By Taylor Lea Thomas

Question:

Any suggestions for a formal vow renewal ceremony complete with bridesmaids and groomsmen and traditional wedding attire?

Taylor:

Dear Miss I-Love-You-So-Much-Let’s-Do-It-Again,

First, it’s always so wonderful to hear about marriages that are thriving. Wishing you many, many more blissful years of marriage! You are to be commended. When a marriage works, nothing on earth can take its place. As a wedding planner, I love hearing inspiring stories like yours. Congratulations to you both.

Overall Vow Renewal Theme: “I Still Do.”

I like the idea of redoing your original wedding in a modern way. For your invitations, create one that allows for two photos side by side: your original wedding photo, and a current photo of the two of you all these years later with the invitation wording beneath. On the original photo side, write a sweet caption, something like, “I vowed to love you for better or worse.” With that, add the original wedding date beneath. On the current photo side, you can also write the caption, “I did. I still do. And I’ll forever do,” with the date of your vow renewal ceremony beneath. You can also incorporate the number of years you’ve been married as part of the theme.

If you have children, have each of them read a special passage or a heartfelt letter to the both of you – this would be especially touching if done during the ceremony in place of the Officiant’s or Minister’s typical readings. During the reception, if you have video from your original wedding, before your first dance together, lower the lights in the room and allow the video to play of your original first dance. If you have no video but you have photos, a slideshow would be just as touching to play. Upon its conclusion, the lights can rise again revealing the both of you dressed in the same wedding attire (or modern versions of it), dancing to your original wedding song. If it’s possible to have your original guests attend, invite them too. If they can’t make it, perhaps have them send a short video in to offer their recollection as a guest at your original wedding and what it means now to see you both celebrating your love for each other once again. As a gift to each other, in your wedding bands, engrave “I Still Do.” The most precious possession that ever comes to a man in this world is a woman’s heart.  May you be inspired…

More on Madame Noire!

• Celebs Who Rode Their Famous Sibling’s Coattails to Success
• I Get it Now: Parental Wisdom That Took a Minute To Grasp
• No Child Left Behind: Can Having a Big Family Harm Your Children?
• Why I Question The Release of A Posthumous Aaliyah Album
• Getting To Happy: 7 Habits That Can Change Your Life
• Let Sleeping Dogs Lie: 6 Reasons Not to Go Back to Your Ex
• True Life: If I Could Say Anything to My First Love, I’d Say…
• Is The Black Standard of Beauty Giving You Low Self-Esteem?