Our 10 Year Vow Renewal in the Bahamas

10 years is a long time and it should be celebrated! Before I share with you all the details, planning and ideas for your 10 year vow renewal, let me share with you a bit more about our love story.

Brandon and I met in a small office right out of college. It was very much like the Jim and Pam love story from the NBC show, The Office. As crazy as it sounds, the first time we went out to lunch, in my head I knew he was the one. We quickly became inseparable, not only spending work life together but enjoying a love for the beach, food, and fun! We wed in April 2007 in the beautiful lush gardens of The Sundy House, in Delray Beach, FL.

Our wedding day in 2007.

Writing our own wedding vows is important to us. It allows us to get personal and share meaningful things we love and cherish about each other and share some of our favorite past moments together. This story is about our 10 year vow renewal, but also to detail that we have a unique wedding tradition. We recite our wedding vows every single anniversary and add to them! (Read about: Our Yearly Vow Renewal)

The Location

We had a few wedding vow locations in mind for our 10 year wedding anniversary. Greece was at the top of my list. We also discussed a road trip to US national parks, Mexico, and a recreation of our honeymoon – California and then Hawaii. No matter where we picked, our kids we’re a must for this special destination.

In the last few years we did an adults only getaway to Baha Mar and loved the resort. Then last year we took our kids to Atlantis in the Bahamas and we all loved the waterpark. Grand Hyatt Baha Mar started to check off all our boxes: short flight, fun for kids and adults, brand new waterpark, and amazing food! It was a no brainer, this was going to be our 10 year vow renewal destination!

Vow renewals capture the highs and lows of your marriage, also your amazing accomplishments, but importantly emphasize your commitments to one another.

The Ceremony

What does a vow renewal ceremony entail? Common ceremonies have guests and an Officiant – as if it’s a mini wedding. While we love the concept of having another party with family and friends, this would be expensive and also a lot of work.

Our dream 10 year vow renewal was to be on the beach in all white with our kids by our side. We decided on an intimate setting on the beach and we knew we wanted a vow renewal photo shoot to capture our moment.

We decided to do our vow renewal in the morning so we had the rest of the day to have fun and celebrate more at the beach and waterpark. Our vow renewal ceremony wasn’t traditional but it was perfect for us and what we wanted as a family.

The morning of our anniversary we woke up early and got dressed in all white. So crazy, but that morning the water stopped working….IN THE ENTIRE HOTEL. Thank goodness we all showered the night before. We had to use water bottles to brush our teeth.

Our Photographer started the morning by taking our photos all around the resort property. By having the photoshoot and ceremony in the morning, we were able to get photos and not worry about many people being in the background. Baha Mar has so many great places to take photos. Our kids favorite is with the flamingos.

Once at the beach in the sand with our kids by our sides, we recited our vows for the 10th time. It was beautiful, intimate, and everything we could have asked for.

After our vow renewals, we said goodbye to our amazing Photographer Braxton. We headed to breakfast all dressed up. Lots of people congratulated us as if we were just married for the first time, and the restaurant treated us to champagne.

The rest of day we swapped our dresses clothes for our swimsuits! We hit the waterpark and then dressed back up for our anniversary dinner at Dario. It was a perfect 10 year anniversary.

Tips for an Intimate Vow Renewal Ceremony at a Resort

The earlier the better if you don’t want to worry about a lot of people around or them being in your photos.
Hire a vow renewal photographer that knows the resort well. They will know all the great spots to get your pictures.
After your vow renewal ceremony have a brunch, lunch, or dinner set up so you can continue the celebration all dressed up.
Reach out to the resort ahead of time to see if they have any special packages for your ceremony or props to use. (I did reach out to ours but it quickly escalated into thousands of dollars.)
If you want hair and makeup done, your photographer and the resort should have recommendations.

Vow Renewal Dress & Outfits

My Vow Renewal Dress

I wanted a white vow renewal dress that I could wear sandals with but also didn’t break the bank. I scoured the internet and found Lulus.com had the best selection of white vow renewal dresses that are very affordable! The dress I wore was only $99 – Taliana White Lace Button Back Maxi Dress. I choose white flat rhinestone sandals from Amazon.

What Brandon Wore

He looked awesome in a gray sport coat and white button down shirt from ASOS and white pants from Express.

What the Kids Wore

Our kids wore all white and we found most of their vow renewal outfits on Amazon. Wynn wore a flowy a-line dress with a lace top. The back of the dress is what sold me, its beautiful. She matched me with sparkly sandals. Nixon wore a white linen shirt from Gap and Tommy Hilfiger white pants.

We Made a Vow Renewal Flower Bouquet

Ideally we would have fresh, lush tropical flowers from the island BUT…. 1. I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of ordering and picking them up while we’re on vacation. 2. I didn’t want to pay the price. Instead my daughter and I had a fun DIY project and made our own bouquets. Another, inexpensive vow renewal idea.

Vow Renewal with Kids

Get your kids involved with your vow renewal! Ahead of our vow renewal trip we talked about it with the kids and how important it is for us. Our kids helped build our bouquets we could carry and they really enjoyed picking out the flowers and making them.

The day of our vow renewal ceremony there were no surprises as we already talked to the kids about what to expect. My husband also got the kids in on a surprise 10 year anniversary gift and they gave me a new wedding band – I cried instantly. My son said “I know we weren’t there 10 years ago but we’re here now”.

10 Year Anniversary Gifts

Traditionally tin or aluminum is meant to commemorate your 10 year anniversary gift. Personally I’ve always found the traditional gifts to be a bit out there. But if you’re really struggling on an idea it’s an easy starting point. A few 10 year anniversary gift ideas is a new ring or wedding band, an experience like a vacation, or a personalized gift.

How much does a vow renewal cost?

It doesn’t have to cost you anything or very little if you want something small and intimate. The budget will increase based on you guest list, if you hire an officiant or food vendors. The cost can quickly increase as it can be like a mini wedding. For our vow renewal we only paid for our photographer and for what we wore.

If you want to see more details on our unique wedding tradition and why we recite our wedding vows every year – read it here.

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