Some couples renew their wedding vows to remind themselves and each other of the closeness they share and update the promises to reflect married life. Sometimes a close friend or a religious leader officiates the informal ceremony.
Sometimes, it's just some random guy from reddit.
On a windy evening at Burlington's waterfront, Patrick St. John cracked open a very official-looking book and started reading aloud to a couple. It kind of looked like a three-person wedding ceremony.
"Nick, Jackie," St. John began, "we are here today to celebrate the life that you have made with each other and to look towards the future."
Nick and Jackie Slocumb have been married for three years, and they came to Burlington this week on a much-belated honeymoon.
Jackie decided she wanted to surprise Nick on the trip by renewing their vows.
"More stuff added," Nick says with a laugh.
"More stuff added," Jackie confirms. "You know, you're all like pie in the sky when you get married, and then it becomes not so glamorous after you're married and the small things become very important."
In that spirit, the new vows tackled some of those very important small things:
Do you promise to attend car shows with Nick, and at least pretend to show interest in horsepower, engines and custom modifications, even if you have no idea what he's talking about? (Jackie does.)
Do you promise to let Jackie rein you in at the card store, because you probably have enough Magic [The Gathering] cards – for now? (Nick does.)
The pair met through an online dating service, but soon found they'd lived on the same road in New Hampshire for years. They also share plenty of geeky interests, including the social news site reddit.
The site has a bunch of "subreddits" for various communities — that can be anything from fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation to Burlington, Vermont.
The week before their honeymoon, the officiant Jackie had lined up fell through, so she took to reddit and asked if anyone in the Burlington subreddit would be willing to officiate the couple's vow renewal ceremony.
Now, anyone who has spent much time online knows that Internet comment threads aren't generally humanity at its finest. The Burlington subreddit has its characters, but Jackie had tried it before and gotten some good restaurant recommendations, so she tried it again.
"I was just overwhelmed by just the kindness of people who, they don't know me! I'm some random tourist." - Jackie Slocumb
When Patrick St. John's wife saw Jackie's post, she sent it to Patrick and he commented right away offering to help. He was first, but Jackie says St. John wasn't the only person to offer help.
"You know what's really kind of cool too? Is that — Patrick is obviously the most awesomest ever — but I got like five other messages that said 'I see that someone commented and they're going to do it for you, and I just wanted to let you know that I'm happy to be a backup if that fell through,'" Jackie says. "I was just overwhelmed by just the kindness of people who, they don't know me! I'm some random tourist."
But Patrick showed up and carried out the plan, and the husband and wife left with a new friend, plus a few new promises to keep. Like this one:
Do you promise to try to not steal the covers at night, even though you aspire to be the world's first human burrito?
Nick does.
