Happy 30th, honey -- now pass the fries

From Jenn Abelson, Globe staff

John Edwards and his wife, Elizabeth, celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary today in their distinctive style, renewing their vows at their home in Chapel Hill, N.C. and then making their annual trip to a local Wendy's.

The couple wrote their own vows and read them aloud in a ceremony before a small group of friends and family. Their three children attended, including eldest daughter Cate, who attends Harvard Law School. Around 5 p.m., John and Elizabeth headed to the local Wendy's in Carrboro, N.C., in keeping with their long-standing anniversary tradition. The Wendy's trips began on their first anniversary, when the couple, too busy to celebrate properly in the middle of a move, celebrated with fast food instead. They've gone to Wendy's ever since.

Elizabeth, who has an incurable form of breast cancer, has become a significant presence in her husband's presidential campaign, recently saying that he is a better "advocate" on women's issues than rival Hillary Clinton. But the couple took the day off from campaigning to celebrate. Edwards plans to attend a fund-raiser in San Francisco on Aug. 1.