Renewal Of Vows Ceremony

Couples use the Renewal of Vows ceremony as a way to recognize their growth and development as a couple through the various stages of their journey of married life. Most Renewal of Vows ceremonies come from requests that are associated with a significant Anniversary such as the 10th, the 20th, the 25th, 30th, 40th 50th and so on. Often, some members of the original wedding party are still available to celebrate with the couple.

However, there are other occasions when it may be appropriate to have a Renewal of Vows ceremony. For example: after a time of separation, or when difficulty is experienced in marriage, or when the wedding ceremony you had originally was not through circumstances the way you wanted it to be.

If a copy of the original wedding service is available it can be used as a basis upon which to build the Renewal if Vows ceremony. It takes very little effort to tailor a wedding ceremony into a Renewal because of their similarities. What takes time, is adapting a ceremony, once used to mark the beginning of the couple’s marriage journey, to that of a meaningful ceremony that celebrates the journey to date, and their future hopes and dreams for that journey.

Most couples want more than a simple renewal of vows; they want a ceremony that reflects the highs and lows of their journey to date, and also one that tells of their hopes for the future. In a lot of ways, the Renewal of Vows ceremony can be more moving than the wedding ceremony because this time around, the focus is often more on the service itself than on the reception, the honeymoon and so forth.

Often gifts are exchanged a part of a Renewal Ceremony, however, there is no right or wrong way to hold a ceremony. They only requirements are that the couple celebrates with people they want and in a way that is meaningful to them! A ceremony can be really intimate with only close family and friends involved or it may be a large elaborate event. Again every couple is unique and the way they choose to renew their vows should reflect that uniqueness.

I felt privileged to be the Celebrant who performed the Christchurch Radio couple (Steve and Kersha) Renewal of Vows Ceremony. They are a wonderful couple with unique circumstances and have kindly given me permission to include these photos of their Renewal of Vows ceremony on this page.