What was the reason for your vow renewal?

[MelodyTime]

My DH and I renewed our vows this past February for our 25th Anniversary. Like others, we have a great marriage and we simply chose a VR at WDW as our method of celebrating our 25 years together. We had many reasons for choosing WDW as our venue: 1. We had a budget wedding back in 1987 with very few "extras". While it was nice, it certainly wasn't a dream wedding. 2. We looked at other VR spots like Maui but kept coming back to WDW because it meant so much to us in our married life. It was where we spent our honeymoon, it was where we took our son every year. It held lots and lots of wonderful memories for us. 3. It was important for us to include our families. My dad is a double amputee with prosthetics and it was important to us to have a location that he could access. Disney does such a wonderful job with the disabled and they were so wonderful with him. 4. Who doesn't want to be a Disney Princess...even if it is just for a day!

Did people think we were silly.....YES! We had family members tell us it was a waste of money, we were already married...why did we feel a need to do it again. We had family members who decided not to attend. At first it really bothered us but then we realized this is what WE wanted to do...this is how WE wanted to celebrate. We wanted people to attend but if they chose not too it didn't change the fact that we were celebrating our anniversary.

Did people wonder why we were doing it....YES! We had people who thought that we must have had something major happen in our marriage. We had people who actually thought that they missed us getting divorced and now we were getting remarried! People who asked, I explained that we simply were celebrating.

It was a wonderful day and memories that I will cherish the rest of my life. I look at the pictures and I can't help but smile. Don't let what other people think deter you....if this is how you want to celebrate....do it...you won't regret it!

 

[Deesknee]

My DH and I renewed our vows this past February for our 25th Anniversary. Like others, we have a great marriage and we simply chose a VR at WDW as our method of celebrating our 25 years together. We had many reasons for choosing WDW as our venue: 1. We had a budget wedding back in 1987 with very few "extras". While it was nice, it certainly wasn't a dream wedding. 2. We looked at other VR spots like Maui but kept coming back to WDW because it meant so much to us in our married life. It was where we spent our honeymoon, it was where we took our son every year. It held lots and lots of wonderful memories for us. 3. It was important for us to include our families. My dad is a double amputee with prosthetics and it was important to us to have a location that he could access. Disney does such a wonderful job with the disabled and they were so wonderful with him. 4. Who doesn't want to be a Disney Princess...even if it is just for a day!

Did people think we were silly.....YES! We had family members tell us it was a waste of money, we were already married...why did we feel a need to do it again. We had family members who decided not to attend. At first it really bothered us but then we realized this is what WE wanted to do...this is how WE wanted to celebrate. We wanted people to attend but if they chose not too it didn't change the fact that we were celebrating our anniversary.

Did people wonder why we were doing it....YES! We had people who thought that we must have had something major happen in our marriage. We had people who actually thought that they missed us getting divorced and now we were getting remarried! People who asked, I explained that we simply were celebrating.

It was a wonderful day and memories that I will cherish the rest of my life. I look at the pictures and I can't help but smile. Don't let what other people think deter you....if this is how you want to celebrate....do it...you won't regret it!

Melodytime, Congratluations on your 25 years! I think you stated this perfectly! You touched on so many of the points I was feeling when DH & I decided to renew our vows. (ultimately we decided not to renew at WDW, but celebrate there, but these are the reasons we considered it. and we will be celebrating the VR there. We may even renew again for our 40th or 50th who knows.)To the op ... celebrate how you want to celebrate. I'm sure there were skeptics the first time around too. ( I know we had several...dozen. ).

 

[MelodyTime]

Thanks Deesknee! I would also love to do this again for our 50th. The Disney cast members were telling us to make sure we come back then to celebrate again! I would highly recommend a VR to anyone who wants one!

 

[coastermom]

We went to WDW for our 20th wedding anniversary in Jan .. We were married on Feb 1 ,1992 . We had a wedding with our family in a Knights of Columbus hall and it was not the fairy tale I wanted . I did get a dress off the rack what ever fit and my parents paid for the hall we paid for everything else . I was prego with my first and everyone swore it would never last !! It was a very stressful wedding . Now that we are married for 20 years I want to start to save now for a 25th anniversary wedding VR ! Everyone thinks I am crazy but we just love WDW so much I think it is the best thing to do !! Looking forward to the dream wedding I missed !! I say if you can just do it !

 

[~Tinkerella]

It's a shame in the world today, that when someone wants to renew their wedding vows that people automatically think that something must have been majorly wrong in the marriage and maybe a renewal will "fix things."

Wouldn't it be nice to change the thinking pattern so that when a couple wants to renew their vows, it truly means that they take their vows seriously and just want to celebrate something so wonderful !!!!!

 

[chris31997]

It's a shame in the world today, that when someone wants to renew their wedding vows that people automatically think that something must have been majorly wrong in the marriage and maybe a renewal will "fix things."

Wouldn't it be nice to change the thinking pattern so that when a couple wants to renew their vows, it truly means that they take their vows seriously and just want to celebrate something so wonderful !!!!!

Considering the reasons people are renewing and the time that they have been married. We really should celebrate the fact that people are happily married after so many years of marriage.

I have loved reading the reasoning behind everyones renewal. It is has been very encouraging.

 

[trudy88]

We wanted to make memories when we had our VR (which was an at home Disney VR followed by a familymoon at Disney World). Our original wedding was at a church fish fry. We didn't feel our VR was a "do over" of our original vows, but new vows celebrating our ongoing committment to God, each other and our grown children.

 

[LovesTimone]

DH and I will be renewing our vows at 10 years which is next year. WOW time flies when your having fun, We are thinking about a small renewal and then going to DL for another Mickeymoon, which is what we had at WDW the 1st time or maybe we might just might head to WDW.

DH and I are still crazy in love and are super happy, this just will add to our memories. Which at the end is all you have is love and memories..

 

[Brancaneve]

DH and I will be renewing our vows at 10 years which is next year. WOW time flies when your having fun, We are thinking about a small renewal and then going to DL for another Mickeymoon, which is what we had at WDW the 1st time or maybe we might just might head to WDW.

DH and I are still crazy in love and are super happy, this just will add to our memories. Which at the end is all you have is love and memories..

That is very sweet. Post pictures please!

 

[chepic]

Love all your comments....we have a smililar story line.

We were married in 1988, we were young, we had everything we wanted, and we were in love!! Went to Disney for our Honeymoon and have returned there many times and have made wonderful memories. Disney hadn't started doing the wedding/honeymoon thing that they have today.

For our 10th, still quite in love, we did a private thing in Disney at OKW on our balcony and then went to France for dinner with our friends. Disney didn't have a VR "thing" yet so we had no issues doing it this way. Apparently today, there might be an issue if you do this without Disney permission.

For our 20th, very much madly in love, we did it big on the cruise and have such incredible memories with our friends and family that could come...especially for our oldest son who was 7 at the time....he loved being our "ring" bearer.

We are hoping that in 5.5 years we will do it all again in Hawaii with our 2 sons who are thrilled that their parents adore each other enough to make that commitment again and again.

I personally feel that it is important to tell each other every day how much you mean to each other and affirming your commitment helps bond you over and over again.

And, yes, we have family and friends who think we are crazy.....and I answer yes, crazy in love with each other.

Have fun....
Cheryl

 

[yaddo121]

Our original ceremony was at a courthouse - just the two of us, very spur of the moment and we always said that one day we would have a 'real' wedding where our family could attend. For awhile we just kept saying, "Maybe next year" and finally decided the perfect time - after my husband returned safely home from his first deployment. I have always loved Disney and since that is where my DH asked me to marry him we wanted to celebrate our VR at Disney as well. My family flew in to surprise me and my grandfather walked me down the aisle...I was on cloud 9! Still going strong 6 years later...maybe I could talk him into another one

 

[~Tinkerella]

Love your post Chepic ~ there are definitely people out there like us who are still very much in love. We've only been married for 12 years but we've been together for 20 and in this day and age, I think that speaks volumes!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[chepic]

Love your post Chepic ~ there are definitely people out there like us who are still very much in love. We've only been married for 12 years but we've been together for 20 and in this day and age, I think that speaks volumes!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you.....and as you can see in my pictures for my signature line, I had a great time!!

He makes me laugh!

che

 

[Disneylvr4]

Ours was for our 5 year anniversary, so we wanted to renew our vows...simple! No one said/asked anything, it was lovely and maybe since we kept it to just us, our children and our parents no one rasied any eyebrows!? Either way, I don't see a vow renewal at all an indication of a problem, I don't think many would see it that way either...maybe that's just me??

We bought a special anniversary sale package (this was a year+ ago) when we did ours, so I believe the total cost was around $3000 with taxes and a few extras. We didn't do a meal and nothing outside the ceremony, limo and pictures...which I thought wasn't terrible given it's Disney!

Do what you feel is right for you guys! If you want to renew your vows and have the money to spend then I say do it!

 

[mommary]

My DH and I renewed our vows for our 35th anniversary last Oct using the Memories package. It was something I wanted to do and of course being the great guy that he is went along with it.
We have been very blessed, raised a great family. The kids are grown and out on their own and now we were starting a new "phase" of our lives.
It was just the two of us. It was a wonderful day and I am so glad we did it.

 

[mommary]

My DH and I renewed our vows for our 35th anniversary last Oct using the Memories package. It was something I wanted to do and of course being the great guy that he is went along with it.
We have been very blessed, raised a great family. The kids are grown and out on their own and now we were starting a new "phase" of our lives.
It was just the two of us. It was a wonderful day and I am so glad we did it.

 

[VirataMama4]

We are going to be renewing our vows because we never had a wedding. It was a spur of the moment thing, and only had 2 witnesses and my daughter there. We were supposed to renew our vows on our 1 yr anniversary, but there was a huge snow storm and everyone was snowed in. We were supposed to do it last year, for our 5 year anniversary, but Navy life got in the way and ended up PCSing around that time. Now we're talking about doing it for our 8 or 10 yr anniversary... I'm leaning for 8yr anniversary, because our 10 year falls in the same year as my DD's high school graduation & its the same year we're up to PCS again for the Navy and I know a vow renewal will get pushed back... I swear I WILL get to wear the fancy wedding dress that has been sitting in my closet for 5+ years that I've yet to ever put on !!!

 

[*Valdez*]

DH and I have been married 8 years, we will be doing a VR for our 10th in 2 years. We are very happily married and love spending time together. We had the whole huge catholic wedding with tons of attendents and such. We wanted the WDW, but it was important to our family to get married in the traditional catholic wedding.

Over the past 8 years we have had many hurdles to jump, from jobs and school to family drama to infertility and miscarriages. There isn't a moment when we don't put the other first. No decision is made without consulting the other, we never go anywhere without the other, not because we feel obligated, but because we really love and enjoy each others company. No other person can understand my feelings and hurt heart but DH. I feel honored that he wants a VR and wants to pledge his love to me all over again. Our familes don't understand our infertility or our VR, but it isn't for them to understand. This is just for us and if they would like to be a part of our magic that is wonderful.

 

[Brancaneve]

DH and I have been married 8 years, we will be doing a VR for our 10th in 2 years. We are very happily married and love spending time together. We had the whole huge catholic wedding with tons of attendents and such. We wanted the WDW, but it was important to our family to get married in the traditional catholic wedding.

Over the past 8 years we have had many hurdles to jump, from jobs and school to family drama to infertility and miscarriages. There isn't a moment when we don't put the other first. No decision is made without consulting the other, we never go anywhere without the other, not because we feel obligated, but because we really love and enjoy each others company. No other person can understand my feelings and hurt heart but DH. I feel honored that he wants a VR and wants to pledge his love to me all over again. Our familes don't understand our infertility or our VR, but it isn't for them to understand. This is just for us and if they would like to be a part of our magic that is wonderful.

That is very touching and inspirational.

 

[VowRenewal13]

My husband and I have been married for 40 years. We will be renewing our vows on the Disney Dream in July 2013. Our grandchildren (ages 13 and 8) will be our best man and maid of honor. Our son, daughter and daughter-in-law will be our other guests. We were married by a Justice of the Peace, hubby wore his military uniform and I wore a dress. We had no reception or honeymoon. We were a military family and moved around a lot. After my husband retired, he once again went overseas for work. We spent a lot of time apart, and several years working together overseas. He returned from Afghanistan this March, and is now retired. We went on a Disney Cruise to Alaska in June and booked our family cruise to the Bahamas for next year. Our marriage has always been based on mutual respect for each other and love. A vow renewal ceremony is for us, our children, and our grandchildren. We will finally have the wedding I have always wanted, and share it with the people who mean the most to us.