WOMAN'S DAY WINNERS 'OUR LOVE IS MORE MEANINGFUL NOW'

when Madelein Nieuwoudt went shopping for the perfect dress to wear on her Valentine's Day vow renewal, she had a very specific gown in mind.

"I wanted a short, pink dress that had lace around the shoulders to cover up my scars and radiation burns," says the brave breast cancer survivor.

"But I ended up getting the opposite! I decided I was going to show my warrior scars and show what cancer is all about. This vow renewal was about celebrating life and celebrating love. I got my dream dress, a princess-cut, poofy white dress that shows all my scars!"

Madelein, 40, was over the moon when she won a Woman's Day competition to renew her vows to soulmate Jan, 44, in a gorgeous ceremony held on the Royal Princess cruise ship.

It's been a tough time for the Auckland primary school teacher, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in May last year and underwent a partial mastectomy. Unfortunately, the procedure didn't get all of the cancer, so she had a second surgery where the lymph nodes under her left arm were also removed.