'It's tragic': Cary couple has decades-long connection to Notre Dame

The Notre Dame Cathedral is a very special place for one Cary couple. It is where they renewed their vows twice, 25 years apart.

When Laura and Mike Blewett got married in 1960, they had no idea where they would end up in 25 years on their silver anniversary.

"Mike and I, on our 25th, went to Paris for our anniversary, and I said, 'We must go an renew our vows,'" said Laura Blewett.

Both devout Catholics, they chose Notre Dame for their vow renewal in 1985, and then again in 2010, 25 years later.

"We did it on our 25th, and we thought, how apropos, let's do it again," Mike Blewett said.

"It's so magnificent,” Laura Blewett said, “the structure and the art and everything in that cathedral."

When the news broke about the fire, they were devastated.

"I was just devastated. It just hit me so emotionally," she said.

"It was tragic. I think the word in tragic at the moment," Mike Blewett said.

The couple feels thankful they got to experience the magic of Notre Dame before the fire.

"You have to believe it is going to take a lot of reconstruction to put that back together," he said.

They hope that, someday, others will get the same chance to experience what they did.

"They're committed to rebuilding it. I just hope it doesn't take another 200 years. I won't be there," Mike Blewett said.

Construction on Notre Dame began in 1163. It was completed in 1345.