Tucked between wild lupines and winding rivers, Rob and Aimee returned to one of their favourite places on Earth to celebrate a decade of love in the most romantic way possible – a vow renewal surrounded by the New Zealand landscape.

This romantic vow renewal wasn’t about glitz or grandeur – it was about joy, simplicity, and grounding themselves once more in the landscape and love that has shaped their story. And with their dear friends Traci and Bill from Adventure & Vow documenting it all, every moment was captured with heart and authenticity!

Rob and Aimee met right after she graduated from grad school at a mutual friend’s housewarming party. Since Rob was the only other person she’d met before, she clung to him. “We wound up hitting it off and talking the entire evening! I was supposed to move across the country to Arizona in a few months, but we started dating anyway. This wound up being a good choice because I didn’t move….and we ended up getting married. We moved to Arizona together seven years later. These photos are in celebration of our 10th wedding anniversary!”

Over a decade now Rob proposed to Aimee in the Chicago Arboretum Reading Garden – a beautiful blend of their shared love of the outdoors and Aimee’s passion for reading!

Aimee (after watching many, many, MANY TikToks) took charge of her own makeup for this romantic vow renewal. Keeping things light and bright, she did an incredible job enhancing her natural beauty.

She had been pining after a certain wedding dress for years by the time their 10th anniversary came around, but unfortunately, the designer had stopped working altogether by then. After months of searching for a second-hand piece, she came up short. She eventually landed on this whimsical silver number from Dear Heart, and she instantly fell in love! “It’s so close in style that it even fooled a few friends. I loved that it wasn’t white (more of a silver blue) and was so so flowy. I thought it would look amazing in the New Zealand landscape – and it did!”

Rob’s outfit was full of items he already owned, and what a perfect outfit to redo their first look in! “It was really fun getting to do our first look again. Rob famously turned the wrong way on our wedding day (so we only have photos of the back of his head), so it was fun and silly to get to do it again, making sure this time he turned the right way!”

New Zealand held a special place in Rob and Aimee’s hearts, not only because on their first trips years before, they knew they were going to come back, but also because it was the backdrop of one of their favourite franchises – Lord of the Rings! It was only made better when they found out their favourite artist filmed one of her music videos here, too. “We later found out it was also the filming location of a Taylor Swift music video, and with both of us being huge Swifties, this was extremely exciting to learn.”

Walking hand-in-hand, Rob and Aimee made their way to their romantic vow renewal spot. Ditching her hiking boots just before and completing her vows barefoot, Aimee was connected not just with Rob but also with the gorgeous landscapes around them.

Picked from the creek bed, Aimee’s bouquet was made up of lupines, a flower that symbolises happiness and admiration. “I want to REALLY emphasize here – lupines are invasive in New Zealand and considered something of a nuisance, so picking them (or sitting on them, or walking through them) is very okay. Normally picking wild flowers is a big no-no and not Leave No Trace friendly. But these pesky and gorgeous flowers are okay to pick :),” she explained.

Keeping things super simple, Aimee and Rob only had their photographers with them as they completed their renewed vows. “I will give Rob’s vows a special shoutout – they were comprised entirely of Taylor Swift song lyrics, arranged in an order to tell our story and share his feelings.”

This vow renewal is absolutely overflowing with incredible photos (like we are in shock right now – how are these real??), but Aimee’s favourite shots have to be of her and Rob celebrating after completing their vows!

As we mentioned earlier, New Zealand is an incredibly special place to both Aimee and Rob; there was nowhere else they even considered renewing their vows. “The location was very important to us. We’d visited New Zealand with some friends several years prior, and it had a massive impact on both of us. The area where we said our vows was one of our favorite places on Earth.”

Since their location was so breathtakingly beautiful, they wanted to keep their details simple yet authentic. “I splurged on a pair of Redwing Boots and a Twigs + Honey hair piece. We started our day eating cold pizza on the banks of a braided river. We celebrated by drinking a local red wine out of recyclable tin cups; we split a lemon tart from a local bakery for our dessert. All things we love, in a place we love.”

Their first dance over 10 years ago was to U2’s “All I Want Is You”, and they recreated it on the side of the river after their vows. Then they decided to do a second dance to “Mine” by Taylor Swift – their unofficial couples anthem.

Their photographers, Traci and Bill from Adventure & Vow are their longtime friends. “I’m an elopement photographer myself, so it was so so fun to be on the other side of the camera and to know we were in such good hands. They did an amazing job of capturing the scenery and our relationship dynamic,” Aimee shared.

The five things that made this romantic vow renewal so special were:

“1. The location,

2. Simply how the day felt – fun, relaxed, carefree, with no pressure,

3. The small, but perfect for us, details,

4. Rob’s all Taylor Swift vows,

5. Getting a first look redo.”

The final piece of advice Aimee and Rob want to leave for future married couples is this: “Keep dating each other, even long after you’re married.”

Congratulations, Aimee and Rob, on your romantic vow renewal (and happy later 10-year anniversary!). And thanks to Adventure & Vow for sharing these otherworldly moments with us.