Renewing Wedding Vows: A Five-Year Itch?

Renewing your wedding vows is a wonderful way to celebrate your marriage and commemorate your love. There is no right time to renew your vows, and you can do so as early as a year after your wedding or on milestone anniversaries like your 5th, 10th, 25th, or 50th. Ultimately, the timing depends on your preference and what feels right for you and your partner. Vow renewals are typically held to celebrate and reaffirm wedding vows, exchange rings, and share stories of the couple's journey together. They can be as intimate or grand as you like and held anywhere from a local park to a far-flung destination.

Reasons for renewing your vows

There are many reasons why a couple might choose to renew their wedding vows. Here are some of the most common motivations:

Celebrate a Significant Milestone

A vow renewal ceremony is a great way to celebrate a significant milestone in your relationship. This could be a big anniversary, like your fifth, tenth, or twentieth wedding anniversary. Alternatively, it could be a personal or relationship milestone, such as having a baby, launching a new business, or buying a home.

Celebrate Your Love

For some couples, a vow renewal is a way to celebrate the strength of their love and their ongoing relationship. It's a chance to recommit to each other and express their willingness to continue standing by each other's side through life's challenges and joys.

Overcoming Challenges

A vow renewal can also be a way for couples to acknowledge that they have faced and overcome significant challenges together. Whether it's a period of illness, financial strain, or other difficulties, celebrating the fact that they made it through tough times together can be a powerful reason to renew their vows.

Include Loved Ones

Some couples choose to renew their vows to include family members or friends who couldn't attend their original wedding. This could be due to time or financial constraints, or because loved ones were living in different locations. A vow renewal allows them to celebrate their marriage with their loved ones by their side.

Have the Wedding of Your Dreams

Perhaps your original wedding didn't go as planned or you couldn't afford the celebration you wanted. A vow renewal is an opportunity to have the wedding of your dreams, with the people you love, in a location that's special to you. It's a chance to create new memories and celebrate your love in a way that feels truly authentic to you as a couple.

Ultimately, there is no "right" reason to renew your wedding vows. Every couple has their own unique timeline and motivations for reaffirming their commitment to each other. Whether it's been 5, 10, or 50 years since your wedding, if renewing your vows feels like the right thing to do, then that's all that matters!

Timing

Renewing your wedding vows is a wonderful way to celebrate your marriage and commemorate your love. There is no "right" time to renew your vows, and you can do so as early as the year after your wedding or whenever it feels right. Many couples choose to renew their vows on milestone anniversaries, such as the 5-year, 10-year, 25-year, or 50-year mark. However, there is no rule that says you have to wait for a special anniversary, and you can renew your vows whenever you feel like celebrating your marriage.

If you're thinking of renewing your vows after 5 years, here are some things to consider:

• Significant milestones: While you don't need a milestone anniversary to renew your vows, celebrating a significant milestone in your relationship is a great reason to do so. This could be your 5-year wedding anniversary or another meaningful milestone, such as having a baby, graduating from a program, or buying a home together.
• Secure and lasting love: If you're feeling especially close and connected to your partner, it's a great time to renew your vows. This can be a way to remind yourself and your partner of why you decided to get married and bring back the excitement and romance of your wedding day.
• Authenticity: If your first wedding didn't capture your true style and personalities, a vow renewal is a chance to plan a ceremony that truly reflects who you are as a couple. You have more freedom to plan a ceremony that's exactly what you want, without the legal requirements and social expectations of a first wedding.
• Inclusivity: A vow renewal allows you to include family or friends who weren't in your lives on your wedding day. This could be a chance to celebrate with those who are important to you now, as well as when you first met.
• Overcoming challenges: Vow renewals are often a way for couples to recommit to each other after overcoming a difficult time, such as an illness or infidelity. It can be a way to strengthen your bond and reaffirm your commitment to each other.
• Elopement or small wedding: Some couples choose to renew their vows because they had an elopement or a small wedding the first time and now want to celebrate with a larger group of family and friends.

Ultimately, the timing of your vow renewal is up to you and your partner. There is no wrong time to renew your vows, and you can make the ceremony as unique and meaningful as you like. Whether you choose to renew your vows after 5 years, 10 years, or any other time, it's a chance to celebrate your love and commitment to each other.

Planning the ceremony

Step 1: Decide on the guest list

The guest list for a vow renewal can be as small or large as you like. It could be just the two of you, or you could invite your children, grandchildren, extended family, and friends. The size of the guest list will impact the rest of your planning, so it's a good idea to decide on this early on.

Step 2: Choose a location

The location of your vow renewal ceremony can be anywhere you like, from a place of worship to your own home, a restaurant, or even a romantic destination. If you're planning to have the ceremony at a popular venue, remember to book in advance.

Step 3: Hire vendors

As a minimum, you'll want a photographer to capture the special moments of your vow renewal ceremony. You might also want to hire a wedding planner or coordinator, florist, musicians, and caterers, depending on how complex you want the celebration to be.

Step 4: Choose a date and send invitations

Once you've selected the location and date, send out invitations to your guests. The invitations should reflect the tone and formality of the event, and let guests know whether food and drinks will be provided.

Step 5: Plan your outfits

You don't need to wear a wedding dress or a tux—you can wear whatever you like! If you want to get dressed up, that's fine, but equally, you might prefer to go for a more simple or unique look. The most important thing is that your outfit reflects the formality of the event.

Step 6: Meet with your officiant

If you're having an officiant at your vow renewal ceremony, it's a good idea to meet with them in advance to discuss the agenda for the ceremony. The officiant can deliver a welcome speech that outlines some of your married life experiences, and there may also be readings and well wishes from guests before you say your vows.

Step 7: Plan the agenda

Vow renewal ceremonies usually involve a short processional, the exchanging of vows, and a kiss. There may also be blessings from a presiding officiant, and music playing in the background. Rings are often exchanged, whether they are new or the original rings with new engravings.

Step 8: Write your vows

You might want to affirm your original promises and include experiences or lessons you've learned during your marriage. You could speak about the hurdles you've overcome, the joys in your life, and how you'll continue to support your partner.

Step 9: Enjoy the day!

Let every moment of this experience sink in—it's a blessing that you've made it this far!

Choosing a location

There is no right or wrong time to renew your wedding vows. It's a chance to make new promises that reflect where you are now in your relationship and to honour all the experiences that have made your marriage a success.

With that in mind, here are some ideas for choosing a location to renew your wedding vows:

Choose a Sentimental Location

Opt for a place that holds a special memory for you and your partner. This could be the city where you first met, a destination on your bucket list, or the venue of your original wedding ceremony or honeymoon.

Go Back to Nature

Immerse yourself in nature for your vow renewal. Consider a ceremony on a beach with your toes in the sand, or surrounded by the towering trees of a forest. National parks like Yosemite and Joshua Tree are popular choices for their spectacular backdrops, but be sure to research whether permits are required.

Destination Celebration

Why not make a vacation out of your vow renewal and choose an international destination? From the cliffs of Crete to the glaciers of Iceland, the world is your oyster. You could even say your vows aboard a superyacht in the Mediterranean or Caribbean.

Your Happy Place

There's something heartwarming about celebrating your love in the place you call home. A backyard ceremony is a simple and intimate option, and it gives you creative freedom to plan and decorate the space as you wish.

Religious or Spiritual Sites

If you're looking for a traditional or sacred setting, consider a place of worship like a church or chapel. Or, if you're feeling like royalty, you could rent a castle for the day.

Remember, there are no rules when it comes to renewing your wedding vows. The location you choose should reflect your style, budget, and vision for this special occasion.

What to wear

Renewing your wedding vows is a beautiful way to honour your relationship and celebrate your marriage. There are no hard and fast rules about what to wear to a vow renewal ceremony. It's entirely up to you!

Many brides choose to simplify things a bit for their vow renewal ceremony. While some brides enjoy the idea of wearing their wedding gown again, others opt for a cocktail dress, or a formal evening gown (in whichever colour they like). If your wedding dress still fits, it could be a perfect option, but you may want to save it for a more formal event.

If you're having a small ceremony, you might want to wear something simple and unique, or you could go for a more elaborate look. It all depends on how formal your ceremony will be, and this depends on individual taste.

For the groom, an expertly tailored suit is always a good choice. If he wore a tuxedo on the wedding day, he can spice things up with some new accessories like cufflinks, gifted jewellery, and a new tie or vest.

Frequently asked questions