Wedding renewal... how is it done??

Question

Hi. My husband and I are renewing our vows next year. It will be our 5 year anniversary. We had a courthouse wedding and dinner. He deploys next year and we want to have a wedding before he goes.

Has anyone ever done this before?

Is it wrong to do the whole church ceremony, reception with dances and all??

I never had my dances, with neither my father or husband, so I am just at a loss on what to do??

Anyone with experience or suggestions?

Answer 1

my husband and i are both in the military. we married through court due to upcoming deployments. finally, on our second anniversary, we had the chance to renew our vows in front of family and friends. i think that every woman deserves her dream wedding ... so go for it!

a few suggestions when preparing, check out what the post/base has to offer. let the chaplain know that it will be a vow renewal. our chaplain was kind enough to sit down with us and get our input on how the vows should be. the use of the chapel/church is usually free to active duty (of course a nice donation in the end is always appreciated). every military installation has some sort of banquet hall they loan out to soldiers/sailors at a low cost. the base banquet hall we used catered themselves. also, they were able to refer a great dj, cake decorator, florists, and other caterers. oh, and they set up the reception area (laid down a dance floor, placed the tables and chairs, etc), all we had to do was go in and decorate the hall. as for civilian guests, let the transporation office, where you get the stickers for your car (usually located outside the main gate) know that a wedding is going to be held and you need passes for the guests. and the lodge or visitors quarters on base/post will be glad to give you a discount rate for rooms (for out of town visitors). getting married on a military installation can actually save you a good bit of money. it did for us.

well, i hope this helps! good luck!

Answer 2

Nowadays it's common for couples to have a smaller wedding, then host a larger affair to renew their vows. There really aren't any rules, although most couples specify "No Gifts" because they already have everything they need. So if you want a church ceremony with a reception and dancing and all go for it! Have the time of your life and make some memories.

Answer 3

i am doing the same thing i was married with just 2 weeks of planning and a budget of 200 dollars, that was 15 years ago now i am going all out for the wedding that i want and some people are looking at me like you are spending what? i am spending what i want for what i want. do what you want to do that you did not get to do the first time. HAVE FUN i am  

Answer 4

i think it's done the same way as a wedding.......^_^

Answer 5

Do it how you want. I've been to two vow renewals and they both had the dances. Just do it however you like in a way that fits both of your personalities.

Answer 6

I'm surprised you haven't gotten butchered for asking that question (like I did).

Basically, I was considering the same thing.

I figured, the best way to word the invitations and the ceremony, would be to address it as either a "Blessing of the Marriage" or a "Spiritual Union".

Basically, you guys are married under the human laws, but haven't done it under "God's blessing" (The loop-hole)

For the invitations I was thinking something along the lines of:

We request the honor of your presence in the joining of ______ and ______ in Marriage with the blessing of God.

...

Something like that...

I eventually figured out that I really don't want the huge party, so we are doing a small, cruise ROV in 2010.

The good news is, you don't have to worry about the legalities.

Just do it the way you would a wedding, but call it a Renewal of Vows or Re-Commitment Ceremony, if you get too many negative comments about it (Which you haven't so far, so congrats)