Wedding Planning Tips, Your Event Career
5 Ways to Spice up Your Client’s Vow Renewals
Without a doubt, wedding planning is one of the most sentimental professions out there. The entire planning process is centered on your clients’ desire to spend their lives together, and months (even years) of preparation go into organizing their wedding day.
But not all marriage ceremonies are the same, and during your event planning career, you’ll undoubtedly help orchestrate vow renewals. These ceremonies redefine a couple’s love for each other after a long marriage and often are short and simple events.
However, you should think out of the box when it comes to these special ceremonies – we’ve put together 5 ways you can spice things up as a wedding planner. Read on and be inspired!
1. Fly away
The majority of clients who want to renew their wedding vows have been married for a number of years. If they’ve raised children during that time, perhaps they haven’t taken romantic vacations for themselves, choosing instead to take family trips. But their vow renewal ceremony is their time to enjoy, so why not make it memorable?
Because vow renewals are generally much smaller, simpler affairs than weddings, encourage your clients to fly off to the destination of their dreams to reaffirm their love. Destination wedding planning is an exciting branch of the wedding planning industry, and clients place their trust (as well as their dreams) in the hands of capable planners to organize every detail.
Perhaps your clients have a place in mind that they’ve been dreaming about for years, or they want some suggestions. The top 5 wedding destinations include Mexico, Jamaica, and New Zealand, and don’t forget about Las Vegas!
2. Make it nostalgic
When renewing vows, the ceremony can take place whenever the clients wish. However, many clients will want to connect the renewal of their vows to their actual wedding day in some way – holding a vow renewal on a wedding anniversary, such as the 25th or 30th, is common, as is celebrating when the couple first met by renewing their vows on that date.
If your clients are particularly sentimental, they’ll appreciate your support and encouragement as their wedding planner! Bringing in elements from their wedding day many years ago is not only fun for the couple, but it also will be enjoyable and nostalgic for the guests in attendance.
If your bride still has her wedding dress, encourage her to use part of it in her vow renewal – a piece of fabric from the gown or a sash can be used as part of her outfit when she renews her vows. The same goes for the groom, if he has any items from his wedding day, he can bring those into the renewals.
Another way to incorporate their wedding day is by playing the same music that played when they were wed, as well as recreating their wedding cake. These elements may seem small, but they mean a great deal to a couple who is reaffirming their love and commitment to one another. As their wedding planner, you can help them create a day that is reminiscent of their wedding day many years ago.
3. Have a second wedding
The first rule of vow renewals is that there are no rules! If your clients want to have a ceremony that rivals their original nuptials, then so be it. During your event planning career, you’ll meet many couples who want to do things their own way, no matter what. If this is the case, you’ll need to treat this event as though it were an actual wedding (because, technically, it is) and help your clients come up with a budget, write a guest list, and book their venue.
In the unique case of a married couple wanting a second wedding to renew their vows, you can suggest some equally unique ideas for the event. For example, suggest cupcakes instead of a wedding cake, and make a bridal party optional for the bride. If the couple has children, suggest that they are included in the ceremony. This is a special way to honor a couple’s life together, as it brings together the family they created, and allows their children to share in this milestone.
Being flexible and accommodating with your clients is key in this situation – you’re helping to create a beautiful day that celebrates their life together.
4. Turn it into an adventure
There is no hard and fast rule that vow renewals need to be ceremonial. If your clients are the adventurous type, there are many fun ways that they can celebrate their love for one another that includes a hot air balloon ride, hiking up a mountain or to a waterfall, or taking a romantic boat ride at sunset.
When meeting with your clients for the first time, show them that your event and wedding planning knowledge extends much further than ceremonial nuptials. Encourage them to let you plan an unforgettable adventure as a way to show their devotion to each other.
Because a vow renewal is not a legal contract, no officiant needs to be present so your clients can share their vows in a private way somewhere unforgettable.
5. Throw a huge party
At the end of the day, your clients are celebrating the journey of their marriage. Whether they’ve been married for 5 or 50 years, they’re still crazy about each other! So why not throw a big party?
Your clients won’t need to contact party planning businesses since you’re able to put together a fun event for them that unites their friends and loved ones. The great thing about this particular idea is that it can take place after your clients renew their vows, and can be either casual or formal depending on what the couple wants. Music, food, drinks, and laughter can be the main focus of this event – let the happy couple can share stories from their life together and listen to the memories of their guests!
