Second Wedding Ideas | Tips and Tricks from the Recently Hitched
Tips and Tricks from the Recently Hitched is a series featuring real advice from real newlyweds. We’ll share their tips and offer a few of our own tricks, sometimes bringing our vendor partners into the mix. Together, we’ll make sure you have the best planning experience—and wedding day—possible! Be sure to stalk us on all of our social media platforms to discover different ways we address every topic in this series.
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We’re so excited to feature a tip today from Just Marry! bride, Angie, who married Ken at Orlando’s Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in mid-March. This was Angie’s second wedding and she approached her planning quite differently than most first-time brides. Here’s what she shared with us:
“My husband and I are in our early 40’s and this is a second marriage for me. I knew that I did not want a traditional reception. The four things we knew we wanted were a first dance, good food, good cake, and to dance the night away sans the usual line dance songs.
I was actually worried as people started asking about the usual traditions and looked at me like I was crazy when I said we weren’t doing that stuff. As time went on, more people asked questions and I felt bad, like I was somehow robbing my husband of these traditions since it was his first wedding. Would people think I wasn’t taking this seriously if I didn’t toss my bouquet, kiss him every time someone clinked a glass, or have a big send-off with bubbles or sparklers?
So the reception came and we had our first dance, three speeches (my husband’s came with a ‘please don’t clink your glass at us’), a delicious dinner, the cake cutting, and then onto dancing the rest of the night. Everyone in attendance said that outside of their own wedding, it was the best one they’ve been to, mainly because we didn’t do all the traditional stuff and we got right to the dancing without interruption!”
Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us, Angie! One tip other couples can take from Angie’s experience is that you don’t have to do anything for your wedding that you don’t want to just because it’s considered a “tradition.” This is especially true for second weddings. Some other second wedding ideas that might interest you:
- Brides can wear white…but they don’t have to! Your second wedding is a chance to do things differently than you did the first time. Wear what appeals to you and your vision. If you want to wear a white wedding gown, go for it! Other lovely colors for second weddings are champagne, blush, and ivory.
- If you register, go for sensible gifts. If this is a second marriage for one or both of you, it’s unlikely that you’ll need most of the traditional wedding gift registry items. You probably won’t even have a bridal shower. Should your friends and family insist they want to present you with a shower and/or gifts, consider alternative gift registries such as honeymoon registries, activity registries, or charitable registries.
- Elopements or destination weddings are great options. Assuming you’re both on board with the idea, keeping your second wedding simple, sweet, and romantic with a small guest list might be the best way to maintain the focus on your love for each other and beginning your new life together. Consider a destination wedding or elopement that you can turn into a weddingmoon!
If you’d like to work with our team to plan your wedding (or even just to brainstorm second wedding ideas!), check out our planning services or Contact Us. We’d love to work with you!
Recently-weds and wedding vendors, we’d love to hear from you with your own Tips & Tricks! If you have a topic you’d like to contribute to a future Tips and Tricks post or you’d like to join the Just Marry! family while planning your wedding, e-mail us at info@justmarry.com and we’ll get back to you right away!
Second Wedding Ideas | Tips and Tricks from the Recently Hitched
