Wedding vow renewals. They don’t change your legal marital status, but they can hold just as much meaning as your wedding and be a great way to reconnect with your marriage and loved ones. A vow renewal is when you, a married couple, recommit to each other, affirm your partnership, and acknowledge how much you have grown together.
Whether it’s at one, 10, 25, or more years from your wedding date, your vow renewal represents you and can be celebrated in any way you see fit, from a ceremony with just the two of you, to an all-out bash with your friends and family.
If you’re considering having or have begun to plan your vow renewal, keep reading for things to think about and planning tips! And special in this blog, I will share about my own vow renewal from back in 2019!
Reasons to have a vow renewal
There are lots of reasons why you may want to renew your vows.
Perhaps you eloped and would like to invite your family and friends to a 1 year anniversary vow renewal and party to celebrate your union together. Or your wedding was during the first year of covid, when big groups weren’t able to gather.
Maybe, for one reason or another, you are not super happy with your original wedding format or wedding photos and would like a kind of redo. I can see this being the case for couples where one (or both!) of the partners has transitioned or otherwise reinvented themselves!
Or maybe you’ve been married for some time and want to intentionally mark this milestone, celebrate how far you’ve come as a couple, and share new vows.
Perhaps you’ve endured hardship or the struggles of parenthood together and have a new view of what your marriage is.
Story Time: My husband, Jake, and I decided to renew our vows at 10 years for a number of reasons. The biggest one was that we got married very young and felt that we were not only more developed as individual adults 10 years in, but also as a couple. We experienced moving across the country four times, my two deployments to the Middle East, earning college degrees, buying a house, working through struggles with mental health, and planning our future together.
We decided to rent a venue, hire a DJ and photographer, have special outfits, and invite only our 25 closest loved ones. It. Was. Fabulous. Five years later, we’re still so happy we did it!
Planning your vow renewal
With your why in mind for your vow renewal, you can start to plan!
Similar to a wedding, you should pick a date, place, and whom you will invite. Consider how you want to feel, what type of guest experience you want to provide, and who have been important players in supporting your marriage.
Vow renewals have so much opportunity to be even more creative than a wedding! Since it is not a legal ceremony, you can choose to have a formal or informal officiant, or to forgo an officiant altogether. You can also choose to exchange your original vows, write new ones, or do some combination of both.
Story Time: We opted to have our vow renewal at the iconic Walker Art Museum. We decided we wanted to have a true Minneapolis experience, great food, a fun party, and the wedding photos we didn’t get at our OG wedding.
We started the day with photos of the two of us, and then transitioned into family photos.
Because we planned our vow renewal with how we’ve grown as a couple and what (and whom!) is important to us in mind, we had our two best friends lead the ceremony. His friend read a meaningful book passage from Jake to me, and vice versa. They led us through updated vows, and then we sealed it with a kiss! It was short and sweet, and there was not a dry eye in the house.
Then, we had passed appetizers during our cocktail hour, sat down for a wonderful dinner together, and then danced the night away! It was simple, meaningful, and just what we wanted.
Types of wedding vow renewals
Just like there is no wrong way to celebrate your wedding, there is no wrong way to celebrate your vow renewal!
Elopement Style
Just the two of you, with or without a photographer to capture your story, in nature, in your backyard, or somewhere meaningful to you. Dress in a favorite outfit or get something special for the day!
Spend the evening cozied up by the fire pit or fireplace, share a meal together, and look back and forward with each other.
Intimate Vow Renewal
Invite your closest loved ones to celebrate with you, either formally or casually. Make sure you have a schedule of events, food for all of your guests, and a relaxing, stress-free environment to enjoy.
Display photos from your marriage together so far, share some of your favorite memories both with each other and with the guests you’ve chosen to join you. Decorate to create a special atmosphere for your party. This type of vow renewal allows for a lot of flexibility in how you celebrate, so you do you!
All Out Vow Renewal
If you didn’t get the wedding you wanted back in the day and are now in a better financial position to have the wedding of your dreams, do it!
Go for everything you want from the perfect venue to an amazing planner to beautiful floral decor to fabulous pictures to an epic dance party. Afterall, you deserve to celebrate YOU!
I mentioned the better financial position above because even though a vow renewal is not a wedding, the cost of services and products doesn’t necessarily go down. Just as much love and effort goes into making your vow renewal a success as it would a wedding!
Wrapping up
Renewing your vows is a great way to formally acknowledge your marriage and partnership. No matter where, when, or how it’s done, you and your spouse can create a celebration that is meaningful to you, and add to your list of memories as a couple!
Looking for some help getting started, or a photographer for your vow renewal? I’ve been there! Get in touch here to set up a chat!
Looking for the perfect vow renewal venues or outfits in the Twin Cities? Here are some great places to start:
36 Best Large Wedding Venues in the Twin Cities
How to Find a the Perfect Wedding Dress
How to Find a Suit for Your Wedding
Thanks to Jeff Dose Photography for the photos!
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