On February 27, 2022, Naomi and Matthew will gather with family and friends to renew their vows after 25 years of marriage.

Naomi and Matthew’s love story began in the most unexpected way. At the time, Matthew was working at a retail store in the local mall when Naomi popped in to look around. He was immediately taken with her and, in an attempt to get her phone number, convinced her to fill out an application to work at the store. Days later, he was called for jury duty and his coworker ended up hiring Naomi. When Matthew returned to work, he was stunned to find her working with him. There were sparks from day 1. Naomi and Matthew flirted throughout their shift, went on a date the next day and were married 6 months later.

The next 25 years saw many ups and downs as Naomi and Matthew navigated life together and learned to rely on each other through loss, struggle, and heartache. In December of 2020, Naomi started having some unexplained digestive issues. As her symptoms progressed, she knew something was wrong and had to fight to have the tests needed to figure it out. Finally, she got in to see a GI doctor and was given a scope. The test revealed the worst. She was diagnosed with metastatic gastric cancer that had spread to her stomach, lymph nodes and liver.

Because of the complicated nature of her Naomi’s cancer, surgery was not an option. She immediately began an aggressive chemotherapy regiment that was unfortunately very hard on her body. After her initial treatment, she moved on to an experimental chemo, in hopes of slowing the growth of her disease. While the physical pain and often unbearable side effects have taken a toll on Naomi, the emotional ramifications have been especially difficult.

We fell for this lovely couple the minute we met them and are honored to help them renew their vows on this very special anniversary. We brought on board an old friend of our organization and have been so touched by the hard work that she has put into this event.