Real couples share their remarriage experiences.

I was separated from my first husband, Jack, when our son was only 10 months old. It took a long time for us to come to an agreement that would result in a divorce. So, David and I spent five years together before I was free to marry him. After all that time, we just wanted a simple wedding with our families around us. We got married in church and my son stood with David as I walked up the aisle. I was raised as an Episcopalian and David was raised as a Catholic. Since we were both divorced, it was easier to be married in the Episcopal Church, and David had no problem with that. I wore white silk, but not a wedding dress. He wore a navy blue suit. We exchanged rings. (My first husband refused to wear one. I guest that should have been a sign that he wasn't all that committed!)

Afterward, we had a reception at home. My sister made a beautiful cake (from a Martha Stewart recipe!) and decorated it with pink tree peonies. I loved the intimacy of just family as our guests. It was simple and seemed very appropriate to us to do it that way surrounded by the people closest to us. We felt it was all about our commitment to each other, not about having a huge party. Weddings can be so expensive, we decided this was just right for us, and we put the money that we would have spent on an expensive wedding into our new house.

Janet B. - Fairfield , CT

My husband Steve and I had been back from our honeymoon less than a week when, one evening, his ex-wife Lisa called him. This was completely unexpected since he'd been divorced for around six years and they had not been in contact for virtually this whole time. The ostensible reason for her calling was to tell Steve that her mother was ill. (Evidently, Steve and his former mother-in-law had been very fond of each other.) The illness was not life threatening, or even very serious, so I was suspicious that there was some ulterior motive. After the shock of her calling wore off, I began to wonder if there would be future calls, and if Lisa was going to reappear as presence in our lives. I fretted about this for a couple of days. After developing a chronic stomach ache, I decided I should discuss it with Steve.

Sharing my anxiety brought almost instant relief! He thought I had over-reacted, but he was sympathetic to my feelings. Steve agreed that if Lisa should ever call again, he would always let me know, and what they talked about. He assured me he had no intention of initiating calls to her. As it turned out, there were no future calls from Lisa-then or in the 19 years since. But knowing that he would be upfront and honest with me in case she did call made all the difference in the world and helped get our marriage off to a good start.

Karen R. - Santa Monica , CA

When Bob and I first met, I literally walked the gang plank into his life. He'd just built a beautiful house, but the front porch wasn't finished and I had to maneuver a narrow plank over two cement blocks to the front door. The romance blossomed when he took me sailing in the Caribbean for a week on a beautiful yacht. He surprised me six months later with an early morning proposal and little blue box. The ring was quite pretty, but when I asked him which jeweler he'd used because I needed to get it sized, I was horrified at his reply. "I bought it on eBay," he admitted. I immediately ran to the mirror to see if it would scratch glass.

After extracting a promise he would never buy anything worth $1,000 online again, we moved forward with wedding plans.

Both of us led full independent lives, and thinking about getting married the second time around caused logistical and emotional complications. There was his teenage daughter, my aging Bichon Frise, his house, my house. We didn't know if we needed a good therapist or real estate agent.

Having had the pomp and circumstance the first time, we had the freedom to plan just what we wanted for a wedding. Given our love's tropical birthplace, a destination wedding seemed appropriate. We decided on quaint little beach club in St. Martin and the hotel and restaurant staff fixed up our perfect full moon ceremony and celebratory beach barbecue. Not even having to feign virginal propriety, I got to wear a totally sexy off white dress, very bare, and ran barefoot with a rhinestone toe ring. My fiancé was thrilled to skip the "monkey suit" and wore linen trousers and a button down shirt. Our thirty guests loved the idea (not one person turned down our invitation) and limboed their way into the night. All I can say is if you haven't had a mango wedding cake, you haven't lived.)

Ultimately instead of gifts, we registered for a new boat, figuring maybe we'd sell both houses and just live on the sea.

Cindy G. Pittsburgh , PA

Share your stories! We'd love to hear how you celebrated the second time around. Email your story to us!

You've heard the stories, and as you can see, there are many issues couples face when getting remarried and combining families. If you're blending families together, we have some advice on how to get started on the right foot.

Now that you've seen what other people have done, start planning your own second wedding and honeymoon.

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