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Take Two!

Monday, October 22, 2012

Adriane and Jatorin Owens exchanging vows (left) and with their three children (photographs by Kristin Burke Photography)



October 22, 2012

Take Two!


To celebrate their 10-year anniversary, one Lowcountry couple said “I do” all over again



Written
By Daisy Bainum



Milestone wedding anniversaries beg for celebrations. Like the weddings themselves, these fêtes can come in all shapes and sizes—you can pop champagne, take a romantic getaway, or splurge on special gifts. Or, as Lowcountry natives Adriane Smalls and Jatorin Owens did for their 10-year anniversary, you can renew the vows that started it all.

Adriane, of Mount Pleasant, and Jatorin, who grew up in North Charleston, met in high school while both were singing for a church’s gospel concert. That shared love of music sparked something and the two began dating. Following a two-year courtship, the couple wed at Long Point Missionary Baptist Church in Mount Pleasant on April 27, 2002. With more than 500 guests and a glitzy palette of platinum and blue, the evening was an extravagant affair. “Our wedding was absolutely beautiful,” says Adriane.

So why another go ’round a decade later?

“We have grown and matured so much with each other in the last 10 years, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically,” says Adriane, noting that Jatorin (a Purple Heart recipient and sergeant) has been deployed overseas three times within the past decade, “we felt it was necessary to rededicate our union in an elegant and spiritual ceremony.”

The couple, who are currently stationed in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, headed home for their June 10, 2012 renewal. This time around, they planned a small, intimate ceremony at the Mount Pleasant Waterfront Memorial Visitors Center. They also toned down the palette, opting for a white and silver color scheme that Adriane says was meant to symbolize the purity of their renewed commitment.

One of the main goals for their second Big Day was “to include the people who had been a special part of our first wedding, and had really stuck with us through our journey,” says Adriane. To that end, the couple asked the officiant for their first ceremony to marry them again, and had two friends from the original wedding party act as attendants as well. A few fresh faces—like the couple’s three children—were able to take part, too, making the ceremony a family-focused affair. Their eldest son, Torin, age 9, performed a praise dance during the ceremony as a tribute to the memory of the couples’ deceased grandparents, and their four-year-old daughter and two-year-old son served as flower girl and ring bearer.

“We have been through lots of difficult hurdles over the years,” says Adriane. But, she adds that one thing has stayed the same throughout their lasting love: “We still blush when we wake up next to each other in the mornings.”





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Vendor List: 

Bride's attire: Custom-made by bride's mother, Gloria Smalls 

Groom's and children's attire: Custom-made by a designer in India

Officiant: Reverend Isaac J. Holt, Jr. of Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston; www.royalmbc.org/

Venue: Mount Pleasant Waterfront Memorial Visitors Center; www.cooperriverroom.com/