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A woman who said she spent more than $30,000 on a wedding she “hated” has found a new way to have a “beautiful” and “stress-free” marriage experience: renewing her vows for less than a grand and enjoying every minute.
Alexandrea Acevedo, 27, of Orlando, Florida, said it was “giant wedding” with 200 guests years ago, but felt “stressed” and “anxious” all day, she told the SWNS news agency.
Today, she feels she did “what everyone else wanted” instead of having the wedding day of her dreams.
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She and her husband, Michael Acevedo, renewed their vows last year, she said, and went to the mountain with three of their four children, SWNS reported.
She said she did “nice day”.
Alexandrea Acevedo is pictured posing with her husband Michael for photos on their wedding day. It was really “for the guests,” she said of the event. (Syndey Thornton/Olive and Birch Photography via SWNS)
Looking back on her wedding a few years ago, by contrast, she said the event was “so expensive… We were so young. It was a difficult time. I don’t know why we even did it.”
She said the event cost her and her husband “just over $30,000. It was such a waste of money. We could have put it on home deposit. A wedding is not for the couple – it’s for the guests.”
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She added: “We invested all that energy and stress [into] great great event. Why did I go through all that for several hours? We were doing what everyone else wanted instead of what we wanted.”
“Why did I go through all that for several hours?”
The couple met in January 2017.
They got engaged in April of the 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)
Now the mother of four said she wanted “a nice dress, a photographer and to go to the mountain” – but some family members wanted the opposite, SWNS reported.
Alexandrea Acevedo said: “When we brought up the idea of running away and doing it ourselves, they had a fit… That’s how we ended up have a giant wedding.”
She said she spent more than a year planning the garden-themed event for 200 guests.
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She said, “I planned everything myself… They’re all in your ear.”
She said that today she hardly remembers her wedding day in September 2018 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 during their wedding. (Syndey Thornton/Olive and Birch Photography via SWNS)
“I don’t really remember much. 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 “exhausted” about it all.
She said, “This should be the happiest day of my life. It’s like that for everyone else in the end. You don’t even get to enjoy your meal.”
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After the wedding, the couple began to create the family life they wanted. Today they have four children aged 9, 6, 2 and four months.
As they approached their fifth wedding anniversary, they decided to renew their vows to celebrate.
The vow renewal, they said, was “completely stress-free. It was just about us — not about pleasing everyone else.” (Syndey Thornton/Olive and Birch Photography via SWNS)
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.
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Mom said, “We had a moment in between us, 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.”
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The family spent the rest of the day enjoying themselves lunch and hiking.
All told, they spent less than $1,000 on their vow renewal.
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The wife and mum said she hopes to encourage others to plan the wedding they want as a couple for the first time.
She said: “When it comes to your marriage, it should be about what you want – not what everyone else wants. It should be about you and your family as a couple.”
