Renewing marriage vows seems to be becoming more and more popular. Each year here at Wed in Central Park we seem to be planning more vow renewals than the previous year! Renewing your marriage vows is such a nice thing to do to mark a milestone wedding anniversary, or to celebrate any big challenges that you may have supported each through.
I really enjoy writing a wedding ceremony. I ask each couples some questions about themselves and what they want from their ceremony and then I write something unique for each of them. I love telling the story of their relationship to date and how they’ve come to be at this point in their lives making these big promises to each other, and looking to their future. The intention when you get married is that you will only do it once. And people do enjoy a wedding! In fact, many of our newlywed couples say that they enjoyed the day so much they wish that they could do it all over again! Well, with a marriage vow renewal, you can.
Writing a wedding ceremony is fun, but I do especially love writing a vow renewal, because there’s often so much more to say. We can talk about how the couple met, and their actual wedding, and then there’s everything that comes next. When you get married, you don’t know what’s coming, but you promise to support each other through the tough times and share in the good times; in sickness and in health, and all that. So, we can talk about that in a vow renewal ceremony. It’s a lovely way to reflect on your past, and to look to the future.
Some couples contact me about renewing their vows when they have already booked their trip to New York to celebrate a big birthday or a big wedding anniversary and they want to add something else to the celebration. Some couples might live near to Central Park, or have happy memories there and want to acknowledge this with a ceremony there. It doesn’t have to be when the anniversary hits a round number, it can be any time when you feel your marriage needs celebrating.
One couple we planned a marriage vow renewal for had wanted to elope to get married in New York, but they had instead decided to do what their family wanted and have a traditional wedding close to home, so when it came to their fifth wedding anniversary, they did what they had originally wanted to do and held an intimate ceremony in Central Park. One couple had gotten married quickly at City Hall and found the ceremony impersonal, and wanted to do something more heartfelt, personal and meaningful for their first wedding anniversary so they renewed their vows at Bethesda Terrace.
Of course, children can be such an important part a marriage and in many cases a couple’s kids are not present for the wedding, so it’s nice to include them in a vow renewal, as this couple did, who renewed their vows on their twentieth wedding anniversary. “I think vow renewals are becoming more popular as couples can include things in the ceremony that they missed the first time around and include others who were not present previously,” Joanne said. They had planned for a while to renew their vows, and had considered doing it at the ten year mark.
When it comes to deciding what to wear, some ladies want to wear white all over again, and some prefer to go for a colour, either is fine. This lady wore bright yellow, which was perfect for a day in the Central Park in the summer. You can be formal or informal when renewing your vows, it all depends what feels right to you. One couple who chose to buy all new traditional wedding gear wanted to wear it while taking photos all over New York City, after their intimate vow renewal ceremony at Belvedere Castle Terrace. “The ceremony was peaceful, private, and serene” Dana said. “The best thing we said to each other is “I still choose you.” It was the whole focus of renewing our vows to each other, just like it should be,” she explained.
I had a lovely husband contact me to say he’d like to arrange a surprise renewal of vows for his wife who was turning fifty while they were in New York. “I wanted to show her that I still love her today as much as I did when we met thirty-two years ago,” he said. This other couple were visiting New York with their daughter for their tenth wedding anniversary and decided to renew their vows while they were in New York. “We think a vow renewal is a lovely way to show continued commitment to each other,” Luke said.
One couple who renewed their marriage vows with us referred us to their daughter when it came to considering her wedding day! Caroline had planned the vow renewal as a surprise for Josh. We planned the wedding ceremony for their daughter and new son in law just a few years later. Caroline told me lots about the challenges that life had thrown at them over their thirty years together so that I could write their ceremony. In it, the officiant told the edited story of how they had supported each other through the tougher times and shared the joys of the good times. Newlywed couples do sometimes have a history this long together but it is rare, so both myself and their officiant felt really privileged to have shared in a celebration of such enduring love. Caroline was happy with how the ceremony turned out. “The officiant began by talking about our life together and our milestones, it was very moving, but she made us feel relaxed and made it all enjoyable,” she said.
We planned a vow renewal for a couple who were originally from New York but now live in Texas, and they wanted to celebrate their vow renewal back in NYC. They renewed their vows on their seventeenth wedding anniversary. Couples tend to wait for a round number – twentieth or thirtieth and so on, but “tomorrow is not promised,” said LaShana and they felt like this was the right time for them.
This year, we planned a vow renewal for a couple who renew their marriage vows every five years, in a different place each time! “Our traditional is a lot of fun and gives us plenty to look forward to,” Cindy said. Damian also proposes every five years, before the vow renewal. They renewed their vows in Las Vegas for their tenth anniversary, Gretna Green in Scotland five years after that. Now they’ve renewed their vows in New York for their twentieth anniversary they’re considering idea for the years to come. They said maybe Iceland or Santorini for their next vow renewal.
If you feel like now is a good time for you to renew your vows, for whatever reason, then we can help you to do it in beautiful Central Park in the heart of New York – an amazing city to celebrate in. No matter what you have achieved and shared as a couple or for how long you have been together, a vow renewal is a wonderful way to celebrate your love and commitment.
If you would like me to help you with planning your own vow renewal in Central Park, whatever the reason, visit our website. Keep updated with our news and see lots of beautiful photos of vow renewals and weddings in Central Park, follow us on Instagram, follow us on Facebook, follow us on TikTok, and follow us on Pinterest.
