Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon did it. Heidi Klum and Seal have done it many times. Bravo's Real Housewives seem to do it every season. Though renewing wedding vows is all the rage in the tabloids, recommitting isn't just for celebrities. Holidash caught up with six long-married couples -- including two famous housewives -- for the dish on how they celebrated the second biggest day of their lives even more perfectly than the first.
RHONY Star Ramona Singer and husband Mario renewed their vows after 18 years. Credit: Getty Images
Ramona Singer, 53, is an entrepreneur and the star of Bravo's "The Real Housewives of New York City." She is married to Mario Singer, 57, a jewelry manufacturer; the couple live in New York, NY.
When we decided to renew our vows at 18 years of marriage, my daughter said, "That's such a random number, it should be 20 or 25 years." But I wanted to renew my vows when it felt right. My father had recently died and I felt I was just renewing everything in my life. How many times in our lives do you have a chance to stop in your tracks and really reaffirm your love for each other?
The second time was even better than the first because I knew I wasn't making any kind of mistake. The first time I was frightened because my parents had a terrible marriage. Then, I prayed that it would work out. But the second time I was fully confident that I had made the right choice.
I planned the day from my heart and I did what I wanted to do. I wanted to wear a white dress. I wanted my daughter as my maid of honor. And I had always wanted to get married at the Pierre. When I originally got married, my family lived upstate so we compromised by getting married in the middle. But renewing my vows at the Pierre, in the rotunda room, was like a dream come true.
The most important thing about renewing your vows is to have the people there who mean the most to you, whether it's 12 or 100 people. I also think it's important to personalize your vows. The only "don't" I can think of? Don't wear black. That wouldn't bode well.
Vicki Gunvalson, 48, author/insurance agent and star of Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Orange County." Viki is married to Donn Gunvalson, 58, a construction supply executive in Coto de Caza, CA.
When we decided to renew our vows at 18 years of marriage, my daughter said, "That's such a random number, it should be 20 or 25 years." But I wanted to renew my vows when it felt right. My father had recently died and I felt I was just renewing everything in my life. How many times in our lives do you have a chance to stop in your tracks and really reaffirm your love for each other?
The second time was even better than the first because I knew I wasn't making any kind of mistake. The first time I was frightened because my parents had a terrible marriage. Then, I prayed that it would work out. But the second time I was fully confident that I had made the right choice.
I planned the day from my heart and I did what I wanted to do. I wanted to wear a white dress. I wanted my daughter as my maid of honor. And I had always wanted to get married at the Pierre. When I originally got married, my family lived upstate so we compromised by getting married in the middle. But renewing my vows at the Pierre, in the rotunda room, was like a dream come true.
The most important thing about renewing your vows is to have the people there who mean the most to you, whether it's 12 or 100 people. I also think it's important to personalize your vows. The only "don't" I can think of? Don't wear black. That wouldn't bode well.
Orange County Housewife Vicki Gunvalson kept her renewal private. Credit: Getty Images
Vicki Gunvalson, 48, author/insurance agent and star of Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Orange County." Viki is married to Donn Gunvalson, 58, a construction supply executive in Coto de Caza, CA.
Donn and I renewed our vows after 15 years of marriage because we almost got divorced last year. When we decided to stay together, we felt we needed to restart on a clean slate. So I surprised Donn with a renewal ceremony in Turks and Caicos, barefoot on the beach. I think that it wouldn't have been as special if he knew beforehand.
Everything worked pretty smoothly. I didn't have to send out invitations -- I just had to plan our trip. The hotel helped with a florist and a bongo band. I bought a white sundress, and I kept it simple. To me it's not about formality or extravagance; it's about where your heart and soul are. Donn was so moved by it and that's what made it so special.
My best advice: Don't recommit unless you're really committed to living by what you say. We literally drew a line in the sand and said, "The past is the past and we're going forward." If you are both equally yoked in the same goals, it will not fail, so don't think twice. You might not ever get a 'second' second chance again.
Everything worked pretty smoothly. I didn't have to send out invitations -- I just had to plan our trip. The hotel helped with a florist and a bongo band. I bought a white sundress, and I kept it simple. To me it's not about formality or extravagance; it's about where your heart and soul are. Donn was so moved by it and that's what made it so special.
My best advice: Don't recommit unless you're really committed to living by what you say. We literally drew a line in the sand and said, "The past is the past and we're going forward." If you are both equally yoked in the same goals, it will not fail, so don't think twice. You might not ever get a 'second' second chance again.
Robin and Dave Taney renewed their vows in Vegas -- with Elvis. Credit: Robin Taney
My husband and I renewed our wedding vows on our 5th anniversary last year. We originally thought we should go to Hawaii or St. Lucia and get remarried on the beach at sunset. But I said, "Let's do something crazy. Let's go to Vegas and renew our vows at one of those cheesy wedding chapels."
The chapel we chose was Viva Las Vegas. They had a huge marquee outside with our names in lights. An Elvis impersonator officiated the ceremony and he sang "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You," as we walked down the aisle. In front of Elvis, we promised to, "Love, honor and not step on each other's blue suede shoes." The whole thing was streamed live on the Internet so that all of our family and friends could see it, no matter where they were. My mom, in Rochester, got together with her girlfriends. They got all dressed up; they had cookies and punch; and watched it as if they were there. They said they wished they could attend all weddings that way.
Renewing couples should be flexible in what they want to do. It doesn't have to be expensive or elaborate. We built ours into a week-long vacation and we were in the process of paying off a lot of debt so we saved up money and paid for it in cash. After, we felt really proud of ourselves that we commemorated our 5th anniversary in such a memorable way.
Ignacio Morales, 51, is a building maintenance manager, and his wife, Maria Morales, 50, is social worker; they live in South Ozone Park, NY.
Ignacio: We recently renewed our vows for our 25th anniversary. It was better than our first wedding because we are more established and had more to celebrate. The first time, we were wondering, what is marriage? And now that we have experienced it we celebrated what the Lord had given to us. For me, the spiritual part of it was the best part. The pastor at our church did a terrific job. We have four children that are grown and he had each one participate by lighting a candle. It really impacted me emotionally.
Maria: 120 guests came to our party. It was actually bigger than our first wedding and I loved seeing everybody have a good time. And I was able to enjoy myself more because I was much more relaxed. I remember when we got married the first time, I asked Ignacio, "Are you going to be good to me?"
Ignacio: She was playing the lottery with me!
Maria: You see all the problems that could happen in a marriage the first time, but the second time you go in knowing the person. I also loved having my children be a part of the day. They felt like it was their wedding too, and they were proud. My best advice for someone who wants to renew: Make your family a part of it. Just go all the way and do exactly what you want.
Judith Sherven, PhD, 65, and Jim Sniechowski, PhD, 67, of Las Vegas, NV, are the authors of The Smart Couple's Guide to the Wedding of Your Dreams.
Judith: We have been married for 22 years. By our third or fourth anniversary we were renewing our vows every year.
Jim: We had been around the block and we knew that the relationship had to be nurtured and supported. So, the way we do that is to celebrate our anniversary every year with the objective of making sure that the relationship is not taken for granted.
Judith: The first couple of anniversaries we exchanged gifts and went out to dinner and it felt kind of flat. That's when we started talking about a vow renewal honoring what we had experienced in the year prior and committing to what we were going to experience in the coming year. That felt more meaningful.
Jim: When we do our renewal vows, it's just the two of us. We've done it just sitting on the couch. It doesn't necessarily have to be dramatic. But they can be spontaneous. Just sit down and start talking and then something emerges. It's not something that is labored.
Judith: I would encourage renewing couples to be spontaneous in terms of what would be really fun for them. Make sure that it is really sincerely meaningful to both of you, not just one person's idea of fun. For example, don't go on a hike if one person is thinking...I don't like to go hiking.
Author Frances Eve-DeLargo, 70, is married to Christopher Eve, 99, a retired scientist; they live in Myerstown, PA.
We renewed our vows in Hawaii after only 4 years of marriage because every year for Chris and I is like five years for other marriages. In our first year alone we traveled a lot and we made a major move across the country and we were 57 and 88 at the time.
We stayed on the Big Island and I had arranged for a sailboat to take us out to renew our vows. The night before, we were eating at our hotel and a ukulele player joined the musicians onstage. He was terrific, so I asked the maitre d' to send my phone number to him with a note to call me. He did, and I asked him to play for us on the boat during our ceremony the next day. He said he would like to, but that he had a dilemma -- he was on his honeymoon and didn't want to leave his bride. So I invited them both on the boat for the next day.
I had a picnic arranged; the boat was decked out in flowers. We both wore wedding leis. We had the wonderful music from the ukulele player and his wife took photos. The captain married us and we all bonded and had a wonderful day.
I was inspired to renew my vows with Chris as an acknowledgment that our decision was right the first time. It was great fun, so my best advice is to be sure you laugh a lot. I can't imagine any "don'ts" for renewals. If one existed, you'd never get to the "I do."
Judith: I would encourage renewing couples to be spontaneous in terms of what would be really fun for them. Make sure that it is really sincerely meaningful to both of you, not just one person's idea of fun. For example, don't go on a hike if one person is thinking...I don't like to go hiking.
Author Frances Eve-DeLargo, 70, is married to Christopher Eve, 99, a retired scientist; they live in Myerstown, PA.
We renewed our vows in Hawaii after only 4 years of marriage because every year for Chris and I is like five years for other marriages. In our first year alone we traveled a lot and we made a major move across the country and we were 57 and 88 at the time.
We stayed on the Big Island and I had arranged for a sailboat to take us out to renew our vows. The night before, we were eating at our hotel and a ukulele player joined the musicians onstage. He was terrific, so I asked the maitre d' to send my phone number to him with a note to call me. He did, and I asked him to play for us on the boat during our ceremony the next day. He said he would like to, but that he had a dilemma -- he was on his honeymoon and didn't want to leave his bride. So I invited them both on the boat for the next day.
I had a picnic arranged; the boat was decked out in flowers. We both wore wedding leis. We had the wonderful music from the ukulele player and his wife took photos. The captain married us and we all bonded and had a wonderful day.
I was inspired to renew my vows with Chris as an acknowledgment that our decision was right the first time. It was great fun, so my best advice is to be sure you laugh a lot. I can't imagine any "don'ts" for renewals. If one existed, you'd never get to the "I do."
Amy,6-06-2010, 7:48PM
What a fun article! I like the various approaches each couple took toward renewing their vows.
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