In this Real Wedding blog we will look at why Vow Renewals are so important and how a simple and relaxed affair full of fun can really help you to feel the love all over again.
Where: The Lodge, Battlesbridge, Essex. https://www.rettendonlodgeevents.com/
When: August 2024
Who: Brian and Robbie.
1st Contact: I was sent an email via my contact page on my website asking if I was free to officiate a vow renewal in August 2024. I was, and as standard sent them a link to book a zoom call with me via my Calendly page.
Our video call was to get an idea of the feelings and ideas they had about their special occasion but if I’m honest we probably spent as much time talking about the settings of their colour changing kitchen lighting and how we could have a brilliant kitchen disco – I knew then these were the boys for me and I hoped they felt the same. Sure enough, within a couple of days the booking fee was paid and we had planned our first meeting.
I visited them at their home in February this year and they gave me the tour, introduced me to their furry children and showed me their holiday snaps from their beloved Lanzarote. It was obvious that they really valued their relationship and how simple success and longevity is if you keep respect and fun at the heart of it all and that their friends and family were so important to them that I knew we needed to do a community vow as part of their ceremony.
Within a couple of weeks they had their first draft and they loved it so much it brought them to tears!! The good kind, thankfully. I was even invited to the planning meeting held at the venue too, so we could walk the walk they would walk on the day, plan seating for guests and witnesses and understand what the logistics of before and after looked liked before I left them to get into the detail of seating numbers and menu choices. All this collaboration meant that on the day we all knew exactly what was happening and when.
Wedding Day: As usual, I arrived at the venue an hour ahead of ceremony time to confirm everything was correct with the venue and we had tables and chair in the right place etc and the music was cued and the right volume with the DJ. We were then due to hold all the guests in the bar of the restaurant on site before the ceremony, however our guests of honour were running a little late and the guests wanted to be out in the sunshine so there was a slight hearding of people, when they arrived in the ribbon bedecked car.
Once everyone was seated I had to break the news to a guest that she had been subbed in to replace a witness who was sick on the day – a changed certificate had been printed before I left home (thank goodness I only book one event a day!) but she was thrilled. And then I helped the Grooms maids with their ring bearing duties and cues, however we had a slight glitch when the rings were the wrong way round!! And then all we had to do was wait for the Grooms to make the walk from their hiding place to the ceremony area – which is when the wind got up and my skirt tried to make a break for it! I was mortified to have flashed my pants at a couple of guests but hey, that could happen to anyone right?! Needless to say, I presented the ceremony with my bum pressed against a table age to prevent it happening again!!
I told Brian and Robbie’s love story, how their renewal came to be and then they made promises to each other that we had created together, involved their community of friends and family in a promise too before tying them into their promises and having theor mums join in to seal the deal. They signed a commemorative certificate with witnesses, exchanged rings and then were celebrated by all their guests as they were re-introduced as husbands for life.
Celebrant Led: Without a celebrant, Brian and Robbie would not have been able to have their very own personalised ceremony. They would not have been able to involve their loved ones as they did and certainly would not have been able to arrive later than planned if it had been a registrar conducting the ceremony as a ‘celebrant’.
Plus, I would not have had half as much fun getting to know two amazing fellas and meeting their friends and family, who were all very complimentary about what we had created. For me though, the best feedback is always from the couple and you can see below their thoughts.
