If your marriage has hit the doldrums, become a little rocky, or just needs a little boost, a way to revive your original relationship with your spouse is by renewing your vows. A vow renewal ceremony does not have to be a big affair or costly. In fact, it can be more significant if you hold a private ceremony with just the two of you alone or with your children.
When we renewed our vows, we returned to the location of our wedding with only our children. We did not have the desire the second time around for a big party, as we did with our wedding. Our goal for our vow renewal was to recommit to each other and to add to the original vows we had taken two decades before. Our first ceremony was a lavish affair in front of our friends and family. This time we wanted it to be a simple event between the two of us with our children as witnesses.
We returned to the place where we were married - at a ski resort. We originally married in a hotel; however, on this occasion, we rode the gondola to the top of the mountain and found a private spot with a panoramic view for our ceremony.
When we renewed our vows, we returned to the location of our wedding with only our children. We did not have the desire the second time around for a big party, as we did with our wedding. Our goal for our vow renewal was to recommit to each other and to add to the original vows we had taken two decades before. Our first ceremony was a lavish affair in front of our friends and family. This time we wanted it to be a simple event between the two of us with our children as witnesses.
We returned to the place where we were married - at a ski resort. We originally married in a hotel; however, on this occasion, we rode the gondola to the top of the mountain and found a private spot with a panoramic view for our ceremony.
We all wore similarly colored outfits, which made for great pictures. However, to be honest, it completely humiliated our teenage children to be "twinning" with their parents, and they kept their distance from us when walking around the resort. Even with the children's embarrassment, which we found funny, dressing up did bring a festive feeling to the event rather than wearing our usual clothing. For fun, we reenacted our wedding photos, some with our children and some without. We kept the cost low by having the children take the photos or asking passersby to take the family photos.
As we did not have a minister to lead the ceremony, we both said our vows and then exchanged rings ourselves. We kept what we were going to say to each other secret until the ceremony. We repeated the traditional vows, which now had far deeper meaning than at our wedding as after so many years of marriage we have experienced both the better and the for worse. We also expanded our original vows to include the lessons we had learned from our marriage. This exchange of vows was far more emotional than the original ones when we were only at the beginning our life together. They had more meaning, as the experiences of marriage had matured us. After renewing our vows, we exchanged our rings, which were attached to the original ring pillow from our wedding.
As we did not have a minister to lead the ceremony, we both said our vows and then exchanged rings ourselves. We kept what we were going to say to each other secret until the ceremony. We repeated the traditional vows, which now had far deeper meaning than at our wedding as after so many years of marriage we have experienced both the better and the for worse. We also expanded our original vows to include the lessons we had learned from our marriage. This exchange of vows was far more emotional than the original ones when we were only at the beginning our life together. They had more meaning, as the experiences of marriage had matured us. After renewing our vows, we exchanged our rings, which were attached to the original ring pillow from our wedding.
This simple renewal of vows greatly strengthened our marriage and our commitment to each other. As stated before, a vow renewal does not need to be a huge event. Instead, keeping it simple and focusing on your relationship can make it a more meaningful and beautiful event.
Following the ceremony, we had a picnic with a small cake we had brought up the mountain, and once again, we fed the cake to each other. Afterward, our family hiked down the mountain, and later that evening we enjoyed dinner at the restaurant where we had held our wedding reception.
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