A wedding renewal ceremony, otherwise known as a vow renewal ceremony, is a way of celebrating your time together. Many couples use it as a way to celebrate an important milestone – such as their 10th or 25th anniversary, whilst others hold a ceremony to recommit to each other after a rough period in their marriage. The only criteria is that you must already be married, in order to hold a renewal ceremony!
Although a wedding renewal ceremony isn’t legal, it’s more symbolic and sentimental, but it’s a beautiful way of reaffirming your love for another person. It can therefore be held whenever and wherever you like. A license or paperwork isn’t needed, as it isn’t an official service, but some officiants may want to see your marriage license to confirm you are married.
So, how do you go about planning a simple wedding renewal ceremony? Here’s our top tips.
#1: Decide on a date for your wedding renewal ceremony
The first tip is to pick a date that’s special to you. This could be the day of your original wedding, but it can equally be another date that’s special to you.
#2: Decide if you want a big do or a quiet one
Wedding renewal ceremonies can be quiet affairs, with just yourselves and an officiant, or they can be huge lavish affairs – the choice really is yours.
#3: Choose a place
Many people return to where they were originally married, but other popular choices include the venue they couldn’t previously afford, a location that is special to them or somewhere they’ve always wanted to go.
#4: Find an officiant
This can be an official person, such as a member of the church or a registrar, but can equally be someone who’s close to you, such as a friend or family member.
#5: Decide on the vows
The vows are the most important part of the wedding renewal ceremony, as they’re putting into words your commitment to each other. It’s therefore important that they mean something special to you, so will you be repeating the ones you originally used, or would you prefer to create your own?
#6: Choose how you want it celebrated
Depending on the type of wedding renewal ceremony you have, there’s also the decision over how you want it celebrated. Your friends and family will naturally want to join in your celebrations, so you need to decide how best they can do that – especially if you’re not planning on having guests at your actual ceremony. Do you want an evening party, or would you prefer a quiet afternoon lunch, for example? Are you looking to have a full blown wedding reception style event or something more akin to drinks down the pub?
#7: Invite your guests
Finally, remember to invite those people you want to attend the wedding renewal ceremony and/or the subsequent celebrations. As with your original wedding, make sure you give them plenty of notice, so they can save the date and be there to celebrate your important wedding milestone!
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