bulldogmom

Really depends on what you are in to. I'm in to pretty much anything besides sci-fi and then the Chronicals of Narnia are pretty good but not "vacation" reads (to me a "vacation" read is something that is read for pure enjoyment, I don't want to have to put in a lot of extra thought LOL)

I like anything Nora Roberts, she has a new trilogy out that I've heard is good (Blue Dahlia, Black Rose and Red Lily) I have all of these but I'm saving them for my vacation in April.

I like Fern Michaels as well.

Barbara Delinski

Nicholas Sparks has a new book out (he wrote Message in a Bottle and A Walk to Remember)

Any John Grisham books you haven't read

The Dan Brown books

LuAnn Rice

There are so many authors I like LOL

I'd love to see what pictures you have...........bbeard@fieldturf.com

Hi everyone! I've been out of the loop for a while now, with the holidays and everything I was off from work for a short time (much needed time if I may add that LOL) but I'm back now. I don't have any new developments on my renwal front. I have started to look for DH something to wear when we go somewhere. He will probably end up in khakis and an off white shirt.

Like you, love2vacation, we are hoping that we get some really good pictures. The planner we are using goes to 3 different spots around Aruba so we should have some nice variety for sure. I too like the idea of getting a picture of us actually in the ocean, I have saw pictures like that in the past and they have always looked really neat. That is one of the reasons I went with a shorter dress!

We are all booked and ready to go now. I wish we were leaving sooner though, we only have a little over a year but it seems like an eternity! This will be the first year that we haven't been on a cruise, we are going on a weeklong trip to Hawaii instead this year which should be fun, it just won't hardly seem like vacation though without a room steward picking up after you and a chef preparing all your meals LOL. We might try to do a "cheap" cruise in the fall (probably E. Caribbean since you can usually find good prices on those last minute in the fall) of course we will wait to see what the hurricane season is going to do. Last time we were in the Eastern Caribbean Hurricane Lily was out there, really though except for some pretty rough seas one night you would have never known.

It was good talking to everyone again!

Everyone has different reasons for renewing their vows and all of them are good reasons. Like I said I had the whole frou-frou thing the first time around and there were too many opinions in the mix then, this time I only have to worry about what my husband and I want, no one else.

Keep us posted on what you find out. I know you said on one of the other threads that you weren't able to get the cruise booked because they don't have the prices out for May '07 but it will come soon enough. We are leaving in February of 07 and the prices have been out for about a month now so yours should be out any old day. Where is your cruise going??

Good luck and happy planning.

My husband and I are renewing our vows for our 25th anniversary next April on the Star Princess.My question is, what, if anything, are you exchanging this time around? Are you exchanging rings again, flowers, same rings being blessed again and exchanged? I was just wondering about that aspect of it? Any ideas?Jaxson

Hi Jaxson,

My husband and I haven't really decided on what we are going to do during the ceremony, we will probably not exchange anything honestly. Most vow renewal ceremonies that I have been to have some special touch to them though whether it be re-exchanging rings or maybe new gifts (like if my hubby gave me an anniversary band or something that would be totally okay with me LOL) I think what my husband and I have decided to do is called a flower ceremony, I had never actually heard of it before I talked with the coordinator in Aruba and it sounds like a good idea to me. I think with the vow renewal ceremony as opposed to the wedding gives you a lot of room to use your imagination and make the ceremony yours. I think in a renewal ceremony the ceremony itself is as much a symbol as the rings in the original wedding. I think the best thing to do would be creative, do something that your significant other will never forget. Of course a nice piece of jewelry usually makes the ladies swoon but it isn't always necessary with a little creativity. A vow renewal ceremony presents you with unlimited ideas really since you are restrained with the laws and rules that an ordinary wedding ceremony has.

Here are a few websites that might start you in the right direction:

www.idotaketwo.com

I wish you all the luck and have a wonderful ceremony!

-Brooke

:)

Thanks Jasondre for the website, I haven't even begun to think about what my hubby will wear, I was thinking probably the linen pant/shirt thing though, of course whatever I decide he will wear.

Good luck on your planning too, if I could offer anyone advice on anything it would be to do what you the couple want and not what everyone else wants. I mean, don't get me wrong, our "real" wedding was wonderful, everything a story book princess could ever want, the big dress, all the bridesmaids/groomsmen, a huge cake and reception etc..... but I would have much rather skipped all that and just had a simple ceremony on the beach (for like 1/8 of the cost too LOL) and spend the rest of that money on my honeymoon. Of course that is what I want, not everyone wants that, a lot of women want to be princess for a day and that just isn't my cup of tea!

Good luck again and happy sailing, have you decided on a wedding spot yet?

-Brooke

:)

I am thinking about these flowers. Just not sure if they will allow me to take them back on the ship.

 

 

These flowers are really pretty and they would match with your dress really well, the colors seem almost the same. I didn't even think about them not letting you back on the ship with them, geez, just one more thing for me to worry about, maybe I should post a new question and see what everyone else thinks. I'd hate to spend all that money for a bouquet and then not even be able to keep it for the remainder of the trip you know??

I have to say I am impressed. A guy actually chiming in on something to do with the wedding?! Jasondre, I am totally blown away! LOL (and I'm not making fun of you either) My husband is like "I don't care, whatever you want" on every single part of everything. For our real wedding he didn't help with one thing at all and now for our vow renewal I did get him to put in that he would like for it to be in Aruba but that is about it. LOL Good for you, your fiance is a lucky gal.

My husband is going to wear the linen pants/shirt thing too, I think that is a popular option for guys when you are doing it on the beach.

I'm glad you have decided on the profesional photographer, I think you will be more than pleased if that is your final choice, I'm no good at having my picture taken anyways so all the profesional help I can get is warranted. Plus like I said these pictures are all you will have to show your family and friends back home what your wedding was like and that really matters.

I wish you all the luck in the world and good luck with the rest of your planning.

:) :)

Yes, this definately counts!! LOL

My suggestion would be getting a professional since techincally this will be your "wedding" seeing as how you are just going to do the courthouse thing back home right beforehand. I would want those memories on film (taken by someone who knows what they are doing LOL) to look back on and remember the day. If you hire a professional photographer then chances are the pictures will turn out beautifully. I know when my husband and I got married everyone wanted a picture of us on our wedding day (hint, I put these in nice frames and gave them as Christmas gifts/favors - - we got married in December) I would have been afraid of the pictures if they weren't done profesionally.

My husband and I are renewing our vows because we are ready to start a new chapter in our lives, the "lets have kids" chapter LOL. We feel that making a renewed committment to each other is good before we commit to having and raising kids. It is mainly symbolic I guess but for the same reason that love2vacation is renewing hers to celebrate raising kids, we are celebrating getting ready to take that next step and have kids LOL. Everyone has their own reason I guess. Also my "real" wedding was huge and formal just like love2vacations as well. We had too many opinions in the pot at that time, going to the beach would have been my first choice back then as well.

Good luck on your wedding plans, chime in with what you might wear, what flowers you might carry etc.....

:) :) :) :)

LOL, very funny

:)

love2vacation - I really like the flowers I have picked out because they are simple and colorful, it seems like you should have something colorful if you are having a ceremony on the beach doesn't it? Feel free to use the picture of my flowers if you want. LOL

LeeLee - I don't really know of any cruises that are short and go to St. Thomas/St. John although I haven't ever really looked. I'd look into different cruise lines, maybe different ones offer different destinations/lengths.

Also, I made a boo-boo on my first post, the website to the planners I'm using is www.2goaruba.com instead of the other way around! (Lord I'm losing my mind! LOL)

I hope everyone had a nice holiday

Brooke

Hello everyone,

I was on one of the other threads and love2vacation suggested I start a thread for those of us who are renewing our wedding vows, either on board the ship or off-board at a port. I'm one of those "off-board at a port" people. My husband and I will be renewing our wedding vows on February 21,2007 (yes, I plan ahead) which just happens to also be my birthday (we didn't try to work it out that way, it just did). I know love2vacation and her hubby are also renewing their wedding vows on the beach (I don't remember the specifics) but I think it would be fun to see what everyone else who are renewing are planning. I don't know about you guys but it is way more fun to plan a renewal than it is to plan the first wedding. My husband and I aren't worrying about what other people want at all this time, we are doing what WE want to do.

Here is a link to my dress: www.davidsbridal.com/bridal_gowns_detail.jsp?stid=1892&prodgroup=10

Here is a link to my shoes: www.davidsbridal.com/accessory_detail.jsp?stid=985&prodgroup=36

Here is a link to my flowers: www.2goaruba.com/options.htm (it is called the round mixed flowers bouquet)

The link to the planners who are planning my renewal is www.go2aruba.com and I would highly recommend them if anyone is considering Aruba, they have been VERY helpful to me so far.

As you can probably tell from above, we will be doing our vow renewal ceremony in Aruba. We opted not to do it onboard for several different reasons, first of all we couldn't get RCCL to get back to us with any info and while I know we have well over a year to get everything worked out I still dont' like the idea that they wouldn't get back to me. Secondly we just decided that we didn't like the idea of doing the renewal onboard because we thought it would be more romantic to do it at sunset on a beach so that is what we are doing. We are going to have a very simple ceremony with an exchanging of flowers ceremony and pictures and that is about it. We don't want anything overly fancy. As you can see from above my dress isn't that fancy, just something simple and my husband will probably wear khakis and maybe a linen type shirt or something. I think being barefoot on the beach will be really romantic, especially at sunset.

We will be on the 11 night southern Caribbean cruise (out of San Juan) on the Empress of the Seas that leaves February 12, 2007.

I would love to see who else is renewing their vows

I hope everyone has a wonderful day

Brooke

:) :confused: :) :)