Simple vow renewal

[mommary]

Have been thinking about a vow renewal for our 35th anniversary.
My question is how many have done or have thought about a renewal with just your and your spouse. The cost becomes expensive if we move beyond the memories package beside the issue of trying to get kids together with SO's is almost impossible.
My husband who does not buy into the whole vow renewal anyway might be happier with a intimate celebration but it might be weird without the kids.
It has been something I have thought about for a while and would really like to do it.
Just asking my disboard friends because you are the only ones who might understand this dilemma.

thanks

 

[lurkyloo]

I think a lot of people—if not the majority—who book the Memories Collection do not have any guests. It's really an elopement-style vow renewal, and the focus is on the bride and groom creating memories together.

 

[3pletprincesses]

Thanks for posting this. It will be our 10 wed anniversary next year and we were hoping to renew durign our vacation with our then 5 yo DDs. We want it to be just us. Nice to know we are not the only ones.

 

[chris31997]

I think it would be sweet just the two of you again. You could even look into setting up a video link for the kids. If you have pics or a video you can share that with your kids. I say go for it

 

[Tinker Bell Fan]

I like Chris' idea about the video thing.

DH & I are renewing our vows for our 20th - we're having an Escape "rewedding". We had the big wedding and all and this time around we didn't want to spend a LOT of money, but we agreed on going the Escape route. We're trying to stick to the budget, and for the most part we're sticking to it. We don't have any kids (unfortunately) and most of our family is gone too. DH's family is still around and said they were coming and now are changing their mind. So we'll have just close friends attending. Will be lucky if we have 10 (including us). We'll see.

I think you two should do what will make you both feel comfortable and happy.

Good luck planning!

 

[mommary]

Thanks for the tip about the video... will have to think about that and see what can be done.
Spoke to my kids and they are perfectly fine with Mom and Dad doing their vow renewal on their own. That makes me feel much better. FYI, one reason why they can't make it is because two weeks earlier the "girls" and their mom are going on a 3 day disney cruise for a 30th birthday celebration(not mine .
So taking any more time off for them is difficult.

Today I booked my weekend at BLT ( vacation club member) so the wheels are in motion. I hope it all works out!!!!

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

We just did a Memories vr for our 10th this past October. It was just the two of us and I was so happy with how everything turned out! It was nice to have something special just for us!

 

[mommary]

lilstinkerbelle..... could you give us any more information about your memories vow renewal?
I hope to do it in Oct and think I would do it at the Conch key site.
But a few questions, Does that location get any sunshine. I would like to do it a 3pm if available. Did you do any enhancements and was it worth it?
Did you feel it was worth the $1991. What did you do after the ceremony?
Did you do the limo or the in room celebration. I can't imagine what we would do with a limo for 3 hrs.
I would love to hear all about your event and getting some tips as well.
thanks!!!

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

lilstinkerbelle..... could you give us any more information about your memories vow renewal?
I hope to do it in Oct and think I would do it at the Conch key site.
But a few questions, Does that location get any sunshine. I would like to do it a 3pm if available. Did you do any enhancements and was it worth it?
Did you feel it was worth the $1991. What did you do after the ceremony?
Did you do the limo or the in room celebration. I can't imagine what we would do with a limo for 3 hrs.
I would love to hear all about your event and getting some tips as well.
thanks!!!

We had the 1 p.m. time slot in early October and that area was just starting to get a little bit of sun but where we stood (further back from the railing than the pics on the Disney Wedding site) was still in full shade.

As far as enhancements, we added the "circle of love" rose petals, which were only $50 and well worth it I thought. They added a little something to the site and sort of anchored where we were standing visually. We also ordered a photo print package and an 8x8 hardcover photobook. I later also ordered additional prints through the online site (I would've liked to have purchased a CD of our images but was told that's not offered with the Memories Collection).

After the ceremony we had tea at the Gardenview Lounge and I ordered a mini-wedding cake to be delivered (I arranged it through the cake hotline). It was just the two of us so that's all the cake we needed.

We opted for the in-room celebration over the limo.

I thought the package was worth the price. The location was beautiful, my bouquet was stunning - way exceeded my expectations and it was HUGE, and I was very, very happy with how our photos came out. That was a big deal to me because I wasn't really happy with our wedding pictures. I worried beforehand that the 1 hour of included photography wouldn't be enough time but we were really able to cover a lot of ground in that time and got to many spots both outside and in. It helped that it was just the two of us so there were no group shots to arrange. I also wore a cocktail-length dress so my dress didn't need to be arranged at each pose.

Hope that helps! Let me know if I can answer anything else.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

One other thing I thought of after I posted this last night re: whether I thought it was worth the money. Before Disney announced the Memories Collection, I had looked into some other destination vow renewal options (outside of FL) and most of the packages I found were in the $1-2k price range but most didn't include nearly what Disney includes. For example no limo, no live music (the violinist was a really nice touch), photography - if included at all - was usually only about 30 minutes vs. the hour Disney included, flowers were minimal (like a 3 or 6 rose "posey" for the bride). They usually did include the officiant but I liked being able to pick who we had based on what type of ceremony we were looking for. HTH

 

[mommary]

Thank you so much for all your tips.
I love the idea of the tea and the flower enhancements.

Last night I was checking other destination wedding ideas and feel the same way about what you get from disney verses other locations. I am a VCM so my room is already taken care of.

Where you pleased with the person who performed your ceremony?
How long does it all take?
What is included with a in room celebration? I would not bother with the web site since I don't even do facebook.

I also will wear a cocktail length dress and believe it or not I have it already.
I bought a dress a few years ago at Lord and Taylor, strapless white with black trim and a sheer white voile overlay that has small black flowers embroidered on it. Its a Scott McClintock. I tried it on and it fits perfectly ( hopefully it will stay that way)!! Here is the best part..... I think I paid $20 for it!!!
The tags are still on it and unless I see something else between now and October... I am all set.
Thanks again!!!

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

Glad to help.

"Where you pleased with the person who performed your ceremony?" I was, we used Rev. Miller and he did a nice job. The ceremony was very touching.

"How long does it all take?" Our meeting time was 12:45 in the lobby of the GF. There we were met by someone from Disney Floral, who gave me my bouquet, a coordinator from DFTW and our officiant was there too. We headed out to the ceremony site and that started at 1 p.m. The ceremony was probably 10-15 minutes long then the rest of the time was for photos. We were done at just about 2 p.m. exactly and we had a 2:20 p.m. ADR for tea so it worked out great.

"What is included with a in room celebration?" There was a dozen roses in a vase, rose petals on the floor and bed, chocolates, personalized towels for you and your DH and a spa basket. There were a few other surprises that I won't spoil for you.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

Also meant to say that your dress sounds beautiful! Finding a dress was the most stressful part of the whole thing for me because I had such a tight timeframe and knew I needed something off-the-rack and that wouldn't need much in the way of alterations.

 

[mommary]

Sounds like the in room celebration is a "no brainer"!!!
One more question, do they do the in room celebration on arrival day or the day of your ceremony? I want to do my renewal on my anniversary which is a Sunday. We arrive Friday and depart Monday. It just seems like it would be nice to enjoy the "celebration" for the whole weekend.
BTW...... just booked my flights. Good deal on Continental out of Newark.
I know its early but when a flight is less than $200 I book it.
Now I just have to wait till April to call about booking my date. Will let you know what happens.
I truly appreciate all your feedback.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

Yes, the in-room celebration was set up on the night of our VR. Ours was on a Friday and we left Sunday morning and I wished I'd had more time to enjoy it. In retrospect, I wondered if we had asked if they would have done it earlier in our stay. Can't hurt to ask your planner about it!

 

[mommary]

Good idea...... will check that out!

 

[norm&linda]

Thanks for this! We are doing this on April 2nd together with our three children. The in-room celebration sounds nice but I think we will use the limo because we are staying at Boardwalk Villas. Following the ceremony we also have a reservation for the Gardenview tea room, so it seems the 3 hour window will work for that.

Would love to see a picture if you are willing to post one.

Linda

 

[mommary]

I would love to see a photo also!!!!

 

[mommary]

BTW.... NormandLinda... where are you having your ceremony?

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

Unfortunately I don't have any photos to share as I don't have the digital files/copyright release because they wouldn't allow us to purchase the CD. If down the road anyone gets a different answer on buying the CD I'd love to hear about it because we might still be interested. Although I ended up spending a small fortune in prints since I wanted to at least have a copy of each of our favorites so I'm not sure how much more I'd be able to spend at this point .