Inform your clergyman early If ceremony will be religious, let clergyman know about your plans as soon as possible. If there are guide principles you will need to be aware of as you write your vows, sooner you know what they are better. This is also a good way to avoid possible conflicts between beliefs of your house of worship and your own personal beliefs. If there is some disagreement between two, you may need to adjust your plans or wording, or perhaps look for another clergyman.

Ask Yourselves Fundamental Questions Once you’ve taken that first step, begin by asking yourselves questions. These may include: "What does marriage mean to us? Why are we marrying? What promises are most meaningful, and which ones are essential that we keep?

You may want to ask what words like love, honor, respect, faithfulness, forgiveness, honesty, fidelity, friendship, and trust mean to each of you. This exercise will help you to clarify your thoughts as well as express your true feelings toward each other, your expectations for future, and your personal visions of your lives together in future.

Focus on what’s unique

An essential element of personalizing your wedding vows is expressing what is unique about other person. Think about how you see each other and write down as many of reasons for loving each other as you can verbalize. If your backgrounds are different, acknowledge this and promise to respect and honor your differences as well as your commitment to building bridges that will strengthen common grounds. If this is not a first marriage for one or both of you, you may want to talk about your faith in love and bond that marriage creates between two people.

Don’t get too personal

There is no reason why you should not register for gifts, have a shower, or wear a white, full-length gown at altar. Whether or not you will choose any of these options is now considered strictly a matter of personal preference dictated by your style.

Charting a new course

When it comes to ceremony, one of questions that experienced brides-to-be frequently ask themselves is "Do I really want to do everything same or do something completely different?" If you were married in a civil ceremony first time, maybe it’s time to consider a church ceremony, complete with flower girls, a ring bearer, and attendants.

Because you are certainly all-grown-up now, this is your chance to plan your wedding exactly way you want it to be, without any unnecessary consideration for wishes of parents. However, you will want to discuss your feeling and carry out planning with groom.

On other hand, if formality and style of your first wedding did suite your taste, you should feel free to repeat those elements. Nevertheless, since this is a time to look toward future, rather than returning to past, don’t get bogged down with history. Using same reception site or adding same personal touches would be in poor taste, so should be avoided.

Large ceremony or small The size of your wedding party, as well as number of guests you will invite, is entirely up to you. With regard to ceremony itself, rules of etiquette would be same as if you were marrying for first time.