Kristin and Jeff Colburn initially tied the knot in 1997.
Two high school sweethearts had an emotional vow renewal after 21 years of marriage.
Kristin and Jeff Colburn initially tied the knot in 1997. Kristin, 39, was only 17 at the time and Jeff was in the military so they had small ceremony before moving to a military base in Maryland. But she always regretted they didn't have a more elaborate celebration.
“We met in high school. I was dating one his friends, he was dating one of my friends. We chatted with each other. He broke up with her and he kind of encouraged me to break up with my boyfriend and said he’d be a better fit, and he took me out on a first date and we started from there,” Kristin said.
So when Kristin, who now lives in Hinsdale, New York, with Jeff and the couple’s three children, saw Hallmark’s contest “Making Up for Missed Moments,” she jumped at the chance.
She wasn’t sure if she’d actually win, but they did. Days before Christmas, the company called her to give here the good news.
“I feel like we deserve it because it’s been a long time and we’ve been married almost 22 years, got married really young and I thought it would be something special to do for us,” Kristin said.
On Jan. 12, the couple flew to Kansas City, Missouri, to renew their vows.
“To do this again and have this opportunity means so much to me because I feel like we’ve had so many struggles in our life and we’ve stayed together for so long and we’ve had a lot of ups and downs and we deserve it,” Kristin said on the day of the couple’s renewal.
She explained that because they got married so young, people didn’t think they would last, but they did.
“Obviously everybody has issues,” Kristin said. “Everybody has problems in their life, you just you find a way to work through them. We’re one of the luckier couples than a lot I guess.”
Kristin said she’ll frame their recent vows in their home.
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