Veronica + Julie Gapstow Bridge, Central Park Wedding Vow renewalWe wanted an officiant that got us, and Robyn did just that. She treated us like family.
A wedding ceremony, written for who you actually are
A couple renewing their vows, hands joined, faces turned toward each other Vow renewals.
Whether you're five years in, twenty-five in, or coming out of a hard year, I'll write a ceremony for the marriage you have now.
Act 02 What it feels like
Alicia & Terrence · Backyard, Queens
What a renewal script looks like
This is what it sounds like when a couple stands up again after sixteen years with their kids in the front row.
[to the room]
Most of you were at the first wedding sixteen years ago, and a few of you have been telling me stories from it all afternoon. Denise and Marcus wanted to gather you again, this time with two more chairs in the front row than they started with.
[to Denise]
Denise, when we sat down last month I asked about the hardest year, and you did not need any time to think. It was the year Marcus's shop closed, when you were picking up double shifts at the hospital and the two of you were passing each other in the hallway at six in the morning. You told me what got you through was that he never once stopped leaving your coffee on the counter before he left.
[to Marcus]
And Marcus, you told me that year taught you to say the hard thing early instead of polishing it up first, because Denise can smell a rehearsed speech from the driveway. You also said the marriage you have now was built in that stretch, and you would not trade it for the easier one you thought you were signing up for.
[to both]
You are different people than the two who stood up sixteen years ago, and I mean that as a compliment. That couple was mostly guessing, and the couple in front of me has a mortgage, two kids, and sixteen years of proof.
[their daughter]
Before the vows, Denise and Marcus's daughter has a letter she wrote for today. Nobody edited it, which her parents will discover at the same time you do.
[the renewal]
Denise, knowing everything you know now, the closed shop, the double shifts, and the way this man loads a dishwasher, do you choose Marcus again, for whatever the next sixteen years hold?
[Denise]
I do.
[to Marcus]
Marcus, knowing everything you know now, do you choose Denise again, and will you keep leaving that coffee on the counter every morning you are able?
[Marcus]
I do.
[the rings]
Their son has had the original rings in his jacket pocket since breakfast, and he has checked on them about once a block on the drive over. These are the same rings from the first wedding, going back onto the same hands that have signed school forms and painted two apartments and held on through all of it since.
[to the room]
In a minute the kids will walk their parents back down the aisle, which was their idea, and then I am told the grill is already going, so I will keep this next part short.
[pronounced]
Sixteen years ago someone else got to pronounce these two married, and my job today is easier, because they already are. All that is left for me to say is that Denise and Marcus looked at everything those years held and decided they would sign up for all of it again, and I think that deserves a louder cheer than the first wedding got. Marcus, you may kiss your wife one more time.
Act 03 Architecture
What is included
What you get when you book me for a vow renewal.
One long conversation about the years since your wedding, a ceremony written from what you tell me, and real parts for your kids if you want them included.
- Chapter 01
A long conversation about the years between.
We skip how you met, because the first wedding already covered that story. I ask about the hardest year, what held you together through it, and what has changed in how the two of you love each other. Couples tell me things in that hour they have not said out loud in years, and the best lines in the script come straight from those answers.
- Chapter 02
A script about the marriage you actually have.
The first ceremony was written about two people making promises on faith. This one gets written about everything that happened after, the moves and the jobs and the kids and the seasons you would rather forget, told with enough warmth that your guests laugh before they cry. You read every word ahead of time, and we change anything that does not sound like your life.
- Chapter 03
Vow help for people who know what they are promising.
Renewal vows are harder than wedding vows, because this time you know exactly what you are signing up for. I give each of you prompts that pull out the specifics, read drafts if you want a second opinion, and help you cut anything that sounds like a greeting card, so what is left is specific to your marriage.
- Chapter 04
Real parts for your kids, if you want them in it.
Kids can read a letter they wrote themselves, present the rings, answer a question from me, or walk the two of you back down the aisle at the end. I write those moments so your kids get to be themselves instead of performing, and I always have a quiet backup plan for the one who changes their mind an hour before we start.
- Chapter 05
A ceremony paced for the people who know you best.
A renewal crowd is smaller and closer than a wedding crowd, and most of the people in it have watched your marriage up close for years. I write and pace the ceremony for exactly that room, with more inside references, longer pauses, and jokes that only work because everyone there remembers the year in question. The whole thing runs twelve to twenty minutes.
- Chapter 06
Honest help choosing where to hold it.
Couples often assume a renewal needs a proper venue, and it usually does not. I have officiated them over a backyard grill, in the back room of a favorite restaurant, and once or twice on the original aisle from the first wedding. Tell me what you are picturing and I will give you an honest read on whether it can hold the ceremony you want.
Act 03 Investment
From $1,200. Custom quotes after our first conversation.
Act 04 The places
The placesWhere I officiate renewals in and around New York.
Most of my renewals happen in backyards, in restaurants that have hosted years of the couple's anniversaries, at Hudson Valley spots families go back to every summer, or on rooftops with the people who know the marriage best. Once in a while a couple books the original aisle from the first wedding, and I will admit those ones get me.
Act 05 The voices
A handful of voices.
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Stephanie + Justin Chateau La Mer Wedding ceremonyWe felt like we were talking to a friend, and she made our ceremony one to remember.
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Patricia + Allen New York Public Library, Stephen A Schwarzman Building ElopementWe felt like we knew her for years. If you're thinking about Robyn, just do it.
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Millie + Rick THC The Hops Company, CT Wedding ceremonyRobyn, working with you has been a wonderful experience for us!!! . We truly value the time you took to get to know us, to personally select words and passages that you knew would be meaningful for our ceremony. You really made our day special by making it special and as equally important to you as well. We truly appreciate the caring and love that went into your work! ♥️ THANK YOU!!
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Hygdrea + Alex East Hampton, CT Wedding ceremonyRobyn was a great officiant! She arrived early and was there to smooth over a lot of the obstacles I had on my wedding day! The ceremony was short and beautiful and I enjoyed every moment of it! She was amazing! Couldn’t have asked for a better person to help my husband and I start our new lives together!
Act 06 Questions
Common renewal questionsThe four questions renewing couples ask me first.
- Does a vow renewal need a license? Is it legally binding?
You don't need one, because a vow renewal has no legal weight at all. You are already married, so there is no paperwork, no clerk, and no registered officiant requirement. That freedom is my favorite thing about writing renewals, because nothing in the script has to be there for legal reasons, so every minute of the ceremony can go to the two of you.
- Can our kids be part of the ceremony?
Yes, and the moments they carry are usually the ones guests bring up afterward. Kids have read letters they wrote themselves, presented the rings, and walked their parents back down the aisle at the end. I write their parts around who they actually are, so the shy ones get something small and the hams get a microphone.
- How long does a renewal ceremony run?
Twelve to twenty minutes is the range I write to. That gives us room for real history, vows from each of you, a part for the kids if they are in it, and a pronouncement, without keeping anyone from the food too long. Where yours falls in that range depends on how many pieces you want in it.
- Where do couples usually hold these?
The honest answer is somewhere the marriage already has history. Backyards come first by a wide margin, and after that it is usually a restaurant the family keeps coming back to or a favorite spot upstate. Every so often a couple books the original aisle from the first wedding, and I recommend it if the place still exists and still feels like yours.
From the journal
Planning a renewal? Start here.
Act 07 The invitation
Tell me about your day.
I will write back the same week.
Available 2026 + 2027 · NYC and destination · Bookings limited