Vow Renewal in Bermuda
This is a little bit of a departure from my normal content, but it is a DIY topic, nonetheless! I typically don't use home movies in my videos, but I'm making an exception to tell you about our vow renewal in Bermuda the summer of 2016.
30 years! That's how long I've been married.
And yes, I know it's hard to believe because I only look 29. 😉
My wife and I celebrated our 30th anniversary in 2016, along with two other couples, on a 9-day cruise on Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas. The ship sailed right from New Jersey to the sunny Caribbean.
The cruise itself was awesome. But to make this anniversary even more special, I devised a secret plan with the other grooms. We planned to surprise our brides and renew our wedding vows on the trip.
Our travel agent investigated what it would cost to do the ceremony on the ship and Royal Caribbean wanted $850… PER COUPLE. Now, to be fair, most of that price was for the flowers, professional photography service and photos that come with the package.Â
We all thought that was too expensive so I looked for a cheaper DIY option. What else is new?
I don't remember exactly where I found the lead (I scoured the Internet and read tons of blogs), but I contacted a local Bermudian pastor, named Dean Smith. Pastor Dean and I worked about six months in advance to customize the ceremony to take place on the beach at Horseshoe Bay, Bermuda.
Before meeting us at the beach, Pastor Dean certainly did his homework. He asked for a bio on each couple, complete with pictures. Then he incorporated all that information into a custom poem and certificate for each of us.
The day, the weather, and the location couldn't have been more perfect!
After reading our own declarations, we recited more traditional wedding vows and exchanged rings.
I used three cameras to record the ceremony! One was on a tripod, a second was handheld by Pastor Dean's daughter, and the third was a GoPro clamped to a rock. I also used a lavalier microphone connected to an voice recorder in Pastor Dean's pocket. This was a lifetime opportunity and I wanted to make sure I captured everything!
Pastor Dean was an excellent speaker and his words were inspiring.
He even recommended an awesome limo driver, named Keenan Jones, who picked us up in a van adorned with pink and white bridal ribbons. Keenan was also a native Bermudian and very knowledgeable about the island. He gave us a guided tour and history lesson on the way back to the ship.
Contact Information
If you're looking to hold any kind of ceremony in Bermuda, let me be the first on YouTube to recommend the services of Pastor Dean Smith and Keenan Jones. Email is the best way to contact them.
Thanks for the recommendation. I reached out to pastor Dean via email and he responded shortly after. He was very accommodating and resonable. My wife and I recommend pastor Dean.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful wedding vow renewal! I would like to ask what would be an ideal fee for pastor Dean as well as Keenan? Thanks!
They have reasonable rates, and they are willing to work out a package deal if you have multiple couples, like we did. Please contact them directly.
I’m celebrating my 30th anniversary this year, and we cruised to Bermuda on Royal Caribbean for our honeymoon 30 years ago (LOL). I’m also taking the cruise out of Bayonne on Royal Caribbean this summer. I agree that the ship’s fee for a renewal is unnecessarily expensive. I would love to do something more intimate, personal, and low key like this. Before I contact the pastor, is there anything you would have done differently after going through your experience? Thank you in advance for your response.
Wouldn’t change a thing! Paster Dean was incredible and Horseshoe Bay was the perfect setting. We wore bathing suits under our “nice” clothes and stayed on the beach after the ceremony. Just do it; you won’t regret it.
Thank you soooo much for this…I’m currently looking to renew vows with my husband on a similar sailing; the 5-night cruise on the Anthem. Having the same issues as you did at the beginning….ridiculous, ridiculous amounts of money!!! It’s a renewal for goodness sake. Do you think that your driver would be willing to work with me? I want to see if I could organize the whole thing myself since I only want a few things (arbor arch, flowers, chairs and transportation!). I would love it if I could support these guys who helped you. I already have an officiant, a friend who will be joining us.
Congratulations and I’m so glad you found this post useful! Keenan would definitely help you. Transportation is his business, but he’s very connected and can probably make recommendations for the rest of the things you want. Keep in mind, if you want to do the ceremony on the beach like we did, it’s a far walk from the parking area so I’d recommend a minimalist approach.