Anyone renewing their vows??

[Clayswife]

Any of you ladies have a good store, online or brick and mortar, to buy a pretty dress for a vow renewal that isn't going to break the bank? I am about a size 14, would like to lose a little, but what the heck. I can wear petite dresses if they are not long dresses. Any ideas appreciated!

 

I've seen some reasonable dresses with David's Bridal, Jessica McClintock Bridal (you can view the dresses online or request a catalog), and Mori Lee has a Voyage Collection that might work, as well. Also, I'm not sure where you live, but some of the better department stores in your area might carry some very nice informal gowns that would be perfect for a vow renewal.

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[Lynatsea5817]

Hi Barb,

 

We are renewing our vows March 25th on the beach in St. Thomas. I was having dress meltdowns and wasn't sure where to start. I first got ideas by looking at different websites for styles. I went to http://www.theknot.com and also looked on ebay for ideas. I am a size 12-14, and tall. So I finailly just got off my but and I went to Davids Bridals and tried on a few of their destination dresses. I was surprised of how nice they looked but some were quite pricy. So I went to a few different department stores and boutiques and finally found the perfect dress at a Jessica McClintock store. The dress is ivory and is a mix of satin and chiffon and it happened to be discontinued so I got a heck of a deal! I think getting out there and simply trying on different styles was the best thing to do. I've ordered a flower halo and a small tropical bouquet so I'm all set!

 

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Good Luck.

Lynn

 

 

 

 

Any of you ladies have a good store, online or brick and mortar, to buy a pretty dress for a vow renewal that isn't going to break the bank? I am about a size 14, would like to lose a little, but what the heck. I can wear petite dresses if they are not long dresses. Any ideas appreciated!

[bboyack]

Hi Lynn...thanks for the suggestions. I went down to Dillards to take a look. It's a small Dillards, but a Dillards none the less...We are about 130 miles from Las Vegas and 300 miles from Salt Lake City, so we are a little limited. Anyway, I found two great dresses from Spencer Alexis...One was half price, the other not. I'll try to attach a picture and hopefully the taupe one will work. It looked more vow renewal-ish than the blue but either would work I guess.

 

We are down to just about a month now so need to get on the kids to get their immigration stuff done online and need to order tuxes for the guys. What will happen is it will be a week before and I will have a panic attack trying to coordinate all this stuff.

 

Have a great day

[NeptunesGoddess]

I have loved reading this thread. I feel like I have had over a year pass before my eyes as I went through the planning and vow renewal of Love2Vacation. I loved all the tips and your pictures, Judi.

 

So, my hubby and I will celebrate our 25th on October 16th. We had our cruise scheduled that week, but his boss informed him of a trade show. I was upset at first, but I took a deep breath and re-booked our cruise the following week. There will be a full moon all that week, so it will be nice on the water (hey, I am looking on the bright side). I haven't even begun to plan the vow renewal, but we are definitely doing one. I don't know to choose on land, ship...or even what day to do it, since we won't actually be cruising during our anniversary now. I had thought of picking the 23rd since that is exactly a week after our Anniversary. The I thought maybe the 25th, since it is our 25th anniversary. Anyway, I have no idea where to begin. I guess I will call Carnival. The one post about Carnival renewals was very helpful. I guess that is as good a jumping off point as any. Has anyone ever renewed their vows in Acapulco, Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa or Manzanillo? If I want a renewal in port, I have even less of a clue as to where to start.

 

Btw, thanks for the tips on looking for dresses. I will be sure to get one during the summer as the stores get filled with fall and winter attire by the time August rolls around.

[Lynatsea5817]

Hi Lynn...thanks for the suggestions. I went down to Dillards to take a look. It's a small Dillards, but a Dillards none the less...We are about 130 miles from Las Vegas and 300 miles from Salt Lake City, so we are a little limited. Anyway, I found two great dresses from Spencer Alexis...One was half price, the other not. I'll try to attach a picture and hopefully the taupe one will work. It looked more vow renewal-ish than the blue but either would work I guess.

 

We are down to just about a month now so need to get on the kids to get their immigration stuff done online and need to order tuxes for the guys. What will happen is it will be a week before and I will have a panic attack trying to coordinate all this stuff.

 

Have a great day

Hey Barb -

 

Both dresses look very nice and I'm sure you will feel beautiful on your special day. I do like the taupe one, especially if you are renewing on the beach. Mike and I eloped when we married and I did not get the traditional wedding dress, so to renew our vows, I bought an ivory informal wedding dress. As soon as I get my digital back from my daugter, I will post a pic of it.

I noticed our ships leave on the same date, 3-25-07, are you leaving out of Ft. Lauderdale?

3 Weeks from today! Yippee!!

Lynn :)

[love2vacation]

I haven't even begun to plan the vow renewal, but we are definitely doing one. I don't know to choose on land, ship...or even what day to do it, since we won't actually be cruising during our anniversary now.

Btw, thanks for the tips on looking for dresses. I will be sure to get one during the summer as the stores get filled with fall and winter attire by the time August rolls around.

 

Congratulations on your renewal. Our renewal was months after our actual 25th wedding anniversary, but now we get to celebrate 2 dates- my poor husband.:D We are going away for three days next week to celebrate the one year anniversary of our renewal, we have a hotel booked with whirlpool suite, and we are celebrating the renewal date with a romantic dinner.

 

See this can work for you in the future!!;)

 

Re dresses --I have seen a few dresses that are just like what I wanted last year!!!! Isn't that always the way. :rolleyes: Last year there wasn't anything in the stores yet. This year I have seen several light cotten type sun dresses that would have been perfect, oh well.

 

Have fun with the renewal plans - ours was so simple, but so memorable. It was one of the best things we have ever done. Enjoy, and good luck.

[Steamboatin]

Mine does not have an expiration date. So it does not need to be renewed.

 

Where did you all get your that need to be constantly renewed.

 

Boy would I like to get one with an expiration date.:D

[AlwaysReady2Go]

My husband and I will be renewing our vows in October as well. We will be at 10 years and I too have not gotten much past that point. I am looking forward to it but don't know if I should do it onboard the ship, on a beautiful beach (where to start there??) and if I should TRY to wear my original dress?? I think it will fit?? LOL - so we have about 200 days to plan it and I would love to bounce ideas off of you and also follow your progress. Good luck and let me know where you are in your plans. :^)

[alabama gal]

Hi group I'm so glad to find this information. My husband has always said we would renew our vows after 10 years, well that well be next summer. He informed me yesterday that it was time to start planning. We would like to renew our vows when we cruise next spring. Where did all of you start? I am even having a hard time picking the cruise. He told me to look at suites he wants it to be special. He loves Royal Caribbean. Any one have any suggestions on where to start? I could really use any help? For the ones that have recently renewed their vows how did it go?

[love2vacation]

Hi group I'm so glad to find this information. My husband has always said we would renew our vows after 10 years, well that well be next summer. He informed me yesterday that it was time to start planning. We would like to renew our vows when we cruise next spring. Where did all of you start? I am even having a hard time picking the cruise. He told me to look at suites he wants it to be special. He loves Royal Caribbean. Any one have any suggestions on where to start? I could really use any help? For the ones that have recently renewed their vows how did it go?

 

We renewed ours on St. John USVI in honor of 25 years. Our cruise was on the Serenade of the Seas. It is a terrific ITN, though port intensive, but the ship is beautiful and I think very classy and romantic. The best experience of our lives.

 

To plan I looked on the renewal boards and then looked at what the cruise line had to offer. Since it was my dream to have the renewal on a beach a wedding planner on one of the islands fit our needs.

 

We used Ceremonies of St. John for a couple reasons but one was that an ordained minister actually does the ceremony and this was important to us. Stacy was great to work with.

 

Good luck on your plans.

[NeptunesGoddess]

Hi Alwaysready,

 

We are really excited to find out that two of our friends are joining us. We put an invite out to a few people we would love to have a long and we already got a response from one couple.

 

I would really love to bounce ideas around too. I guess I should make a call to Carnival and see my options. That would be a good first step, I suppose. I am leaning towards doing it on the ship because I know it would all be a done deal and we don't have to worry about a port cancellation. I keep thinking, since October is the end of Hurricane season, if a port got cancelled, we would be out of luck. I was thinking maybe a ship ceremony and then having dinner in the supper club that evening, rather than the main dining room. One thing I want to find out is if you have to use the chapel for the ceremony..or if you can choose another location. I guess I need to make some phone calls.

[1827cruise]

I'm so glad to have found this thread, DH and I are cruising in Nov. on the Grand and have just been talking about renewing our vows (30 years this summer:) ). I think we will probably stick with doing it on the ship; I was just on the Princess website and the prices seem very reasonable, they have 2 packages which look very nice. Has anyone done this on the Grand or other Princess ships? I would like to get some feedback before we commit to it. Also do I book it myself or do I have to have my TA do it?

Any input or suggestions would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

[fantavet]

Mine does not have an expiration date. So it does not need to be renewed.

 

Where did you all get your that need to be constantly renewed.

 

Boy would I like to get one with an expiration date.:D

 

I had the same exact thoughts when I saw this thread! I did my vows all up front....avoided the payment plan :)

 

Okay done hijacking the thread, sorry. ;)

[NeptunesGoddess]

Okay, I have sent an email to Carnival inquiring about their vow renewals. They have nothing about them on their website. They only talk about weddings.

 

As soon as I hear back, I will post the info.

[Shaden1982]

We are renewing our vows on Explorer of the Seas the week of April 15th!! 2 weeks from tomorrow. :D

 

If anyone is interested in RCCL vow renewals, I will post when we return. We are doing it on the ship in the chapel. We have 18 in our group traveling. So far Royal Romance has been fine to deal with...not much to really do. The only thing I don't like is that we will not know the date or time of the renewal until we are on board and meet with the coordinator.

I put together our vows from different things I found on the internet and from the sample vows they had sent me. I got my dress last summer...boy am I glad I did...nothing out yet that I like nearly as much! We have our son and daughter doing a 'reading' during the vows. We are having a hot and cold hors dourve party with drinks after the ceremony.

 

If anyone has any questions, I'll be happy to answer them if I can.

[NeptunesGoddess]

Hi Shaden,

 

1982 was a good year, wasn't it? hehe. Congratulations on your anniversary and vow renewal. I would love to hear about it and/or see pictures upon your return. How much are you paying for your package?

I am interested in seeing if prices are comparable. What is included?

 

Happy sailing and have a great time!

[Shaden1982]

Yes, it was a very good year!! :) Our anniversary is actually Oct. 16, but we wanted to cruise to the Caribbean in the spring because of hurricane season. After we planned this cruise we booked another cruise for our actual anniversary to Hawaii....that will be wonderful.

 

For the vow renewal we are paying $400.00, it's usually $500.00 on the Voyager class ships because they have a chapel, but they waived that $100.00 fee for us because we are Crown & Anchor members.

Here is a list of what it includes:

 

 

Ideal ceremony location onboard

Memorable ceremony performed by your ship’s Cruise Program Administrator

Romantic, recorded ceremony music

Simple, elegant bridal bouquet

Groom’s boutonniere with single matching bloom

Keepsake Royal Romance vow renewal certificate

Royal Romance wedding cake for the couple

Bottle of Royal Romance sparkling wine

Professional shipboard photography service for the ceremony, cake cutting and champagne toast (one hour)

One 8 x 10 celebration photograph (additional photographs may be purchased onboard)

One 8 x 10 Royal Caribbean silver plated frame

Royal Encore Vow Renewal Guidelines

Your Cruise Program Administrator will coordinate arrangements for the time and location of your Vow

Renewal once you are onboard. Unfortunately, requests for ceremonies on the day of sailing or on formal

night cannot be accommodated.

Please allow a minimum of thirty (30) days prior to sailing for Royal Romance to make arrangements for your

Vow Renewal Ceremony.

For additional options, please review the “Ceremony Enhancements” section.

This is not a legal ceremony; couples with different last names will need to bring proof of marriage.

Couples must be married at least one (1) year. A copy of the marriage license must be provided for

verification.

Renewal of Vows held during the months of May, June, September, and October will be subject to a

$ 100 US Dollars surcharge.

Renewal of Vows held onboard Voyager of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas, Adventure of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas,

Mariner of the Seas, Freedom of the Seas or Liberty of the Seas will be subject to a $100 US Dollars surcharge.

 

I will definitely post when we return and show some pictures.

[Clayswife]

Neptunesgoddess - I have emailed Carnival as well ... TWICE ... And I have yet to hear back from them. So far, I am NOT impressed. If you get a response, let me know ...

 

Does anyone have any ideas on how to get a response from these people ? We are cruising on the Pride in January, so I figured I would start making plans now (normally I procrastinate)... So far I haven't had much luck.

 

As far as my dress is concerned, I was thinking of having my original gown (a basic sheath style with spaghetti straps) cut down to a more informal style (maybe an inch or two above my knees ??) Although, before I go through the trouble, I better make sure it will FIT first :eek: !!

 

I would like to have my vow renewal in the chapel. Has anyone seen the chapel on the Pride ? From the pictures on the website it looks very nice ...

Maybe I will call Carnival directly and ask how to go about making arrangements, since the email process hasn't worked thus far. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated :p.

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[NeptunesGoddess]

Yes, it was a very good year!! :) Our anniversary is actually Oct. 16, but we wanted to cruise to the Caribbean in the spring because of hurricane season. After we planned this cruise we booked another cruise for our actual anniversary to Hawaii....that will be wonderful.

 

 

 

Well, what a major co-inky-dink. Our anniversary is also October 16, 1982. We aren't too worried about hurricanes for the Mexican Riviera, but they do happen. Hopefully it will be okay. I can't believe we got married on the same day and year. Too funny. We were originally going to sail on October 13th, which would have put us on the cruise during our anniversary, but my husband's boss informed him of a big trade show that week. He could have probably got out of it with much begging and telling him we booked already, but, after looking into the following week, I thought it might fit in better with our schedule anyway.

 

Thanks for the info on your vow renewal package.

 

Clayswife,

Yes, I got a whole info packet via email this morning. I emailed them yesterday, so I am happy with the response. The attachment I downloaded is not on this computer otherwise I would share it now, but I promise I will post the info soon. I don't know why they haven't emailed you yet. Maybe you should try sending another email.

[Shaden1982]

Well, what a major co-inky-dink. Our anniversary is also October 16, 1982. I can't believe we got married on the same day and year. Too funny.

Thanks for the info on your vow renewal package.

 

Too funny......it was a very good year!! And 10/16/82 was Sweetest Day that year!! :)

[Clayswife]

NeptunesGoddess, Maybe I emailed the wrong people ? Who did you email at Carnival ? Knowing me, I sent it to the wrong place :eek: !! Do you by chance have a link ? After I went back and re read your post, I noticed that many of you have been married 10 plus years ... Maybe I am jumping the gun since we will only be celebrating our 5 th anniversary ? Mmmmmm ... Maybe I should wait another 5 years or so (of course, the chances of my dress fitting by THEN will be slim to none !!) HAH :)

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[NeptunesGoddess]

Too funny......it was a very good year!! And 10/16/82 was Sweetest Day that year!! :)

 

Yes, I know. I didn't know it at the time I chose the date, but I found out when looking at a friend's calendar. I thought that was a pretty cool thing.

 

Clayswife,

First of all, don't fret about the 5 year thing. Vow renewal is a personal choice and couples do it for many reasons. Time should have nothing to do with your reason. So, go ahead and celebrate, no matter how many years have passed.

 

Here is the info that carnival sent me. The email I used asking them for info was: weddings@carnival.com

 

Here is what they sent me:

 

The email:

 

Good Morning,

We have enclosed a 2007 Renewal of Vows package for you to review. When you are ready to book please contact our Wedding Department @ 800-933-4968. Our hours of operation are Monday - Friday, 9:00am - 6:00pm EST. Any of our wedding coordinators will be happy to assist you with any questions you may have.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Carnival Wedding Department

 

The Attachment:

 

Say I do again.What better way to enhance your anniversary or just recall that special day than to renew your wedding vows aboard one of our fabulous ships with a memorable ceremony performed by the Ship's Captain.

Services offered include: $385.00 Package Price

• Special-ceremony location

• Ceremony performed by the Ship's Captain

• Keepsake "Renewal of Marriage Vows" certificate

• Recorded ceremony music

• Photography Service

• One Long Stemmed Rose for the Bride and matching Rose Boutonniere for the Groom

• 2-Tier Wedding Cake

• Sparkling Wine and 2 Etched ("Romance", "Honeymoon" or "Anniversary") Champagne Flutes

• One 8x10 Wedding Photograph (Additional photos available at a reasonable price)

This package accommodates up to a maximum of 8 guests, including the bride and groom. Additional guests can be included at a rate of

$12.00 per person.

Deluxe Package: $735.00 Package Price

• Special-ceremony location

• Ceremony performed by the Ship's Captain

• Keepsake "Renewal of Marriage Vows" certificate

• Recorded ceremony music

• Photography Service

• One Long Stemmed Rose for the Bride and matching Rose Boutonniere for the Groom

• 2-Tier Wedding Cake

• Sparkling Wine and 2 Etched ("Romance", "Honeymoon" or "Anniversary") Champagne Flutes

• One 8x10 Wedding Photograph (Additional Photos available at a reasonable price)

• One Hour Open Bar with Hot/Cold Canapés

This package accommodates up to a maximum of 20 guests, including the bride and groom. Additional guests can be included at a rate

of $22.00 per person.

The Renewal of Marriage Vows Ceremony is symbolic in nature and has no legal nor binding effect. Couples with different last names are required to furnish proof of marriage. Arrangements for the time and location of the ceremony will be made onboard with the Group's Coordinator. We will be unable to grant requests to perform the ceremony on embarkation days or formal nights. It is understood and agreed that Carnival Cruise Lines and its Ship's Captain(s) (collectively "Carnival") shall use their best efforts to accommodate requests for a particular time and location of the Ceremony however, should a circumstance arise whereby the Ship Captain is unable to perform the ceremony, or the time and location of the ceremony must be changed, Carnival will either reschedule the Ceremony or it shall be conducted by another level of management at the sole discretion of Carnival. Carnival shall have no liability for any compensation or other damages to the wedding couple or any of their guests due to any change.

 

----End of attachment

 

I hope this helps. It might save other would-be Renewal Brides from having to email, anyway. :)

[AlwaysReady2Go]

OK guys so I am so excited that several of you are plannig this too! Thanks for posting the info on the renewals. I read it in a cruising magazine about 6 months ago and of course I have been unable to locate it since. I am hoping to do the ceremony onboard but really have my heart set on it being on our actual anniversary. I have to check and see if that falls on a formal night or not. If it does then I might look into doing it on whatever port we are in that day. I have my wedding gown preserved and have yet to try it on. I think I need to loose 20 to wear it so I am working on that furiously right now. Wish me luck (I'm gonna need it!). Fall back plan a very nice ivory colored tea length dress, hubby owns a tux. Very exciting! Renewing our vows for our 10th was something I wanted to do and when I told my hubby he said "sure, if that's what you want". The other night we were out at dinner with a friend and my husband starts to tell them about how we will be renewing our vows at sea! When he talked about it he was really excited like it was such a cool thing to be able to do. I was shocked. So now I am even more excited to plan it knowing that its something that he wants as well.

 

It will be nice having so many people planning this on this board. I can't wait to hear how the April renewal goes - please post when you return - maybe even a pic?? Thanks!!

[NeptunesGoddess]

Hi Always,

 

Oooo another October Wedding Anniversary. Very cool. I see you are going on the Pride. We love that ship! Just took a cruise on her in January. We loved it so much that we wanted the same class ship but a different itinerary for our Vow Renewal cruise. We booked the Spirit out of San Diego. We are very excited also. Looking forward to planning along with everyone else.

 

To get us started....how many of you are doing this is a private affair, small group of people, large group of people?

 

We have another couple coming along with us. We have invited more, but, so far, they are the only ones that have booked. We will see if our group grows or not. :)

[AlwaysReady2Go]

Hey Neptune - I was looking at your pics from the Pride and realized that I had already looked at them - LOL - when I was booking this ship I found your pics - to funny. So we meet again! Funny you say you loved the Pride so you booked Spirit. We loved Spirit so we booked Pride! We also had a Cat 11 on the back of the ship on Spirit. Loved the location so we booked it on the Pride.

 

Hubby and I are planning on being VERY selfish and are not inviting anyone. This is truely just for our own guilty romantic pleasure. It is only our 10th and not a HUGE anniversary like 25 - CONGRATS!!! - so we are just escaping our 3 children and relaxing for a week. This is my 2nd marriage and I have never had a 10th anniversary (close but no cigar) so that is another reason for me wanting to make a big deal of it (that and having a marriage survive 2 teenagers from a 1st marriage - he must be a saint!! - LOL). Anyway, so that is my story.

 

I love your pics - thanks again!