Question: I am helping my boyfriend and his sisters plan a vow renewal ceremony and reception for their parents’ 25th wedding anniversary. I’m not familiar with vow renewals but I feel that the whole vibe seems too much like a wedding. His parents were married 25 years ago in his paternal grandparents backyard. It was basically a backyard barbecue. Nothing fancy. They didn’t even have a wedding cake. It wasn’t what his mom wanted but it was what they could afford. I feel that now she is trying to have the wedding day that she couldn’t afford years ago.
Here’s what we have:
Ceremony at church
Arch
Unity Candle
Daughters are “bridesmaids”
Goddaughter is flower girl
Son is “best man”
Wife is wearing an ivory and plum tea length dress
For their ceremony, I am unsure of how to word things on the program and I’m unsure of how they should enter the church (Husband, Wife, Children). His mom also wants to light candles in memory of her parents who are both deceased. What should the order of the ceremony be like? How can the children be integrated into the ceremony? How do I make the ceremony meaningful but not like a wedding? How should the reception go? Cake cutting? First dance?
As you can see, I am quite confused and I need some direction. Thanks in advance for your feedback.
Remarriage Expert
Yes, I can see you’re a little confused, and so is the couple. There are a lot of “don’ts” in your plans.
You’ve got a lot of questions, and most of them have been answered in the articles written in the pages of the website. Navigate to these pages from the left side of this page, under ceremonies and under etiquette. we’ve compiled a lot of really good information there (and you can search this forum and read through other posts too) However, if after reading these pages you still have questions, please come back and post them for us, one at a time, if possible.
