A wedding vow renewal ceremony or wedding vow reaffirmation ceremony is a

ceremony A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin, via the Latin . Religious and civil ...

in which a married couple renew or reaffirm their

marriage vows Marriage vows are promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a wedding ceremony based upon Western Christian norms. They are not universal to marriage and not necessary in most legal jurisdictions. They are not even universa ...

. Most ceremonies take place in churches and are seen as a way for a

married couple Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

to renew their commitment to each other and demonstrate that the vows they took are still considered sacred; most

Christian denominations A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

, such as the

Lutheran Church Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

es,

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

es and

Anglican Church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

es, offer services for a reaffirmation of marriage.

Popularity

The ceremonies have been popular in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

for decades, and have existed in

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

since the 1950s, but only became popular there after the 1970s. To some couples the ceremony offers the chance to celebrate the wedding they never had. Renewal ceremonies often take on the characteristics of the Western " lavish wedding", with couples often setting out guest books, buying new weddings bands, and hiring photographers.Otnes, C. and Pleck, E. H., ''Cinderella Dreams: The Allure of the Lavish Wedding'', 2003,

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...

, page 254 Some of the reasons couples mention for holding a vow renewal include having passed through a difficult time in their relationship, celebrating a significant

anniversary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the List of national independence days, date of independen ...

, or in order to have a religious ceremony if their original wedding had not been one. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

offers a service called "thanksgiving for marriage" for the renewal of vows.

Register office A register office, commonly referred to unofficially as a registry office or registrar's office is an office in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and some Commonwealth countries responsible for the civil registration of births, deaths, marri ...

s also offer ceremonies, conducted by registrars but with no legal status, for the renewal of vows.

Humanist celebrant A humanist celebrant or humanist officiant is a person who performs humanist celebrancy services, such as non-religious weddings, funerals, child namings, coming of age ceremonies and other rituals. Some humanist celebrants are accredited by huma ...

s also conduct large numbers of non-religious vow renewal ceremonies. Humanist ceremonies reports that these are often popular with couples who did not have the humanist non-religious ceremony they wanted the first time around.

Annual renewal

Some churches hold an annual renewal of vows for married couples who are members of that church, for example, on Saint Valentine's Day. In 2007, the American city of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, planned a wedding vow renewal ceremony for 1,000 couples as a part of its 250th city anniversary celebration. In 2009

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

held a renewal ceremony for 1,087 couples, all of whom are alumni of the university. In 2016

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. B ...

held a ceremony for 1,201 couples.

References

External links

An Order for the Renewal of Wedding VowsA Guide to a Wedding Vow Renewal CeremonyReaffirmation of marriage vows during Sunday worshipRenewal of Wedding Vows and Blessing of Married Couples - Catholic ChurchRenewal of Marriage Vows and Affirmation of a Marriage - Evangelical Lutheran WorshipRenewal of Marriage Vows or On the Anniversary of a Marriage - Anglican Church of Canada
Wedding Marriage in Christianity {{tradition-stub