It's been a long time...could use some help

kris031205

Hi, I used this site over 10 years ago to plan my wedding in March 2005. It was extremely helpful. Now I am back as my Husband & I would like to renew our vows in the Spring in a small group/party (approx. 25) outdoors somewhere in Suffolk County on Long Island. Would it be better to have a dinner party at a restaurant & a separate vow renewal ceremony. I know most places wont accommodate us as a wedding due to our party size.

Can anyone guide me where to look? I have yet to find a category here for vow renewals & I am feeling very overwhelmed as where to start. Thank you very much!

manateehugger

Congrats on 10 years!

So for venue recommendations, I'd hit up your local wedding board (drop down menu on the right where it says "Choose another board."

I think a restaurant works really well for that size of party; there may also be small B&B's or museums or libraries or other "unique" venues that may have small meeting rooms you could use.

As for vow renewals, this site gets recommended a lot for solid vow renewal advice: http://www.idotaketwo.com/blog/home/

holyguacamole79

Congrats on your anniversary!!

My parents had a 25th anniversary vow renewal a few years ago.  We held it in the chapel of our church (we're Catholic) and we had ~30 people in attendance.  Afterwards, we served desserts at my parents' house.  It was great!

Who will be officiating / facilitating your vow renewal?  Maybe he/she has some ideas?

CMGragain

Here is my favorite site for vow renewal planning.  Congratulations!

http://www.idotaketwo.com/blog/vow-renewal-etiquette/?q=vow_renewal_etiquette.html

princessleia22

I don't know about vow renewals in particular, but we recently had a small wedding with only 25 guests. We actually decided to get married on a cruise ship. But, prior to that, we did look around at venues around home. True, several of the typical "wedding venues" are set up for larger crowds. But, some wedding venues do have smaller rooms or outdoor spaces that work for small groups. Hotels often have meeting or conference rooms that can work for smaller groups. Some restaurants actually have banquet rooms or larger private rooms that you may be able to use. Many club halls (Knights of Columbus, etc) or community centers have spaces that are small enough to work for group your size. If we had done wedding at home, our first choice for venue was a local garden. They wouldn't allow food though, so we would have had ceremony at garden, then had reception next door at a cultural center that offers venue. Just look around in your area, maybe think of unconventional places, and make some phone calls... and don't necessarily rule out larger venues, because you may be able to make them work. And a space that can hold larger groups doesn't necessarily mean it won't work for you either. Our reception was in the cruise ship's night club, so it was a fairly large space for our small group. But, it didn't feel too large or overwhelming while we were there, even though we may not have utilized the whole space.