Hello All,
I need some input on having a vow renewal next year. It will be our 1 year anniversary next August. Now before anyone jumps to conclusions here's the situation. My now husband and I got engaged in February, after dating and living together for 2 years. Each of our parents were kind enough to gift us money that we could use for a house or wedding and we choose to buy our first house with it, renovate it and then spend our own money on a smaller wedding (we were aiming for May of 2015). When we got back from vacation in July our whole world was turned upside down. My MIL had dental surgery and never fully recovered, she was in the hospital for a month and no one could figure out why she could no longer communicate, feed herself or recognize anyone. As her health deteriorated, we decided that we couldn't wait any longer and that we wanted to be married with both sets of our parents alive. My mother and MOH helped me start planning on a Monday and we got married in the hospital the following Tuesday. It was a beautiful ceremony, not a dry eye in the place, and I wouldn't change the way we did things. We found out 20 minutes before the ceremony that my MIL had Crutzfeld-Jakob Disease and she passed away peacefully a week and a half after our wedding, she was only 58. We did have a small cocktail hour, with just our very closest family and friends, back at my parents house. A small cake, a little food and some drinks, but no dancing and only my father gave a toast (which is traditional since I'm English).
I by no means want to redo the wedding, but I would like to have some kind of vow renewal with all of our friends and family. A big party where we could eat, drink, dance, and celebrate our marriage but no gifts. My MIL's sisters threw me a wonderful bridal shower after the wedding and I honestly don't need anything. I'd like to celebrate but I have some concerns. 1-Would it be selfish to have a vow renewal at all after just 1 year? 2-I'd like to do it close to our anniversary, would it be appropriate to do so close to the anniversary of my MIL's death? I'd love to find a way to honor what an amazing and wonderful person she was. She was like my second mother and there is not a day that goes by where I don't miss her. Thanks for listening