The DeFusco Family // Surprise Vow Renewal at Deep Creek Lake, MD

Obviously, my family has a crazy love-affair with Deep Creek Lake, Maryland.
And it’s so exciting to meet other families with the same affection for this lovely lake nestled in the mountains of Garrett County, Maryland.

Claire & her husband Al have been coming to Deep Creek Lake for years, and every time they come, they bring as many of their kids along as can get away. They’ve found a house they love & this is the 3rd time they’ve rented “At The Heart Of It All” – a Taylor Made Vacation Rental in McHenry. They love it’s location – how close it is to the water – and how convenient it is to the grocery store, restaurants, and shopping.

When Claire emailed me, she explained that every time they come to the lake is special, but this year was extra special. All 4 of her kids would be coming to spend Labor Day weekend together, from all over Pennsylvania, Maryland, and South Carolina. As if that wasn’t special enough, Claire & Al were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary – and they wanted to make it extra special.

Unknown to their kids, they arranged a friend to come over to the house on Sunday afternoon to officiate them renewing their wedding vows. The plan was for everyone to gather, to take some family photos, and then for me to distract the kids while Claire & Al snuck away to change clothes & set up their ceremony.

Labor Day is typically beautiful at Deep Creek Lake. As Facebook Timehop has been so kind to continually reminded me over the last few days – the 3-day holiday weekend is typically filled with sunshine, warmth, boating, and swimming. Not this past Labor Day weekend though. It was marked uncharacteristically by cold, rain, and gloom.

Thankfully, the weather broke on Sunday afternoon, and as everyone gathered for family photos, the sun so graciously peeked out & turned everything golden. It took the chill off the air and super-charged the atmosphere with the upcoming surprise! I had to continually bite my tongue for fear of spoiling it!

It was so exciting to be a part of such a fun afternoon with such a fun family! They may be spread all over the Eastern coast, but it’s evident that they are close-knit & love each other very much!

This might be one of my favorite “Daddy & his girls” photos of all time!

Ahhh Deep Creek Lake, you are so beautiful!

Claire & Al’s little grandsons were full of personality & I loved it! (no worries, we got the standard “stand-still-and-smile photos too, these are just so much cuter)

The love birds! 40 years of marriage! What an amazing milestone!

Photobomb!

After the ceremony, Claire & Al had an ice cream cake & champagne to celebrate!

Fresh-from-the-freezer ice cream cake is harder to cut than it looks!

As the cake was being cut & served, I snuck Claire & Al back outside for just a few more photos of the two of them. After 40 years together, you can never have too many photos, right?