Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert Celebrate First Wedding Anniversary: 'I Love You More Than Words Can Express'

Derek Hough and his wife, Hayley Erbert, are celebrating a special milestone.

In a joint Instagram posted on Monday, Aug. 26, the couple reminisced that it was "1 year ago" that they got married. To mark their first wedding anniversary, the Dancing with the Stars dancers shared a video filmed on their wedding day, showing them holding hands as they enjoyed a scenic, cliffside walk by the ocean in Monterey, Calif.

In the post's caption, Derek, 39, reflected on the ups and downs that he and his "beautiful wife" Erbert, 29, have faced over the past year since she underwent an emergency craniectomy in December 2023 after being hospitalized with a cranial hematoma.

"This past year has been a journey filled with so many challenges, blessings, difficulties and triumphs," Derek wrote to his wife. "Through it all, your grace and beauty have shone brightly, reminding me every day of how blessed I am to walk this path with you."

"But above all, this year has been a testament to the power of love — our love. Love truly conquers all," he continued. "Here’s to many more years of facing life together, with love leading the way."

Derek concluded his sweet anniversary message: "I love you more than words can express. Happy Anniversary ❤️."

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The pair's friends and family members left their well-wishes in the comment section, including Derek's sister, Julianne Hough. "I love your love ❤️," she wrote.

Emmanuel Acho commented, "Happy Anniversary y’all! Thanks for being a great depiction of love in action," while Sarah Hyland simply expressed her adortation with series of emojis: "❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️."

Derek and Erbert, who first began dating in 2015, got married on Aug. 26, 2023, in the middle of a redwood forest in Monterey, surrounded by 106 guests.

"We got married right in front of this mother tree that's surrounded by all these smaller trees," Erbert told PEOPLE at the time. "They drop all the seeds, and it plants kind of like an army of children to protect the mother. The symbolism of it was beautiful. We're here, planting our seeds to grow our family."

Amid Erbert's recovery from her brain surgery, Derek dedicated his 2024 Creative Arts Emmy Award (for outstanding choreography for variety or reality programming for his work on DWTS) to his wife in an emotional moment.

"Exactly a month ago, I was in the hospital," he said during his acceptance speech at the Jan. 4 awards ceremony, while fighting back tears. "A month ago was a life-changing moment that reminded me to really cherish and savor every moment."

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"I want to dedicate this to my beautiful wife," Derek continued. "Your strength and your courage this whole month has been unbelievable. You inspire me every single day.”

In July, the couple enjoyed a vacation in Iceland together, which Derek told PEOPLE was like a "second honeymoon" for them.

"We really went from being married to being on tour rehearsals, and then on tour and then in a hospital, and then basically back in the rehearsal studio and then back on tour," he explained. "For us, it was like, 'Okay, we need a time to really just go on an adventure and to get out.' I've been telling [Erbert] this really feels like our second honeymoon."