A selection of couples who have been married at Priory Hall over the last 25 years will renew their vows in a live web broadcast

The couples range from newlyweds who married in 2015 to one of the first couples to tie the knot in 1991 who are celebrating their silver anniversary alongside Priory Hall itself. 

The couples, plus the Mayor and Mayoress of Dudley have signed up to take part in the special anniversary event.  All couples will renew their marriage vows together in a joint celebration at Priory Hall which will be broadcast live on the internet for family and friends to watch. Each couple will receive a commemorative certificate as a souvenir of the occasion.

The newlywed couple, homemaker Stacy Woodruff and steel worker Lee Woodruff of Warrens Hall married at Priory Hall in April 2015. The pair chose the venue for its lovely grounds, well presented rooms and comfortable size. Stacey said:

“We’d been together for nine years when we decided to get married, and I happened to be nine weeks pregnant with our second child. We chose to renew our vows so that we could share our celebration with both of our sons.

"Our youngest son Noah attended our wedding in utero, but now he’ll have the chance to share our celebration at the renewal service, which also coincides with the tenth anniversary of when Lee and I met and my 30^th birthday".

The couple celebrating their silver anniversary are Stephen and Angela Simmons of Kingswinford. Stephen is a former glassworker and now works as a teaching assistant at the Kingswinford Schoo. He and care worker Angela decided to renew their vows to celebrate 25 years of marriage. They married on 11 May 1991 and were the fifth couple ever to marry at Priory Hall when it opened on the previous day. They chose the venue for its simplicity and beautiful grounds. Angela said:

“We’d always toyed with the idea of renewing our vows but never really got around to it. When my husband saw it advertised in the paper we thought we’d put in for it and just see what happens. We can’t believe we got through.

“We’re so lucky and really happy. I think it’s quite an achievement to reach 25 years of marriage, especially in this day and age. We’ve had bumps along the way but we’re still really in love. We listen to each other, we’re sensitive to how the other is feeling. It’s all about listening to the other person really. He’s such a wonderful husband, I tell him he’s god’s gift to me.”

The popular register office opened for business 25 years ago and has seen thousands of couples make their wedding vows at the attractive Grade II listed building. All couples getting married there have the chance to have their special day broadcast over the internet to family and friends who are unable to make it to the venues, and this will the largest ever virtual congregation for a ceremony at the venue. The group ceremony will take place at 11am on Friday 6 May.