JC Reindl

Detroit Free Press

Melissa and Angie Lovell are both in the Ford corporate family: Melissa is employed at the Henry Ford Health System, and Angie works at Ford Motor Co.

So the Lovells felt at home on Ford family grounds Saturday when they and 54 other married couples formally renewed their wedding vows in the picturesque backyard of the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores. The occasion for the vow-renewal ceremony was this year's 100th wedding anniversary of Edsel and Eleanor Ford, who built and lived in the 60-room mansion overlooking Lake St. Clair.

"Now we can really celebrate in Michigan, and we haven’t really been able to celebrate in Michigan,” said Melissa Lovell, 36, noting how this weekend also marks the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage.

Other couples taking part in the group ceremony included Kitty and Joe Girard of Grosse Pointe, who were married 38 years ago.

"This is our first time," Kitty Girdard said, before quickly correcting herself. "Oh no — we did it once before in Vegas."

The couples paid $225 apiece for the event, which organizers initially sought to limit to just 50 couples but expanded based on the strong public response.

“The story of Edsel and Eleanor Ford really is a love story," said Kathleen Mullins, president of the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House. "They were best friends, they were lovers, they were partners and they were lifelong supporters of each other. It is our mission to keep that story alive, and now you’re all a part of that story.”

Officiating the vows was Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel, who also renewed vows with wife, Tracie Hackel. They celebrated their second anniversary last week.

This has been an activity-filled month for the Ford estate. Two weeks ago, a new bronze, life-size sculpture of Edsel and Eleanor Ford walking arm-in-arm was unveiled on the grounds.

Guests also received a sneak peek Saturday of the new exhibit, "Down the Aisle: 100 Years of Ford Family Weddings," that opens to the public on Sunday. Visitors will see the wedding dresses worn by four generations of Ford brides and how wedding traditions changed over the last century for the iconic automotive family.

The Fords' actual wedding was in Detroit on Nov. 8, 1916.