Vow Renewal after Elopement

My future step-brother in law and his wife did this. They eloped in Jamaica, just them (everyone knew about it). Then came back and had a reception at a local hotel a few months later. They didn't do the whole ceremony or cocktail hour aspect, just the reception but still had speeches & first dances & cake cutting. The bride still wore her dress, and they had cake and favors. It was super fun!

There's absolutely nothing wrong with having a celebration after an elopement. You can incorporate a vow renewal or not. It doesn't sound like you are trying to hide the elopement and you still should have the option to celebrate. Wear a beautiful dress, have bridesmaids and groomsmen. Have special dances. Cut the cake. The only two things that might not be appropriate are showers and bachelorette parties. I would be fine with a small family shower - others wouldn't be. You aren't a bachelorette, so a bachelorette party is out, but you could still go out for a night on the town with your friends and BMs.

We are having a DW in Oct (we were planning a sort of elopement but left it open ended if people wanted to come.... it's in Vegas and apparently people want to go haha)

But we are planning a bigger celebration (Vegas is about 70 people celebration will probably be about 150+ people) back home the following May. We both come from large families and want to celebrate with everyone! We are calling it a celebration at home and just doing a big BBQ, hiring a DJ and having it at an Italian Center so nothing crazy or extravagant but a good time for friends/family. Everyone we have told this too (family and friends) love that we are holding 2 celebrations and know they are more the welcome to come to 1 or both (we are sending invitations too everything but large Italian families where I'm from tend to talk quicker then invites would come haha)

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My bridal party really wants to do a shower, they want to do a "bachlorette" party but I want it to just be a more celebration.

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Go for it! You can call it a bachelorette or just a girls night out. As long as you aren't asking them to host it for you, let them plan it and have fun! If people are put off, they don't need to come.

You are being very upfront and transparent that you are already married, so everyone participating is well aware of the circumstances.

Most of the negative things have to do with people lying to their families and friends and pretending they aren't actually married. You're not doing this and know that it's a vow renewal/celebration of marriage so you're good!

I'm not sure why you would get any negative comments on this. There's absolutely nothing wrong with wanted to celebrate your marriage and you should! If you want a bridal party for the vow renewal, go for it. If your bridal party wants to throw a shower, why not? It's not like you already had one. However, if you really don't want one, politely decline. Agree with Daria on the bach party too. Why shouldn't you have everything you want? You aren't deceiving anyone and you shouldn't be treated any differently than any other bride.

Enjoy!

My sorority sister did a big vow renewal with bridesmaids and all. I declined to be in the wedding because she was just too far and I was just in a wedding the previous year. After seeing the dresses and hearing about some of the drama, I'm glad that I declined plus it was a Sunday wedding, I only stayed for 2hrs with 2 of my other sorority sisters. The little bit of time that we stayed we had fun. She did the first dance with her dad, she did pictures, she did cake cutting,etc. DO what you want is my point, its your day!

You deserve a wonderful celebration (renewal/reception) whenever you decide to do it! We had a DW then a local reception a few months later (I liked having a small ceremony for vows).

You can have a vow renewal, or host a reception (feel free to wear your wedding dress again or a new one). Up to you. Our reception was a party. Two musical groups, wine/beer, dinner, and wedding cake cutting then since we didn't have one at our DW. Sooo nice to not be stressed about the "wedding" part; we really got to enjoy a lot of time with friends at our reception.

I think one of the negatives people might say is that this isn't a wedding, since you're already married. So call it a wedding reception or vow renewal on your invites.

Don’t listen to the negativity. I am doing his exact thing. I found out I was pregnant 2 months into my engagement so we decided to get married at the courthouse. We are still having our wedding next Saturday. We have a bridal party, did Bach parties, rehearsal dinner, ceremony and reception. Only difference is that the ceremony will not be quite the same vows and we won’t exchange rings.

Thank you for posting this previously.

IDK if you still check this, but we just had to postpone our upcoming wedding celebration due to the COVID 19 pandemic. We still really want to get married this day. So, we are planning to have a private ceremony. We are rescheduling our wedding that was planned for the following year (one year anniversary). I'm struggling with how the day will look, will guests think it's weird, do I wear a wedding dress, etc.

I guess it's like a vow renewal but I've never been to one and I don't know how to plan that. Especially after we worked so hard to plan out our wedding that we will not have this year.

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Hi Michelle,
I am in the EXACT same boat here! Our wedding date was supposed to be on June 6th but have had to postpone due to COVID-19.
We are planning on just doing an elopement on the 6th and then doing a vow renewal and wedding reception one year later to celebrate with everyone.
I think I am going to go all out for my renewal like it is my original wedding as I am a little bit dying inside about only being able to wear my dress for 30 min at the elopement haha.
Good luck to you! I hope you have a fabulous time no matter what you decide to do!

View Quoted Comment Yeah I think this is the best option!
Will you wear the same dress for your elopement and one year celebration?! I haven’t decided on what I’m doing

View Quoted Comment Hey Michelle
Yeah I am planning on wearing my dress again for the renewal.
We are also in the process of trying for a little bubba which is why we decided in Jan to have a June wedding, wed only be a max of 6 months pregnant... but now this changes everything 😂😂 could potentially be about to pop the day of our renewal... so may end up needing a new dress after all Hahahah Good luck with it all!’