Monty and Melissa wedding vows renewal Rondel Village

Say “I do” Yet Again: Renewing Wedding Vows

For married couples, there are many reasons to renew their marriage vows. Indeed, they are as varied and unique as the couples themselves. Perhaps the first ceremony was a hasty civil marriage, or maybe the marriage is becoming weary, lackluster and is needing some romance — or maybe the couple just wants to rejoice in their continuing love.

In any case, renewing marriage vows is a hot trend these days, and many choose to echo the beauty of their marriage by celebrating in beautiful surroundings. That’s where Rondel Village comes in. Monty and Melissa recently renewed their marriage vows at Rondel Village and had this to say: “Rondel is our place, we’ve stayed there many, many times. So when it came time to plan our 25th wedding anniversary celebration on the beach there was no question of where it was going to be.” Their spectacular celebration, surrounded by good friends, and warmed by the Jamaican sun and the calming sound of the waves, was truly worthy of honoring this milestone in their lives.
seating for wedding vows renewal

 

Celebrate Your Silver or Gold Anniversary in Style

A silver or gold anniversary are certainly reasons to commemorate the commitment, perseverance and love that got you to that milestone. Nearly one third of all adults in the United States don’t even opt for marriage, and of those that do say “I do”, about 40% will end in divorce . If you make it through the first 8 years of marriage, you’ve made it over the hump and your marriage, statistically, will go the distance. That is absolutely a reason to give yourself a pat on the back and celebrate!

Reasons to Renew Wedding Vows

Most marriages have their share of ups and downs if the couple has been together for any length of time. If the marriage has been mostly “up”, why not shout it to the world? Go ahead and share your happiness with friends and family, sometimes family that wasn’t even born the first time around. If, on the other hand, the marriage has suffered more “downs”, or circumstances have been difficult, re-affirming commitment to each other is a great approach. Renewal of vows can shore up a marriage, providing a clean canvas and allowing the couple to acknowledge what is really important in their lives.

Of course, there’s no better place to renew your marriage vows than at our beautiful beach-side resort, Rondel Village. Read what one couple had to say about their vows renewal experience with us.
renewing wedding vows in Jamaica

Have the Celebration You Wanted the First Time Around

Sometimes renewing marriage vows is more about correcting a deficiency in the past. First time marriage celebrations can end up seeming more for others than for the happy couple. The romantic, starry-eyed intentions of the couple in love need to navigate the quagmire of parental, financial or social pressures and, quite often, get at least partially sidetracked. A renewal of vows offers a chance to rectify the earlier shortcomings, whatever they were. After a number of years together, couples have grown into being a couple, are more aware of what type of celebration would suit them best, and often have more money to do it right this time around.

Hassle-Free Planning

We’ve seen people renew their marriage vows for all sorts of reasons at Rondel Village. But in any case, nobody wants it to be a hassle. Rondel Village facilitates the planning process with dedicated pages on our website outlining the steps and documents required. Even so, it is wise to start early. We fill up quickly. Ceremonies must be booked at least 60 days before the requested date. We have various wedding packages, covering different venues, reception arrangements and flowers. You will work with our wedding coordinator to choose the arrangements that suit you best.

Monty and Melissa started planning a full year before:

We started the planning process during our trip last February. We made basic plans then and then did everything else by email. We would have 4 other couples with us, including my brothers and their wives and two of my good friends and their wives.

While it is not necessary to start as early as Monty and Melissa, we do recommend allowing plenty of time. They continue:

Of course, staying at Rondel Village is a pleasure in and of itself, even without a renewal of marriage vows. But for this special occasion, understandably, everything needs to be perfect. You can count on the Rondel Village staff to provide the excellent, personalized service that will make the experience memorable in a good way for a long, long time.

The vow renewal ceremony on the beach could not have gone better, the staff at the hotel did a great job. It really turned out better than we could have ever hoped and for the money that we paid it was really a bargain.

reasons to renew wedding vows

Renew your vows with us

If you’d like more information about renewing your vows here in Jamaica with us, reach out any time.

Ackee and Saltfish Recipe

Ackee and Saltfish Recipe & History

Ackee and Saltfish is Jamaica’s national dish, as we’ve written about in the past on our blog. We proudly serve it in our restaurant to rave reviews from our guests, many of whom have never tasted anything like it before. In fact, so many of our guests have asked for our delicious Ackee and Saltfish recipe that we decided to share it here along with a bit of its history. We are thrilled to give you the opportunity to bring a taste of Jamaica right into your home!

The History of Ackee and Saltfish in Jamaica

open ackee fruit with arilliNeither ackee nor salt cod is native to Jamaica, but they are both intimately entwined with Jamaican history. It’s the marriage of these two foods that makes them so uniquely Jamaican and so emblematic of the taste of Jamaica. Both ackee and salt cod arrived in Jamaica in the 18th century and both have connections to the slave trade.

African Roots

Ackee came from Ghana, most likely on a slave ship in the mid 1700s. The name, ackee, is similar to it’s original name in the Ghanaian Twi language: ankye. The ackee evergreen tree thrives here, growing as tall as 50 ft (15.24m) and bearing clusters of fruit that resemble large red peppers. When ripe, the fruit splits open to reveal 3 or 4 sections of cream-colored arilli sitting on top of a bed of large, shiny black seeds. The arilli look somewhat like a brain, hence one of the common names of the fruit: the Vegetable Brain. This is the edible portion. Care must be taken to consume only the arilli of the fully ripe fruit as the unripe fruit is poisonous. Canned ackee is also available.

Saltfish (or salt fish, depending where you’re from) arrived in Jamaica about the same time as ackee, also through the slave trade, as a cheap source of protein that could survive the trip across the Atlantic. 

This method of fish preservation is extremely practical in Jamaica’s hot, humid climate and transformed the local diet.

Ackee and Saltfish is usually served for breakfast. Soaked saltfish and ackee arilli are sautéed together with vegetables and seasonings and served alongside boiled green bananas, yam and  jonnycakes (flour, a little baking powder & salt & water).   This is mixed together, twirled and fried.

Ackee turns a bright yellow when it is done and resembles (but doesn’t taste like) scrambled eggs. Without further delay, here’s our recipe.

Rondel Village’s Ackee & Saltfish Recipe

  • Cut up onions, scallion, sweet pepper & hot pepper, saute in a frying pan
  • Rinse saltfish with hot water to remove excess salt
  • Blanch fresh ackees after removing the seeds
  • Add saltfish & ackee to onions, etc. in frying pan & stir fry lightly
  • Remove when ackee is soft but not mushy
  • Serve with green banana or yam, plantain & Johnny cakes

Enjoy! We are getting hungry just writing about it!

How did our Ackee and Saltfish Recipe Taste?

After you try our recipe at home, let us know what you think! Leave comments below or review our recipe (as well as your experience at our resort) on our Facebook page.