How, Why, and When Couples Should Renew Their Wedding Vows

Little girls grow up dreaming about their perfect wedding. Teens and young adult read bridal magazines and daydream of the day when they will walk down the aisle to marry the man of their dreams. Women of all ages enjoy the romance and beauty of a wedding. Sometimes, however, that storybook, fairy tale wedding didn't happen. Some couples wed in a civil ceremony or something didn't go according to plan. Maybe the photographer made a major mistake, one of the groomsmen didn't show up, a bridesmaid threw a jealous fit or a family member made a scene. Sometimes couples getting married can't afford the wedding they would like and sometimes couples feel closer after a few years of marriage.

Renewing wedding vows has become an important part of our culture. And there many diverse reasons why couples may choose to renew their vows.

One reason is that the first wedding, as indicated, wasn't perfect so they want to recreate the dream wedding that became a nightmare.

Another reason is that couples didn't have a formal wedding the first time around. Or, for some, faith may be an issue. Some Catholic couples who opted for a wedding outside their faith find that in a few years that they wish to have a Church blessed ceremony. Or, some Catholics may have been previously married or have a spouse who was divorced and can't have a true church wedding until an annulment of the earlier vows has been approved.

Some couples choose an anniversary or a milestone to renew their wedding vows. Whether it's the first, fifth, tenth, twenty-fifth or Golden 50th Anniversary, couples often decide to renew their vows and celebrate their love on their anniversary. Others may choose to renew their vows after the birth or a child or after triumphing over one of life's many obstacles. Some survivors - whether from a tragic accident or a disease like cancer - want to renew their vows to celebrate their second chance at life. Military couples may want to renew vows after one of the spouses returns home from a long deployment or renew vows to have the kind of wedding they wanted but didn't have the first time.