Getting Married Second Time Around

Planning a wedding in France is always a good idea, and getting married second time around can bring around different challenges and criteria to consider. With this in mind we asked expert wedding planners Marry me in France, to give us their advice on what to consider when getting married second time around to share in The Study. Marry me in France have been planning high quality events since 2005 and have planned many extraordinary second weddings, one with 36 bridesmaids!! Over to MMIF:

As experienced planners we have found that as a rule, a second time around event is often more intimate than a first and it is worth considering what type of event you want to plan and the budget that you have available.

Much like a first wedding there are no strict rules, certainly not at Marry me in France where we pride ourselves on tailoring and flexibility. But there is some sound advice worth heeding.

An emphasis on family dynamics and making sure the venue suits their needs, as well as your own, is vital. Many second time around couples come with more complex family issues and their own children of course (and possibly grandchildren) and to often very elderly parents. A greater awareness of the family complexity is important.
Selecting the right accommodation for your respective families is also key. I find the best venues are the ones who offer very similar standard of accommodation throughout.
Avoid venues where some parts of the accommodation are different or of different standard to others.
Avoid too many speeches. At a later stage in your life, more people will have more to say about you. I have found a recurring theme of second-time around events to be very long speeches. On some occasions guests have excused themselves because the open mic has gone on rather too long. So be mindful and keep it simple is my advice.
Please yourselves with the things that matter to you most. There is often more adult opinion at events second time around (as brides and grooms have more generations to take into account – their own children as well as their parents.)
Make sure to choose elements of the event where you want to feel fully in control (the menu perhaps) and do not allow too many opinions to creep into these areas.
Incorporate people equally across your families. Make sure you find as many ways to incorporate the people dear to you as you can. Whether this be readings, witnessing the signature, a speech or another symbolic act.