My husband and I were recently married in a small ceremony this past December. We invited only our immediate families and it was held aboard The Queen Mary (a retired cruise ship.) We kept it small for practical reasoning. Our families are on opposite sides of the country and we did not want to make either side feel obligated to travel across the country for a wedding.
My husband is Catholic and I am in the process of converting. We would like to have a ceremony in the church to have our marriage blessed by the church. We want to invite everyone to this. We would like to have a large reception and make it a celebration for everyone to share in. We would be paying for all of this ourselves, that isn’t the issue, what I’m worried about is, will people want to come? What kind of wording do we use to let people know this is a celebration of our marriage and a time to basically party with the family.
For us, this isn’t exactly a vow renewal, this is a seperate wedding because it means something different to us and to his family as a step in our faith and relationship with God. Honestly, we really need to know what the protocol is.
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Donna, Wedding Queen, President
Actually, the ceremony in the Catholic Church is a marriage convalidation, which is not a vow renewal. You can read more about that ceremony here. It’s usually a small informal ceremony for those close with you and sometimes there is an intimate type of gathering afterwards. here is a smaple wording:
Mr. and Mrs. John Doe
request the honour of your presence
at their Convalidation Ceremony
My Catholic Church
123 Anystreet
Your Town, Your State, Zipcode
Date
Time
If you want to host a wedding reception, which is what your plan sounds like to me, you can do so anytime within a year of your wedding (so sometime before December of this year.
Wording for a belated wedding reception Invitation
Best Wishes,
Rebecca Black, Etiquette By Rebecca
I agree. This wouldn’t be a ceremony for which you would treat as a typical wedding. I agree that if you want to invite all of your guests, the reception would be the best idea.
The Wedding Expert
Since vow renewal ceremonies and the parties that follow are typically less formal than weddings, informal wording is used. Note the more formal wording for renewals in church or places of worship.
Traditional Vow Renewal Wording
The honour of your presence is requested
at the renewal of wedding vows of
Mr. and Mrs. Chris Earle Jones
Saturday, the fifth of April
at five o’clock
All Saints Church
123 Clocktower Road
Anytown, New York
Informal Vow Renewal Invitation
The pleasure of your company is requested
at the reaffirmation ceremony of
Mr. and Mrs. Chris Earle Jones
Saturday, the fifth of April
at five o’clock
Beautiful Park
500 Park Place
Anytown, New York
Children Hosting – Sample I
Sally Lynn and Clarence Lee Jones
invite you to share in our joy
as our parents
Mr. and Mrs. Chris Earle Jones
renew their vows
Saturday, the fifth of April
at five o’clock
Lovely Country Club
Address
Children Hosting – Sample II
The children of
Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Smith
[or “Susan and Jonathan Smith”]
request the honor of your presence
at the reaffirmation ceremony
of their parents
Saturday, the fifth of April
at five o’clock
Address
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