Mindy,
The photo opps were just great. We went to the front of all lines, and AJ took some shots of just us (hubby & me), some with flowers, some without, some in alternate poses, some with all kids, some with kids and mom. And at the formal backdrop, he did individual shots of the kids. He took multiples of all, so we had some really good 'rejects,' just because there were even better versions of the same shots!
Thank you about the way we planned it -- I thought it all turned out great. If you get better weather, you'll also get some different pictures -- apparently, they have some favorite views on the decks where the photographer takes you (if it's not pouring!).
I don't know how many kids you have or ages, but I will tell you that having the kids involved was really one of the best parts of the whole thing. We talked with them about it a lot beforehand (my 8-year-old DD even thought about singing at the ceremony but was too shy), and being a part of it all was quite special to them. And one of the big ways the vow renewal was different than the first time was about our children. We didn't just renew our commitment to each other, we demonstrated our commitment to our family to our children. If mine were older, I may have asked them if they wanted to do a reading, or sing, or be more involved.
I hope you get to do it, Mindy. Our vow renewal was a 'tag-on' to the cruise, rather than the primary reason. But it ended up being the most special part of the whole thing.
One other note -- I am not big on the scrapbooking thing -- have lots of pictures, but not a lot of organization. But I am doing one now from the cruise. I am using the photo album they gave us with the photo package, and making it more about the cruise AND vow renewal, not just the vow renewal. (It's actually a wedding photo album.) I'm adding other photos from the ship's photographers, I've blown up some from our water cameras from snorkeling trips, and I'm printing some from our digital camera. Plus, I am adding pages about each day with cutouts from the navigators, the weather reports (you'll get these from the concierge each day if you do the package, I was glad I saved them), tickets/invites from events, etc.
I'm getting motivated to begin digging into the boxes in the closet to do some more scrapbooking. Ah, the inspiration of Disney and the boards.
Please let me know if you get booked, and then, of course, how it goes!
The photo opps were just great. We went to the front of all lines, and AJ took some shots of just us (hubby & me), some with flowers, some without, some in alternate poses, some with all kids, some with kids and mom. And at the formal backdrop, he did individual shots of the kids. He took multiples of all, so we had some really good 'rejects,' just because there were even better versions of the same shots!
Thank you about the way we planned it -- I thought it all turned out great. If you get better weather, you'll also get some different pictures -- apparently, they have some favorite views on the decks where the photographer takes you (if it's not pouring!).
I don't know how many kids you have or ages, but I will tell you that having the kids involved was really one of the best parts of the whole thing. We talked with them about it a lot beforehand (my 8-year-old DD even thought about singing at the ceremony but was too shy), and being a part of it all was quite special to them. And one of the big ways the vow renewal was different than the first time was about our children. We didn't just renew our commitment to each other, we demonstrated our commitment to our family to our children. If mine were older, I may have asked them if they wanted to do a reading, or sing, or be more involved.
I hope you get to do it, Mindy. Our vow renewal was a 'tag-on' to the cruise, rather than the primary reason. But it ended up being the most special part of the whole thing.
One other note -- I am not big on the scrapbooking thing -- have lots of pictures, but not a lot of organization. But I am doing one now from the cruise. I am using the photo album they gave us with the photo package, and making it more about the cruise AND vow renewal, not just the vow renewal. (It's actually a wedding photo album.) I'm adding other photos from the ship's photographers, I've blown up some from our water cameras from snorkeling trips, and I'm printing some from our digital camera. Plus, I am adding pages about each day with cutouts from the navigators, the weather reports (you'll get these from the concierge each day if you do the package, I was glad I saved them), tickets/invites from events, etc.
I'm getting motivated to begin digging into the boxes in the closet to do some more scrapbooking. Ah, the inspiration of Disney and the boards.
Please let me know if you get booked, and then, of course, how it goes!
so, I decided to "float" the idea by him and surprisingly he is being very supportive ... he thinks it will be neat for our three kids DS17, DD12, and DD6 to be there as we re-commit ... I think in today's day and age it's a great thing for the kids to see ... we (my DH and myself) may not like each other everyday, but we do love each other and are committed to making our marriage work. We want our kids to know that marriage takes a lot of work and is not a commitment to enter into lightly. Hopefully our vow renewal will not only be special for us, but perhaps it will serve as a model for our kids to look at when the time is right for them ... please excuse me for going on and on ... I'm just very excited about the whole thing and I think that it's something we should all consider, if we have the opportunity! OK - I'll get off the soapbox now ... 
We will be celebrating 14 years while on board and some of those days have been real winners! The idea of the children being involved and seeing your public comittment is wonderful and I agree whole heartedly. If I can, I'd like to share a story: Just last week DH and I were arguing over something silly. Well, the 10 yo Dd asked, "Mom, are you and Dad going to get divorced?" I answered (very inappropriately, I may add.) "I don't know. Ask your father." Of course, DH and I are not going anywhere. He and I know this, but we need to make the children firm in this knowledge, too. (I didn't help there, did I? 
) Just to set all fears to rest, we both reassured her later that we indeed plan to be together until death do us part, but that doesn't mean there won't be any bumps along the way!
