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Second Wedding - Articles and Posts from AisleDash
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Here in North America, we have decided that it's tacky to ask for money at your wedding. This is a little ironic since by the standards of some other cultures, the whole North American Big White Wedding Industry is itself an exercise in the very tacky. All this proves is that "tacky" is relative. What would have horrified etiquette mavens of another time is perfectly acceptable today; what seems awful to us is fine to another culture. And you know what? No one's right, no one's wrong. It is what it is.

Enter the "Buy our Honeymoon" website. Now, even those among us who actually did ask her guests to contribute to her honeymoon (there's at least on one staff here) found this name a bit, well, tacky. But when we investigated a little further, we were pleasantly surprised.

Continue reading The perfect wedding present: Your perfect honeymoon


This last week, we brought you a slew of kid-friendly wedding ideas.

Continue reading Inspiration board: Kid-friendly weddings



After the ceremony is over, you get married. You know what we mean ... those pesky papers you have to sign once the groom has kissed the bride, and before you can move on to the serious partying? They're what really make you married. Ninety-nine percent of the ceremony is just window dressing.

If you have children who can write their names, you can involve them in this part of the ceremony, too. The Family Wedding Certificate shown above comes with the family medallions we showed you earlier, but there's no reason you couldn't have your own made.

Find yourself a calligrapher and get it done up as decorative, frame-able art, a remembrance of the day and a sign on the new family created when you said "I do."
The wedding officiant stood before the happy couple. And before the happy bride's little son, who was four years old. The ceremony had proceeded without hitch to this point, the exchange of the rings. When the rings were brought out, the bride and groom turned to the little boy, who had been sitting in the front row with his grandmother.

"You can come up now, hon." He trotted the few paces to the front, stood beside his mother, and looked up at the three adults. The exchange of rings proceeded, and with it, the vows. Bride to groom, groom to bride, and then ... bride-and-groom to child. The couple had had a third ring made, you see, a replica of their own, small enough to fit her son.

The officiant smiled as the boy received his ring, but the little guy obviously thought the event needed some explanation. Pointing to each adult in turn, he declared,

"She's marrying him, and I'm marrying him, too. We're all getting married together!"

Not bad for four years old.
You've found the man of your dreams ... and he comes with a child or two. Or perhaps it's you with the kids, or you're both bringing children into this new relationship.

Whatever the combination, you'll want to let the children know that they are very important, too. You might choose to have a family candle or unity sand during the ceremony. Perhaps, however, you're looking for something that you can give to each child, something that can be their very own, while still expressing the new family that's being created with this ceremony.

For that, you might choose a family medallion. Family medallions show three intersecting circles, which can represent the mom/bride, the dad/groom, and the children ... or, if you prefer, if could represent the two previous families (mom/kids and dad/kids) joining to form a new, blended family.

Family medallions come in a variety of forms: charm bracelets, as shown, pendants, key chains, lapel pins, and even watch covers. You can choose the style that best suits each child. Make the gift of the medallion part of your wedding ceremony for even more meaning.

For more information on the family medallion, check out this link.
When the bride and/or groom are also "mom" or "dad" to a child or two (or more!), the wedding isn't just about bringing together two people, it's about creating an entire family, all at once. If the children are old enough to know the difference, they're old enough to be included, if they wish, in some way.

Tangible symbols are good for this purpose. We've talked about the family candle, but if the thought of handing your child an open flame has you in a cold sweat, you might prefer the more benign and completely flame-retardant Unity Sand.

There is one central vase, and as many smaller vials as you require. You get to choose the colors of the sand -- shades of the same color, complimentary, or a wild rainbow of brilliant hues. Whatever suits your family. Each member of the new family pours in a layer, and together you form a thing of beauty to remind you all that individually, you're perfect, and together you're even better!


If you're bringing a child or three into your wedding, you're probably looking for ways to involve them. There are a great many ways to do this, depending on their ages, skills, and the type of wedding you plan. One simple way is to have a Family Candle, which is simply a variant of the unity candle.

If there is only one child in your union, the logistics are simple: he or she adds his own taper to the adults' as they light the pillar candle together. If you have more than one or two children? You might opt to have a children's taper, wielded by the oldest of the children, representing the other children.


Continue reading Involving the kids -- your kids: Family candle

Finding new love and getting remarried is wonderful, but many brides going through a second or even third wedding may be concerned about etiquette and what's proper. Specifically, the bride-to-be may wonder about the dress.

Does she go out and buy a new dress? Can she tastefully reuse her old wedding dress, a dress she spent forever researching to get the perfect design and fit? The answers are yes and yes.

Continue reading Second marriage: Reusing wedding dress too tacky?

You've had the Big White Wedding, complete with flowers, photographers, the harpist in the church and the DJ at the reception. You've had the cake and the receiving line and the eight attendants. You've done all that once, and it was nice, but this is your second "I Do", and you just don't ...

want all the fuss this time around, that is.

This time, the emphasis is on the relationship. This time, your focus is on the marriage, not the wedding. And that is why this time you've decided to elope. You might not want to do this if you have children of an age to want to be part of the ceremony, even if it's a very simple one. But if you have no children, or your children are grown with lives of their own, an elopement might be exactly the right thing for the second-time-lucky couple.
If you and your fiance have children, either your own or those from a previous marriage, you might be looking for ways to include them in your wedding ceremony in a way that expresses their important role in your family. Here, at weddingwire.com, are several thoughtful and creative ideas for doing just that. Going beyond the simple flower girl/ring bearer/reader role, many couples have younger children stand with them through the ceremony. For older children, consider having a family unity component in which the kids participate with you in lighting a unity candle or filling a sand vase. Other ideas include presenting them with a family medallion ring during the ring ceremony, or including them in your vows. It is a good idea to discuss wedding plans with children beforehand to avoid embarrassment or, if they are going to be your step-children, feeling that they are betraying their biological parent by participating in your ceremony. With a little thought and planning, your ceremony can help children feel like they, too, are entering into a new and loving family.

Colin Montgomerie might not have made the Masters, but at least that gives him more time to prepare for his upcoming wedding. The golfer will miss the Masters for only the second time in 17 years.

Monty's wedding to Gaynor Knowles is scheduled for April 19 on the banks of Loch Lomond. Approximately 400 guests are expected, among them such Hollywood royalty as Hugh Grant and such actual royalty as Prince Andrew. However, he refused to spill any more details on the lavish occasion, other than to say it would be "an extraordinary event."

This will be the second wedding for the 44 year-old pro golfer, having been married to his first wife, Eimear, for 14 years and having three children with her before getting divorced.
Traditionalists will give a firm "no!" to that question. White, they say, symbolizes purity (by which they mean virginity, of course.) We won't dwell on the fact that it's rather rude to speculate about the personal life of the bride, and we certainly won't be so crass as to speculate as to what percentage of first-time brides "deserve" to wear white.

Anyway, it turns out the traditionalists aren't as "traditional" as they think. Prior to Queen Victoria's wedding, women didn't tend to go out and buy something special for the event. They just wore their best dress.

Continue reading Can a second-time bride wear white?

We've discussed weddings without children before. It's a potentially difficult issue, but the bride and groom do get to establish the type of ceremony and reception they prefer, and if they decide "no kids", then no kids it is.

There is one wedding, however, at which the presence of children is not only a given, but pretty much a requirement: the second wedding where one or both of the partners has kids. Unless the two of you have a spontaneous wedding on that weekend trip to Reno, if you're going to get married, you will include the children, particularly if the children are children, and not adults. And it is under-age children we've been discussing.

Children who will be living with you, full- or part-time, after the ceremony should be in attendance. Often, they will take part in the ceremony. There are lovely child-friendly ways to involve the younger set, if you're interested. If you want to get your new family off to a good start, make sure the children know that they, too, are an important part of this new union.
Friend of AisleDash, Jenorama, and Aisledasher Ilona share more than a few things in common. One of those things is a second wedding. As is often the case with second weddings, both couples opted for small and casual.

Jen and husband Dereck had an intimate city hall ceremony with only their witnesses and Jen's eldest son (as ring-bearer) in attendance. Once the deed was done, they had a Big Party at a nice local pub with friends and family. Friends and family who were invited only to a party, and didn't find out until they arrived just what they were celebrating! Now that's an informal wedding party!

Here are Jen and Dereck on their Big Day -- before the Big Party. A suit and boutonniere for the groom, a pretty summer dress and bouquet for the bride.




Continue reading Image(s) of the Week: Second weddings, casual and intimate

If you are bringing a child or two into this marriage along with the two of you, you'll want to find ways to include them in the day. There are the traditional roles, depending on their ages, everything from ring bearer and flower girl through bridesmaids and usher to witness on the documents.

They can take part in the ceremony with tangible symbols which have emerged over recent years: family medallions, unity candles or unity sand. There is, however, one wedding symbol which has been around forever which can easily include the children: the ring.

In one ceremony which my husband officiated, the bride's four-year-old son took part in the ceremony during the exchange of the rings. His mother and her new husband exchanged rings, and then the adults gave the little boy his own, matching ring. At this point, the little boy turned to the officiant, pointed to the groom and explained. "We're marrying him. She's marrying him, and I'm marrying him, too." I'm sure this little boy will treasure his ring -- and his new family -- for a long time to come!

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