movie or some tucked away pub in Ireland where everyone knows each other.

We couldn’t have pulled this off without the incredible people who showed up not just as vendors, but as friends.

War Paint sent a makeup artist right to our house to get Janelle ready and she looked flawless. Jenny Culley heard we were doing this and just asked, “What do you need?” and then made it happen like some kind of magician or fairy godmother.

One of our past grooms and a ridiculously talented chef, Ross, helped dream up a menu that was not just fun, but a perfect throwback to our original wedding menu. We even brought back the legendary mashed potato bar served in martini glasses with candied pork belly and more incredible toppings than you could dream up. Every single bite was better than the last.

France 44 delivered the most delicious cake that was peacock-themed with salted confetti and rainbow details. And for Janelle, gluten-free cupcakes from Hold the Wheat so everyone had something sweet.

At the bar we had two signature drinks, including The Smoke Show—a smoky paloma that’s basically the drink I want to sip for the rest of my life and was inspired by Janelle. We flew our friend Kevin in from LA and he even made the custom sign for it, because that’s just the kind of friend he is.

Tory Thompson was on video and Matt Lean, who I’ve traveled the world with, was behind the camera lens and gave us his signature blend of heart and artistry.

We’ve traveled the world together, I’ve photographed love stories in 12 countries and counting, but that night? That night was our mountain top moment.