My husband and I were married in a civil ceremony in late 2003 while we waited for his annulment to come through. At that time, we had no idea no long the annulment would take so we opted for the civil ceremony because we were in our late '30s and wanted to start a family.
Unlike many of the other posters on these boards, our civil ceremony was a real wedding complete with 75 guests and formal attire. We knew at the time that someday we would marry in the Catholic church - it was just a matter of waiting for the annulment.
The annulment came through last Fall (2004) and we have a Catholic wedding scheduled for this Fall (2005). We expect a smaller number of guests, probably in the 20ish range.
I realize there are etiquette rules when it comes to vow renewal ceremonies though this one is a little different since we're technically not married in the eyes of the church.
I have attached a photo of the back of my gown from the first wedding. The detail doesn't show too well, but the dress is ivory matte satin with embroidery on the train (also on the bottom front of the dress and the bodice). The veil is pretty short because I wanted to show the back of the dress.
In terms of the formality of the wedding, we don't expect to recreate the wedding party - only the best man and matron of honor from the first wedding. (My MOH will NOT wear the BM dress from our first ceremony.) Depending on my dress, we may rent a tux again for my hubby, but won't ask that from his best man.
The question is...
Should I even consider wearing my gown and veil from the civil ceremony? I hadn't thought of doing that until a friend suggested it. Or should I do another less formal gown with my veil?
My apologies for the long post. Any and all comments are appreciated. Thanks in advance!
(This post was
edited by TWQadmin on Apr 29, 2005, 6:54 AM)
As long as the veil is short, or you pull it back over the top of the train, you should be fine. It is perfectly fine to wear a formal dress. Don't worry.
Catholic vow renewal dress
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