A friend of mine returned from a short holiday with an interesting story of a couple who annually revisit their days of wine and roses - well, champagne and roses to be exact.

She wears a long gown and he is in a morning suit, his top hat sitting next to the roses upon the bench. Sitting in a tropical garden, they are in paradise.

Every woman dreams of the perfect wedding day but once it is over, it is gone forever. For this couple, their wedding day is replayed annually on their special day. Every anniversary she dons the dress she wore for her wedding, they sip champagne and smile together as they relive the day they were joined as life partners.

They celebrate their love and their marriage this way each year and have just marked their tenth re-enactment of their wedding day.

So, what are you doing for your anniversary?

Romance and marriage are no longer thought to be only for young people. Increasingly, seniors are dating and getting married, often throwing elaborate weddings that rival those of first marriages.

Experts agree that there are great emotional and psychological benefits to being married. Research shows that married people are happier and less likely to suffer from depression. This may be especially true of older adults whose families have long ago grown up and are involved in their own lives and families much of the time. Often widows and widowers miss the closeness of a marriage relationship but don’t believe they can find love a second time.

Sharing your life with someone you love brings benefits at any age. This couple recently wed in a retirement home. The groom is 85 and the bride is 92.

Don’t let your age or the opinions of others keep you from finding love, and if you find it, realize you are doubly blessed to have found love the second time around.

Some marriages are examples of Great Romances.

When this is the case, the husband and wife may choose to hold a “vow renewal” ceremony. In a way this is just like a wedding except the couple is reiterating their commitment and dedication to their union while celebrating the marriage that they already enjoy.

A vow renewal ceremony holds several advantages over the original ceremony. For one, usually the couple is older and since they are footing the bill, they can have whatever kind of ceremony they like. It doesn’t require legal paperwork and although you can have a minister, priest or rabbi officiate, you could also have a friend or no one at all depending on how you plan the ceremony.

The only thing governing the reception party is your budget and your personal taste. You will have to decide what sort of music you want to have played - will it be music from your lives now or music that was part of your lives while courting? Will you wear formal attire or casual?

If you can afford it, consider having your vow renewal in an exotic setting or a location noted for natural beauty. Think about resorts in the mountains or renewing your vows against the breathtaking backdrop of a sunset on the beach. Don’t put limits on your creativity.

You can renew your original vows or write new ones that are relevant to your own personal experiences together and your plans for your future. Consider the reason you are renewing your vows - a pledge of enduring love, an important milestone in your lives or a benchmark anniversary.

Whatever you decide, private or public, conservative or modern and non-traditional, make your vow renewal ceremony special by making it reflect who you are as a couple and where you are going together - into your future.

How did the tradition of the wedding cake come about? Many stories abound and some are probably true. There are legends of brides scattering grains which were considered good luck. The grains were then gathered quickly by the single maids, thus ensuring their own happy future nuptials. By the Middle Ages, we see stories of the grains now being made into loaves of bread, but rather than being eaten, these loaves were broken over the bride’s head. Eating the crumbs was also considered good luck for those guests who managed to get some.

Eventually these loaves became sweet buns which the wedding guests would toss in a pile in front of the couple. If they could kiss over the top of the pile, they would be sure to have many children.

The first mention of anything like a cake is the Bride’s Pie in the 17th century. This pie was made of mutton, sweatbreads or perhaps mince and might have had a glass ring baked into it. The superstition was that the guest who found the ring would be the next to marry.

Cakes became more popular at weddings in the 19th century and the bride’s pie pretty much disappeared. Some sources say it was a French chef who made the first “stacked” wedding cake. In any case, it was at the marriage of one of Queen Victoria’s daughters that the first tiered cake with pillar supports and piped icing as decoration first appeared.

The tradition of cutting the cake evolved as a symbol of the couple’s shared life as they jointly cut the cake and then respectfully feed each other in an act of love and honor. As tradition tends to be bent by each succeeding generation, this quiet and symbolic act is now usually carried out in clown-like fashion, with couples smashing pieces of cake into each other’s faces.

Traditionally, the wedding cake has been white, with white icing. In modern times, cakes come in many different flavors and can even include cheesecake flavored with jams and cordials. The icing has undergone change too, with many brides opting for decoration that reflects their personal taste or the interests of the couple.