South Jersey couples renew wedding vows on Valentine's Day
HADDONFIELD, N.J. (CBS) -- Some people found the perfect Valentine's Day gift in Haddonfield. Dozens of couples renewed their wedding vows on Valentine's Day, and they did so at Kings Court in Haddonfield.
"My husband and I have been married 23 years," Melissa Wheatcroft said. "I thought it was the perfect time to tell him I love him again."
Couples stood locking hands in the heart of Haddonfield. They renewed their vows in an intimate ceremony on Valentine's Day.
Horner and Chris Arter were one of the couples reaffirming their commitment to one another.
In fact, they were married at the very same spot in February 2020 and have been renewing their vows each year ever since.
"We met here," Horner said. "We fell in love here so it was really important to keep everything here and local and in our home."
This is the fifth annual vow renewal in Haddonfield.
Couples stood in front of the Open Heart sculpture on Kings Highway East.
They received flowers, special cookies and hot chocolate and were able to take pictures in the romantic pink-lit courtyard.
"I really honestly didn't think this was all going to be a thing with the flowers and all that," Kevin DeKarski said. "We don't even have dinner reservations. We are just going to wing it after this and hopefully get into somewhere."
"I said we are going out to dinner," Julie Robinson said, "and I said, 'oh wait, we have a stop first,' and showed up here and it was awesome to do with the kids because they weren't here 10 years ago when we got married."
"I saw this online and we live right over there," Lindsay Lane said, "and thought it would be a nice thing to do. It was really cool."
While couples from all over met to say I do again, it's also helping the area flourish too.
"So it's a real generator for business for Valentine's Day," Stuart Harting with Haddonfield Outdoor Sculpture Trust said.
Each year, the amount of vow renewals keeps growing and they are hoping to have an even bigger turnout next Valentine's Day.