Vow Renewal Ceremony
While we were waiting in the wine cellar, my mom said she was asked to help distribute corsages. For our wedding our bridesmaids and the flowergirl each wore a different pastel color, so the four who returned for this ceremony received a corsage with their respective colors (pink, purple, blue and yellow). I originally had considered getting them the flowerwands, but the corsages were almost $20 less per flower.
I also had our programs set up in old suitcase props we had rented from Disney Floral for $10 each. It worked great with our travel theme.
In this area we also had a wedding photo set up along with the photo of my mom in her dress which of course is what my dress was made out of for the occasion.
Right before we started the ceremony, Kris ran out to pass off his phone to my cousin’s husband who was going to do a Facebook live for us in our private group. It was great because several family and friends who couldn’t make it were able to watch live. We have a nice handle/grip that holds the phone which makes it easy to for extended periods of time. Once Kris came back we were ready to head out.
Here is Kris’ mom being escorted by one of the groomsmen from our wedding.
Here are my parents:
As we came around the corner we had quite a walk up to the raised portion in the center of the plaza where the ceremony would take place. We were able to face towards Spaceship Earth since we had a group that was less than 40 people. If you have a large group you must face towards Tutto Italia Ristorante. As you can see in this photo while we were walking out why people who have to face this way often pay to have bushes cover up “pizzeria.”
I have a pet peeve about how people walk during weddings. I like the more formal walk where you move your right foot forward then step together, step your left foot forward then step together. I had all our bridal party do this for our wedding and had talked to Kris about having us do it again. When we came around the corner I realized how far it was down the aisle. And whispered for us to start after the trash can not noticing that there were two! Needless to say we started the walk with the first one and had quite a slow walk to the front. We all had a chuckle partway down and it offers some comic relief in the video.
As we were walking down the aisle, I was so touched as I looked around at our closest family and friends. So many of them had been at our wedding in 2008, so it was so amazing to have them return to be with us again ten years later. On a side note, it was still freezing at this point and everyone was shivering and were bundled up in sweatshirts and jackets. A few guests had even ran to the outlets the night before to pick up some warmer outfits since they had packed lighter summer clothing for the ceremony. I was freezing still and in the video you can tell I was also shivering in several spots.
So cold!
We had arranged for one of our close friends to perform the ceremony. We also had several family members who were ministers in attendance, so we had lots of options. Our friend Mark sang at our wedding, so it was nice to have him a part of the big day. I was able to piece together the ceremony from other vow renewal scripts that I found in a vow renewal facebook group.
The only thing I had to write from scratch was the sand ceremony portion. We decided to add to our existing sand ceremony container from our wedding since there was still plenty of space to fill in additional sand. All the vow renewal scripts I found included sections for kids. I did find some unity candle ones, but they also weren’t a good fit for us.
See the text of what I wrote below:
On their wedding day, Kris and Vanessa took part in the sand ceremony which symbolized the joining of them as husband and wife. On that day, each of them held separate containers of sand, to represent their individual lives. The two containers of sand were then combined to represent their new life together.
Today they add sand together from two vessels one representing their life together over the last decade and one symbolizing their life together as they continue their journey moving forward. As the sand from each vessel unites with the sand from their wedding day, it represents their continued journey together as partners in life.
There was a bit of a mix-up with the sand before the ceremony. We already had light blue and white sand in it from our wedding. Since it was approximately half full the plan had been to add in dark blue and more white to mix inside.
When we were taking pictures I noticed the main container was empty and asked our planner what had happened to the sand! Well, after several phone calls our planner found out they had bagged up the previous sand and had it in a Ziploc bag back at Disney floral. Thankfully someone was able to run it over before our ceremony started. In the end, we didn’t end up with any dark blue sand. I think they just poured half of the existing sand in the main container and the remaining in one of our two small vases. The second small vase had some white sand in it.
During our ceremony everything turned out well despite the chaos of tracking down the sand before we started. I was so worried they wouldn’t be able to find it. The funny part was that they had given us a little too much extra sand, so the vessel overflowed a little which gave us all a laugh.
While we were finishing up the sand ceremony my cousin began singing. We had a Jim Brickman song from his Disney Songbook album sang at our wedding, so I wanted to include another one of his pieces this time around. The Disney songs didn’t quite fit, so we picked his song “Your Love.” Brooklyn was amazing! Some of the cast members who were working in the area, but not at our actual ceremony thought it was a CD. We were so blessed to have her sing for us.
Your Love
Jim Brick
man
It's not the flowers, wrapped in fancy paper
It's not the ring, I wear around my finger
There's nothing in all the world I need
When I have you here beside me,
Here beside me
So you could give me wings to fly
And catch me if I fall
Or pull the stars down from the sky
So I could wish on them all
But I couldn't ask for more
'cause your love is the greatest gift of all
In your arms, I found a strength inside me
And in your eyes there's a light to guide me
I would be lost without you
And all that my heart could ever want
Has come true
So you could give me wings to fly
And catch me if I fall
Or pull the stars down from the sky
So I could wish on them all
But I couldn't ask for more
'Cause your love is the greatest gift of all
You could offer me the sun, the moon
And I would still believe
You gave me everything
When you gave your heart to me
So you could give me wings to fly
And catch me if I fall
Or pull the stars down from the sky
So I could wish on them all
But I couldn't ask for more
'Cause your love is the greatest gift of all
We kept the vows short and sweet. We had also decided just to do a “blessing of our rings” since we didn’t want new ones or “upgrades” to our existing rings. I absolutely love my sapphire and ring set and can’t imagine ever wearing anything else!
After the vows were completed, we had Mark ask for all the married couples in the audience to stand up for a special reading and blessing.
“Vanessa and Kris have expressed how blessed they have been to enjoy 10 years of marriage. Their fondest wish is that all of the married couples here today, each of you very special friends or relatives, be a part of this ceremony celebrating love and marriage. We would like all married couples to please rise and stand alongside your spouse………………
At this time, we offer a special blessing upon all married couples celebrating with Kris and Vanessa here today.
May they be blessed with the guidance, strength, and direction to make their relationship grow and blossom in the years ahead. May their home be blessed with joy and happiness, and may they strive together to make their hopes and dreams come true.
Most of all, we ask that all couples be blessed by the love and support of family and friends as they continue life together as husband and wife.
And, from this day forth, may their worries be few, may their joys be many, and may their love grow more abundantly with each passing day. Amen.”
It was such a nice addition to the service and added a special touch with everyone. We had a super quick kiss and then it was over. Kris made it so short I was surprised they caught it in the pictures and the video. I think he was starting to feel a little embarrassed with all the attention which made it super cute. The entire service was less than 15 minutes!