Married couples profess their love all over again on Siesta Key

Dyan and Laphan Dennis’s love story all started with a blind date. Dyan’s good friend was married to Laphan’s coworker. The married couple thought the two to be a good match and arranged Dyan and Laphan for a date on Valentine’s Day.

“We used to have big company parties for executives only,” said Laphan as he lifted his brow towards Dyan. “She came to one to check me out.”

The two eventually did go on their Valentine’s Day blind date and have been inseparable since. They celebrated and renewed their 33 years of marriage at the Say ‘I Do’ Again vow renewal ceremony Feb. 14 at Siesta Key Beach. 

Laphan gazed at Dyan with gentle eyes as he reminisced back to their wedding day when he was 38 and she was 37. “I had jet black hair and weighed 50 pounds less,” said Laphan with a chuckle. “It was love that fattened me up.”

Three hundred and ten couples pre-registered for the annual vow renewal ceremony held by Sarasota County. It's an event that Program Coordinator Catherine Wunderlich finds joy in organizing every year. “It’s amazing to stand up on stage and look at everybody,” she said. “It’s one of my favorite events. Everyone is in love.”

Judge Steven Walker officiated and guided the beachful of couples in reciting their renewal of vows before the anticipated kiss that followed a slow dance to "How Deep Is Your Love" by Bee Gees.