Celebrants give the low-down on renewing your vows – Part 2

Celebrants love to help you celebrate love! Renewal of Vows ceremonies are a great way to show your ongoing love or to renew your vows after a difficult time or a major change. Our Celebrants have been sharing their experiences with Renewal of Vow ceremonies and tell us why they think couple should consider having one.

Next up, Ruby B Ceremonies lets us in on some insider information for Renewal of Vows ceremonies.

In your experience why have the couples you worked with decided to have a Renewal of Vows Ceremony?

Couples each have their own reason for having a Renewal of Vows Ceremony – these have included having the day of their dreams because they couldn’t do that when they got married, having married abroad and wanting to have a ceremony with all their family present, having gone through some tough times and wanting to celebrate that they had come through it, having enjoyed their wedding so much they said they would do it again in ten years’ time.

Tell us about what happens during the ceremony.

Ceremonies vary so much depending on what the couple want. Most make vows to each other. Some want to repeat their original vows whilst others make unique, personal ones. Some couples have new rings and exchange those. At some Ceremonies certificates are signed and witnessed. Unity Ceremonies such as sand ceremonies are quite popular, often involving children and even grandchildren. Handfasting is a great symbolic ritual as it reflects the origins of handfasting when couples would return to their community gathering after a year and a day if they wished to continue to be together. Often family members or friends will do a reading or play a piece of music or share their talents in other ways. Sometimes there will be a song for everyone to sing together. All of these things contribute to the ceremony being unique, personal and meaningful.

Have you had any unusual requests or performed a ceremony at an out of the ordinary location?

At one Ceremony we shared the love beginning with the couple hugging their grandchildren who went out to all those attending and once hugged everyone had to hug someone else. Another ceremony was held in a pony’s paddock as the pony was an important member of the family. Vow Renewals can be held anywhere from your own garden to a favourite beauty spot to a hotel banqueting suite and I have performed Vow Renewals in all of these.

What is your favourite memory from a Renewal Ceremony you have been a part of?

It’s really hard to choose but I will certainly always remember the one where a couple’s grandchildren performed a poem with a dance and then each brought up a ribbon for a handfasting with a wish for their grandparents. That was fabulous.

Why do you think couples should consider having their own Renewal of Vows Ceremony?

Renewing your vows is an opportunity to celebrate the love you still share. It can be just the two of you, or with a few witnesses, or as an opportunity for a party with a large group of family and friends.

Photo credit to Ruby B Ceremonies and GDB Photography