[militarybride]

My husband and I had planned on a nice wedding and at last minute he was called away for duty and the wedding deposits were lost and a wedding never took place except for vows. We didn't even get to announce it. I lost thousands of dollars and didn't even get to put on my dress. We are renewing our vows from the 10 yr mark of when we started dating because the day we married was not a date we chose, we just knew we both wanted to take them before he left. The vow ceremony the first time consisted of me, my best, his wife, and my husband with JoP in our living room before he was about to leave. We didn't even get a snap shot of it (And neither of our parents were to happy about it either)

Q: Since I never did anything the first time am I to still follow the etiquette of a regular vow renewal ?

[the_admin]

Hello MilitaryBride:

I'm sorry for your troubles but yes, any way you slice it, you are already married. A wedding can come in all sorts of sizes and shapes - including in front of a JP with no family present. The end result remains - a married couple.

But don't fret - you can still exchange vows and have a party afterwards. The event can have many of the perks of a wedding but just use common sense. For example, having a bachelorette party, bridal shower or throwing the garter wouldn't seem right for an already married couple.

Please review our pages on vow renewal to learn all of the details of what is considered proper by today's etiquette standards.

...and thank you for making these sacrifices for all of us living in the USA!
Enjoy your day!

[Etiquette Now]

Well said. You could also have a blessing of your vows.