We arrived on Friday 26th November 2010 around 5.30 pm to a warm welcome from the Sisters of Mercy who reside at the Endsleigh Centre in Hull. We were shown to our room, which was very warm and homely and had all of the facilities necessary. As you would expect, there was an air of ambience around the building, which made us feel very relaxed.

Later in the lounge, we met the other six couples, which made up the group and also Fr Bill Serplus, who was hosting the weekend with the help of the Sisters. After a candlelit dinner, we retired back to the lounge and by this time we all felt as though we had known each other for a long period; we all gelled well. Fr Bill spoke us through the events of the weekend and gave us some very comforting goodnight prayers.

After a good night’s sleep and breakfast, we had our first meeting of the day when we discussed where we first met our partners, sharing our own experiences of our wedding day and the events that have taken place in our married life to date. Fr Bill also joined in sharing his same experiences from his ordination to current day. Everyone was very open, which helped even more to build a bond with the other couples.

After lunch, Fr Bill had arranged a picture quiz to see how much you really knew about your partner, remembering the couples that attended reached from 30 plus years to 50 plus years of marriage, which was very amusing and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. Then came the highlight of the weekend when we all gathered in the chapel to celebrate Mass together and also for us to renew our wedding vows. It was a very emotional moment as Fr Bill asked for each couple to stand up, look at each other and hold hands, and repeat our original wedding vows. Mass was concluded with a special wedding day blessing.

After the Mass, we all gathered in reception for photographs and to say our farewells. Everyone pledged to be there next year when it is hoped that even more couples will get involved.

We all had a tremendous weekend and left the Endsleigh Centre feeling spiritually enhanced.