portal and magazine Four Seasons , got married 11 years ago. Tomorrow, September 9, is their wedding anniversary. A lot has been experienced during these years - professional and personal peaks have been reached, various valleys have been overcome - as in any marriage. However, love is something that does not fade, but just like a good wine, it only gets better, stronger and richer with years. And that's what Signe and Armands wanted to celebrate, renewing their marriage vows in the church, celebrating life and love together with their closest people. That is why Signe and Armands experienced another wedding day at the end of summer this year.

With what feelings did you experience this beautiful life event again?

I would say that this event itself was of a completely different quality. This does not mean that something was of poor quality when we got married 11 years ago, but because a certain number of years have been lived together, many things and events have been experienced, and there are reasons why we wanted to re-create and relive this holiday, including our daughters. Daughter Emily even cried at the altar.

Also, during these years, our circle of friends has changed a lot, and now we are surrounded by families who have been together for a long time and stand and fall for each other. Therefore, it was important for us to spend this day together with these people.

How did you come to this decision?

It was probably more Armand's initiative, because he proposed to me again last year, nearing our tenth wedding anniversary. I didn't expect that. We had thought of holding the celebration already on the tenth day of the wedding year, but we realized that we didn't want to rush its organization, so we postponed it by a year.

But basically during this year you had to go through the whole process of organizing the wedding again - from the dress to the celebration?

Yes, that's exactly why we didn't want to rush this whole process. Of course, there are some things that are different. For example, we did not officially need ushers or witnesses, but we still wanted a strong family to stand by us, so we asked Ieva and Mārtiņa Bondars to be by our side on this day.

As for my dress, I realized that I wanted it to be sewn. I have two daughters and now two wedding dresses that they will definitely be able to use in the future if they want to.

Choosing a dress started with lace - I saw it and bought it, realizing that I wanted a dress of exactly that color and style.

In general, this whole day was exactly as we wanted it to be, not according to other people's expectations and wishes - we had completely brought the mood of Italy and France to the end of summer in Latvia. And that's the best thing I can recommend to other brides and wives - we also did everything we wanted at our wedding 11 years ago, and that's why, looking back, we can safely say that we would still do everything exactly as we did then. I don't like to do fake things, especially in the most important moments and days of my life.

What was the concept of your repeat wedding?

Basically, it's a relived wedding day. We clearly knew why this decision was important to us. We wanted to prove our love to each other again and again, this time also in the presence of our daughters. We went to church with Armand and the girls together, and although this whole process had no legal force, it had a great emotional meaning. It was important to us that, just like 11 years ago on the wedding day, we sat at the same long table with the guests. Armanda and I had also staged our special wedding dance.

For you as people - gourmets, surely one of the most important components of this event was good food and drinks?

Absolutely. We wanted lamb cooked on site, which chef Māris Jansons did. We wanted to have real and genuine food on the festive table - something that describes ourselves. After the wedding, the guests said that they felt as if they had a holiday themselves, because we brought different delicacies to everyone. I also gave all the flower and green arrangements that I made myself to the guests after the wedding.

What was the reaction of the surrounding people and guests about your decision to celebrate your wedding day again?

Different, but absolutely positive. There were people who initially perhaps did not fully understand and shrugged their shoulders in amazement. Everyone in the circle of friends was very happy and even after the event wrote to thank us for organizing such a celebration of love.

I think we often think that the holidays and celebrating life come easily and without doing anything. But it is not. If we don't create them ourselves in small and big things, no one else in our lives will.

We ourselves are the ones who create relationships and events in this life. Therefore, I am very happy if we can inspire someone. It may seem to many that our life is just a garden of roses, but we also have our disputes and problems, just like other couples. I wouldn't say that we fell in love again after this event, because we already love each other continuously. There is a feeling that we are on the right path, and after this event we understand that the roots in our relationships, family, and children's consciousness are much deeper. The rose-colored glasses of 11 years ago are gone, but there is much more peace in the best sense of the word.

Wedding service providers:

Photo: Vika Anisko

Ceremony place: Áraiši Church

Dress design: Signe Meirāne, execution: Sintija Šustiņa

Decorations: Signe Meirāne

Balloons: Helium.lv

Flowers, bridal bouquet: Magnolia flower

Lamps: Cherry Picking

Tables, chairs: konomat.lv

Makeup: Dita Grauda

Hair: Diana Payton

Cakes: Garden Cakes

Wines: Place

Cook: Māris Jansons

Thanks to pastors Ain Ozoliņš and Rinaldas Grant.