Roozlilone, congrats on your upcoming vow renewal!
As to what to wear, that truly is a personal decision that only you can make. I have seen vow renewal photos where the bride was dressed to the nines in full wedding regalia (
including a tiara, veil, and gloves), and I have seen other vow renewal photos where the bride was wearing a simple pantsuit. If you have a secret desire to wear a particular type of garment, by all means wear it. It is your wedding anniversary and you should wear whatever your heart desires. Listen to your heart.
For my vow renewal, I wasn't sure what I wanted to wear. My mother actually purchased a dress for me. She lives in the Midwest (
while I live on the West Coast) and one day a package arrived. Inside it was a floor-length column dress in a taupe color. The material had gold threads running through it. There was a bolero jacket too, but I can't remember if it was made of the same material or of a different material. The dress was lovely and fit beautifully, and I was honestly quite relieved to have the dress decision made for me (
yeah, the noise that you are hearing is the sound of a chicken *clucking*!). I had really been dreading shopping for a dress and my mother knew that.
Then about a month or two prior to my ceremony, I decided that I should find a dress that would make me look a little bit more like a bride. My fear was that none of the staff who would be working my event would be able to pick me out as the "bride" rather than as a guest. If something went wrong and needed my attention, I wanted to ensure that the staff would know exactly who I was. And so I wound up stopping by David's Bridal one day with my husband and our daughter. Within an hour or two, I had a very simple dress that I thought was a little better suited for a vow renewal. I'll post a photo of it below:
The dress came with a detachable train which I chose not to wear. I also chose not to wear a tiara or a veil. It was simply me and my dress on the night of my 20th wedding anniversary. It worked out very well since the dress was comfortable and easy to move around in.
So, that is what I did. Others have taken a more elaborate route -- and also a more simple route. I found something that suited me just fine. You will find something that suits you just fine, too, have no fear.
Before I end my post, I thought I'd mention that while I was shopping at David's Bridal that day, my husband picked out the exact same dress for me. When we entered the store, we split up. When we met up about thirty minutes later, I about died when I saw that he had the exact same dress in his bundle of dresses. And that was the dress that I wound up purchasing. After 20 years of marriage, my husband knew me quite well.