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Destination Weddings Discussions

Lurker saying hello

Hello there. My husband and I are doing a vow renewal June 2013 several hours away from where we live. We don't know the area and will probably only be able to make one visit there before next June. Knowing most of you are having your events MUCH farther away from you than that, I'm not even sure mine qualifies for this board! But I've been lurking a while and thought I'd jump in if I'd found anything helpful. I'm hoping to gleen advice on how to plan a renewal that meets our wishes and sees to our guests' comforts even though we can't be there to make decisions.

Congrats to you all on your engagements and upcoming marriages.
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Re: Lurker saying hello

  • Hi Julie.  Congrats on your 15 year anniversary.  Don't worry about some of us having very far away destination, some of us are only a few hours away.  :)

    So where are you planning to have your renewal?  Are you having alot of people?  Are you wearing your original dress? 

    PS - Don't be a lurker.  Post away over here too.  :)
    Anniversary imagemy read shelf:
    Cathy (CathyL7910)'s book recommendations, liked quotes, book clubs, book trivia, book lists (read shelf)
  • Welcome and congrats!! 15 years is amazing!

    And I agree, stick around, we're a friendly group! :)
  • Congrats on your anniversary!! Can't wait to hear all about your renewal plans!!

  • Welcome and congratulations!!  No worries about being only a few hours away, it still makes you a Destination Bride in our book.
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  • Congrats on 15 years!
    I'm not going as far away as some of the others either but I feel like since I'm not local to the area we are going the info and opinions and ideas on this board are so much more applicable than if I was looking on the local board. Plus these ladies are awesome!!
  • Welcome and congratulations on your anniversary!!!! Definitely come out of lurking, we don't bite.... hard lol!

    I'm only a 7-8 hour drive from my DW location :)
  • Welcome and 15 years is amazing, comgrats. Can't wait to hear your plans!
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  • Congrats on 15 years! That's amazing! 
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  • edited September 2012
    Thank you all so much for the warm welcome! :)

    We live in a rather small town and our choice of interesting venues is slim. We are members of a church, but aren't active enough to feel comfortable having our renewal there and we checked some other places and options that just didn't feel right. So, we are going to Eureka Springs! I haven't been there since I was a teen (25+ years ago), but the websites and reviews of the area make it seem just as beautiful now as it was then. I really can't wait!

    Cathy, our family is very excited about the renewal and it looks like we've got about 30 we'll be inviting. I bet when it comes down to the wire, the people who actually come will probably be closer to 20, though. We eloped literally as a split second decision on our way to church one Sunday morning a little over 14 years ago, so I didn't have a wedding gown.

    Our "wedding" story goes like this: our families were excited for us (my then-FI, my 3 yo son, and me) when we decided to become a family. I'd been married before, but my FI hadn't and his mother had dreamed about this event from the moment of his birth (her words). Having a son of my own, I thought I understood that and tried to keep it in mind. What I didn't understand was that she decided this was HER wedding (once again, her words). She booked venues and catering, planned and bought decor, all without asking me or my FI for our opinions. She harrassed my family to an extreme, because we wanted to have the ceremony in my parents' beautiful backyard and she wanted free reign to take over their home anytime that was convenient for her and to make landscaping changes to fit her vision of the ceremony she wanted us to have. Fi tried several times to talk to her to get her to back off and reminded her this wasn't her wedding. That's when she threw out, "This is so my wedding!" I tried my best to just let her have her fun until one day I came home from work with a message on my answering machine saying she'd bought my wedding dress and left a phone number for me to call to make an appointment to have it fitted. I just couldn't take it anymore. FI and I talked and decided this just wasn't going to work out. We called it all off then snuck off to elope later when nobody was expecting it. It was really only a peek of things to come with my MIL. She's really not even your average MIL that falls into the annoying category! Anyway, we don't regret getting married that way, but do resent feeling pushed into it. We realize this isn't the wedding we didn't get to have, because there is no going back to those first hours of married life spent celebrating with family and friends. We are doing this because we've been through some hard times in our 15 years. We made it through and see ourselves in a different part of our lives now. We are no longer raising tiny kids (we have 4 ages 8-18) or trying to figure out what careers to pursue. We are getting new rings and saying vows that are much more relevant to this period of our lives.

    I'm especially excited about the new rings! My MIL picked out my wedding ring set and I hated it the second I laid eyes on it before I even knew my MIL had picked it out! She convinced him that every woman wants lots of diamonds and bling. That's just not me. It caught on stuff and scratched my babies so often through the years that I quit wearing it. This time I get to pick my own ring. I can't wait to have a simple band that makes my heart happy every time I look at it! We'd thought about taking the original set and having the jeweler use it to make a new set, but even with taking some of the diamonds off, the shape of the diamonds wouldn't have been something we could work with. We've decided to set aside the original wedding set and have jewelry made for each of our four kids from it in hopes that future generations will get a thrill knowing they have a piece of our original wedding set.

    Sorry this is so long. Once again, thanks for the warm welcome. I look forward to getting to know you all!
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  • That sounds great! Congratulations! :)
  • Congrats on 15 years and have fun planning the wedding (vow renewal) of your dreams!
  • Thank you, ridgebackbride! :)
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