In case you don’t know, a vow renewal ceremony is designed and intended to celebrate the time a married couple has been together while also giving that couple the opportunity to reaffirm the vows they took during their wedding.
This type of ceremony can be done either alone in private or in front of others, and it is especially popular among couples who are reaching certain milestones, like their 10th or 20th anniversary.
And just as there are many ways to have a wedding, there are many different vow renewal ceremony ideas that you can include in your own ceremony.
That’s what we wrote this article to help you with. 🙂
1. Conduct a Ceremony Under the Stars
Here in Tennessee, as in many other parts of the country, there are a number of locations you can choose to hold your ceremony where you’ll be able to experience what’s called a “dark sky.”
Basically, this means that you’ll be able to see the stars clearly at night.
Normally, you can’t do this because artificial lighting (electricity) drowns out the starlight in cities and other places where lots of people live.
But in certain areas, like here in the Smoky Mountains, you’re more likely to be able to schedule your ceremony at a place and time in which the stars will be much more visible than you’re probably used to.
* P.S.: If you want to find a great venue here in the Smoky Mountains, you don’t have to choose us, but you should take a look at this list we made.
2. Invite Guests Who Couldn’t Make It The First Time
When you had your wedding, you probably sent invitations out to more people than those who ultimately showed up to attend.
Now, the fact that they didn’t attend doesn’t necessarily mean they didn’t care or that they were avoiding you for some reason.
From work commitments to injuries and emergencies, there are all sorts of reasons why someone might not be able to go to a wedding that they’re invited to, as anyone who grew up in a military or international family can attest to.
So why not invite some of those people to your vow renewal ceremony so they can participate and celebrate your union as they probably wanted to during your wedding, when circumstances beyond their control unfortunately prevented them from being there?
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3. Invite Guests You Didn’t Know Yet When You First Got Married
And while we’re running with wholesome vow renewal ceremony ideas, why not also invite some of the good people you’ve come to know as a couple after you were already married?
If you’re thinking about having a vow renewal ceremony in the first place, it’s a safe bet that you’ve been together for a bit.
And it’s also a safe bet that you’ve probably made some friends as a couple during that time.
It can be a great idea to invite some of these people who have been part of your married life in some way, just as you’ll want to invite the people who knew both of you before you were married.
Knowingly including both is also a beautifully poetic way of honoring the lovely people and meaningful connections that have played some role or had some noteworthy presence in your own lives.
4. Include Children
If you don’t have children, you can skip this one, or include nieces or nephews.
One way or another, children are going to be a part of most of our lives whether they’re our own children, grandchildren, or those of one of our siblings, cousins, or even a friendly neighbor kid who helps us mow our lawn when we’re too old or busy to want to do it ourselves anymore.
And we’re part of their lives, whether we realize it at the time or not.
Every now and then, it’s worth acknowledging that fact and honoring them, too.
So why not create a special role in your ceremony for the children who have made a positive impact on your married life together?
How’s that for wholesome?
5. Rededicate Your Rings
The last of our vow renewal ceremony ideas for this article is one that you’ll commonly see in some form or another in many ceremonies.
It can be done in a few simple ways, such as re-exchanging your rings with each other or getting new rings to symbolize a new chapter of your shared life together.
However, you can also make things a bit more elaborate and interactive by including your guests, such as by passing your old or new rings around to let each guest wish something good for your future together while holding them.
Additionally, you could also include a gesture or ritual of some kind to go along with this, such as planting a tree together or lighting a candle together.
A ring dedication is the sort of thing you can really be creative with and have a lot of fun with. So let your mind wander and imagine the possibilities!
Conclusion
As they say, your wedding is the happiest day of your life.
But what’s not said as often (even though it’s just as true) is that it’s the happiest day of your life so far.
There’s no reason why the happiness needs to stop after your wedding or why your wedding day needs to be the peak of your whole life.
A vow renewal ceremony is an acknowledgement of this and a celebration of all the happiness that has followed after your wedding, as well as all the happiness that is hoped to follow after your vow renewals.
On top of that, your vow renewal ceremony is a statement and an honoring of a marriage that has worked and that has already stood the test of time.
And in that spirit, we hope these vow renewal ceremony ideas have inspired you.
Congratulations on the years you’ve had together, and may you have many more to come. ❤️
