The Second Wedding: Celebrating a New Journey

Are you getting married for the second time? Congratulations! The good news these days: choices for a second wedding are almost limitless. There are no rules about avoiding white dresses or having a father walk the bride down an aisle. The goal is simply for couples to celebrate a second chance at love.

Defining Your Second Wedding

Many couples opt for a smaller, more informal wedding when they remarry. Wedding experts who blog at I DO TAKE TWO suggest that civil ceremonies are most common for couples getting remarried. For many reasons, fewer second-time brides choose a large church wedding.

For a bride who still wants a smaller church wedding, our onsite Chapel is the perfect setting for an intimate ceremony. Our non-denominational Chaplin can perform the ceremony, or couples can bring in their own Minnesota-certified officiant.

For couples who want an outdoor ceremony, we have a beautiful campus with rolling green hills and wooded areas with walking paths and ponds. The campus itself is on the banks of the Minnesota River. During inclement weather, the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center’s Grand Hall (pictured here) is a spectacular and elegant setting for smaller weddings. For a really big wedding, we also have the 440-seat Ives Auditorium.

Options for the Ceremony

Couples can maintain some traditional elements of a ceremony—bride escorted down the aisle, bridesmaids and groomsmen near the officiant, the exchange of vows, etc.—but nothing is required. There is no end of possibilities. For example:

• Charli Penn, in “Alternative Ceremony Ideas for Second Weddings,” suggests that couples skip the usual procession down the aisle. The couple can enter to a receiving line of guests, or even have guests surround them.
• If one or both partners have children, couples can make them a part of the event by processing as a combined family, inviting the kids to participate in a unity ceremony, or having children read special passages or perform music during the event.
• Couples can dispense with traditional vows and write personal vows for their partners. Or, as Nina Callaway explains in “All about Second Weddings,” “a popular second wedding trend is to speak a family vow to the children after the bride and groom’s vows.” In other words, each partner could make a promise to the other partner’s child or children that they will love and care for them as part of their new family.

Budgeting

Most wedding experts agree that couples should not expect their parents to spring for a second wedding if they’ve already financed the first. To save money on the second wedding:

• Keep the guest list trimmed. The more guests a couple includes in the wedding and reception, the more they will spend on beverages and food.
• Opt for less traditional attire. Sandy Sullivan, who writes for WeddingBee recommends that men wear suits (or rent a nice suit or tux), and women can choose a dress or other outfit that is less expensive than the usual floor-length wedding gown. For brides who find a great-fitting plain outfit, accessories can make all the difference.
• Find a photographer who has flexible options for taking and delivering photos. Most should be able to provide a flash drive with high res photos or an online link where couples can download the photos.
• Hold the wedding and reception in the same venue. Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center has access to both an intimate Chapel and small or large reception spaces. Eliminating the commute to a second location reduces the photographers’ time and enables couples to use flowers from the ceremony at the reception.

Keeping the Focus on the Future

A second marriage is a new beginning, a new journey with a new partner. Your second wedding should focus on the adventure ahead. Celebrate your luck at finding a second life partner and fully engage in the excitement of a limitless future.

Are you planning to remarry? Let us know if we can help!