Mr. and Mrs. American

Crystal Wedding Anniversary

Inside Cody and Callista Rhodes's Romantic, 'Incredible' D.C. Wedding: 'It Was Like a Dream'

PEOPLE has all the exclusive details - and photos! - of WWE star Cody Rhodes and Callista Rhodes's stunning celebration to toast 15 years of marriage.

On August 8th, Cody and Callista had a vow renewal celebration in honor of their 15th wedding anniversary.

Callista Rhodes really didn't want to cry. And then she saw Cody Rhodes's eyes across the room.

Callista was doing her best to control her emotions on Saturday as she prepared to renew her wedding vows with Cody in front of 260 friends and family at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C. But as strong as she was, nothing prepared her for the moment she started walking down the aisle and locked eyes with her husband of fifteen years.

"When they opened the doors, I only saw him," Callista tells PEOPLE exclusively. "I was connected to Cody's eyes. And he was crying, so I was weeping. There was an ugly cry moment where I had to stop and scrunch up my face. To be walking toward the man who continues To keep his promise to love you until the end of time. That was such a powerful and incredible feeling."

"That is what I will always remember, looking in his eyes," she continues. "It felt so comfortable and so right and so 'This is where I'm supposed to be.' And I was so overwhelmed by that feeling, and the look of the room, and seeing all the people around us. It was like a dream."

"Everything was perfect - we were just blown away by it all," Callista says of the affair, which was designed by Strawberry Milk Events on her theme of "cosmopolitan sophistication with a touch of southern class."

For the ceremony, the grand Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium was decked out with décor from Social Supply Events, including a mirrored walkway, boxes of white roses, floating chandeliers and a custom-made gold mirror arbor flanked with Edge Floral Event Design's cascading flowers.

"They all just showed out," she says. "They got my vision perfectly. As far as the look and the aesthetic of the venue, I wouldn't have done anything differently."

Cocktail hour and a reception followed, with a feast of hors d'oeuvres and a seated dinner from Spilled Milk Catering that included lamb chops, a summer watermelon salad, short ribs, and a sea bass with dill.

As for the raspberry almond wedding cake? That was from ButterCream Bakeshop.

"The food was friggin' amazing," Callista, a former Miss America, recalls. "Delicious. The presentation was art deco, a little victorian - it matched all the themes I wanted in the wedding. And the cake was so, so good. We got nothing but great feedback from our guests on the food. So mission accomplished."

Music from We the Fix and DJ Tryfe kept the guests moving. "We definitely danced the night away," Cody says. "I had a good sweat going on so I know I danced. My feet are still in shambles, so my body is telling me I had a good time."

There were speeches throughout the night too, including ones from her dad (who walked her down the aisle) and one from Cody's mom. Cody's two best men, his brother and his best friend, also gave speeches. "I wish we had maybe an extra hour at the reception because all the speeches were amazing. I didn't want them to stop," Callista says.

But of course, it was all about Callista's dress - or, in this case, dresses. Both were custom-designed by New York designer Karen Sabag, who worked closely with Callista over an eight-month period to craft the perfect look.

For the ceremony and reception, Callista wore a flowing ballgown, its imprinted pearl cream silk organza draped over a fitted corset and continuing onto a skirt of 70 yards. Soft and dramatic at the same time, the gown was finished with two French bows on the shoulders, beaded (by hand) with 80 yards of Swarovski crystals. A clean, long cathedral vail - pinned into her soft curls - finished the look, with a blusher till the floor.

"That dress was everything I wanted it to be and then some," Callista says. "I knew I wanted a ballgown and I tried on several, but they just weren't doing it. But Karen made it happen. It had the perfect drop-waist bodice, because when you're a short girl wearing a ballgown, you have to be careful about it cutting you off on the wrong lines. And it was so light. It looked heavy, but I was really able to dance and jump around and move in it. I loved it."

A second dress - a halter with cold shoulder sleeves and a mini poof skirt in a metallic flower sequence fabric - made its debut at the afterparty.

Now that the wedding is behind them, Cody and Callista are going to start trying for baby number two.

And in the meantime, they'll be reminiscing about their big day for years to come.

"It feels so crazy," Callista says. "As soon as Cody and I walked back down the aisle together, the first thing I said to him was, 'Can we do it again?' And of course, he said yes."