Marriage The Second Time Around
With the divorce rate so high in many countries, second marriages are becoming more and more celebrated. See it as your chance to do it all over again, but this time exactly the way you want to! Indeed, planning a second wedding is often more fun than the first time around due to more experience and reduced pressure from parents and other well-intentioned relatives or friends. Second-timers often foot the bill themselves too, thus giving them far more freedom to call the shots.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that because its your second time you cannot have a church ceremony or wear a white dress. Depending on your religion (see below), you can indeed have all of that and even walk down the aisle with your father or mother again. The only thing we would not recommend is wearing a veil as this is more a first-time bride tradition.
Here is a brief look at the rules surrounding remarriages from a religious perspective:
Protestant: Views about divorce vary but Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, Evangelical and Presbytarian churches, in general, allow divorce and remarriage. Contact your church at least 2 months before the ceremony to research the possibilities or ask your Wedding Planner for his/her experience.
Roman Catholic: You must get an annulment to remarry within the Catholic church. Because marriage is considered a sacrament, you must get it officially declared null and void.
Jewish: You can remarry after a civil divorce if you are Reform. If you are Conservative or Orthodox, you need to get a Jewish divorce decree from a rabbinical court.
Buddhist: Divorce and remarriage are allowed, provided the priest has no reservations about the couple’s commitment.
Islamic: Divorce and remarriage are permitted according to the Koran. You will need legal documents proving your divorce is final and there is a waiting period of about 3 months for this.
The other alternative, of course, is to be secretly married at your local registry office before organising a purely symbolic union with a non-denominational celebrant to which all of your guests will be invited. Your Wedding Planner will be able to point you in the right direction regarding a spiritual or non-denominational celebrant. There is no reason for your guests to know that this is not the real deal and you will have much more liberty in terms of the venue and the content of your ceremony.
Don’t forget to include your children in the ceremony if you have any. Your new status gives them a new status too and they may require some reassurance from you about their continued importance in your life. Thats why its important to listen to them, involve them wherever you can and respect their wishes if they do not want to be involved as much as you had hoped.
In general terms, a second marriage is more intimate and relaxed than a first marriage and is one that really reflects the wishes of the bride and groom so enjoy yourselves!

