Each year your love has grown stronger, whether it’s because of the battles you have been through or the amount years that have revealed your feelings, a vow renewal can be a great way to showcase your love. Wedding vow renewals have become popular and the Great Smoky Mountains is a great place to host your event.

Vow renewals are there to showcase important anniversaries, allow your family and friends to experience your wedding if you eloped, or to have the wedding you weren’t able to have the first time around. Whatever your reason, a vow renewal can be all you want it to be. Since they are not legally binding ceremonies, you can have your best friend officiate the ceremony and a party in the backyard. Or pick a chapel and throw the event you weren’t able to have.

If you want the big formal wedding, there are a few key differences when it is for vow renewal. The extra parties associated with getting married (bridal showers, bachelorette parties…) no longer apply. The event is to show your love for your husband or wife, not for people to lavish you. So that means skip the registry because the presence of your guests is their present. Instead pick a location that means something to you, like a chapel or cabin with a beautiful background. During the ceremony the exchange of vows is the main event. Either recite the same words or make new ones, then seal the deal with new rings or your old rings engraved on the inside. The rings will remind you for years to come that you have made your vows again.

Now it is time to party your night away. This is the stress free event you intended to have the first time. Have a caterer or plan a barbeque, either way, this night is for you to spend with friends and family. Don’t worry about the decorations that run down along the isle or which person is supposed to say which toast. Enjoy your night just like you have enjoyed your marriage.

You can buy the personalized wedding anniversary gift pictured above here.

With the large amount of responses to our newsletter question, Where do you stay when you come to Pigeon Forge and why?, we decided to share some of them here! But don't forget to check the newsletter coming out this week for even more responses. Don't get the newsletter? Sign up here!

We stay in Cabins..Because to us they are cleaner.Most hotels we have stayed out the outcome was not good...They are a few new ones (hotels) in Pigeon  Forge we haven't tried yet and are on our list to try..But for us...we just like Cabins better.. Just to get away from the noise and to have peace and quiet. And the views are breath taking... - Leslie

We like to alternate our stays between Club Chalet and Mountain Loft when we are in the Smokies. We like the fact that the Club Chalet units are scattered all over the mountainside.  Some of their units are rustic and some are modern, several with grand mountain views.  Most of their units have wood-burning fireplaces which we really enjoy in fall and winter. We like staying in the modern units of Mountain Loft, some of which have grand mountain views.  We enjoy being close to everything especially being next door to a grocery store an being across the street from our favorite restaurant, The Greenbrier. Both places offer great service and the units are clean and well appointed. -Carolyn H.

I've always stayed at the Valley Forge Inn...it's family run, and the rooms are clean and reasonable...they have a great continental breakfast every morning and the heated indoor pool and hot tub is wonderful...really love that Inn! -Johnny

We stay at Inn at Christmas Place if they have a vacancy. I have never had such personalized service. Great breakfast, indoor pool & hot tub, convenient to get around. If no vacancy, we like the Clarion almost across the street at Walden's Landing. They also have an indoor pool & hot tub & their breakfast is pretty good too. Clarion also has a snack in the evenings too. Clarion has massage chairs that I enjoy using. -Janet

We come to Pigeon Forge twice a year for the past nine years and always stay in Hidden Springs high up on the mountain in a nice spaceous cabin with our two Shih Tzus.  It is has a fantastic view and gorgeous sunsets and has most of the amenities of home there. Pigeon Forge is a clean, beautiful, interesting town. -Nuelda, Russ, Tyson and Shasta

My family stays at the beautiful Mountain View Condominiums. They are in an excellent location...close to everything. The grounds and units are well maintained. The views are great and everything is clean and fresh just like the mountain air outside your doors... -Ed

We stay at MT. Breeze Hotel and have been staying there for about 5 yeards now. We tell family and friends we just love staying there. The girls in the office are super nice and they make you feel like family...And the granddaughter just loves that they have POPCORN EVERYNIGHT. We are a Military family (retired) and they thank us every time we check in...they do Military discount too. We will be seeing them in about 4 months. - Peggy

Up in the mountains there’s nothing more beautiful at night than the sky. On a clear night the stars sparkle since there are no city lights to interfere! Take a night to sit out on the porch of the cabin and gaze at the wonder above you. This year, there are key times to look up. Whether it is a great view of the Milky Way or meteors, the Smoky Mountains offer a prime location to stargaze. Look at the list of events to plan your perfect trip.

February: Mercury will be the sight to see. Snuggle up with your Valentine and find the planet soon after sunset. February 16^th will be the brightest day, though it will be quite bright before.

May: Once away from city lights, you will be able to see the Milky Way’s band of stars just after midnight. See the scattering of stars brightly lit for the whole month.

June 23: The biggest Full Moon of 2013. The moon becomes full at 7:32am EDT. Just 32 minutes earlier it will arrive at its closest point to the Earth in 2013 at a distance of 221,824 mile, making it a “Supermoon.”

August 11-12: The Perseid Meteor Shower comes again. This shower has a high rating as one of the best annual displays. This reliable shower has the possibility for a single observer to see up to 90 meteors each hour. The best time to see the shower will be later evening, after the moon has set a little leaving the sky darker.

October 18: The Penumbral Eclipse of the Moon. North America will be able to see a slight darkening of the Hunters’ Moon during the early evening hours, though the best place to see the eclipse would be somewhere over the Mediterranean.

Mid-November through December: Comet ISON. Calculations indicate the comet will be closest to the sun on November 28^th, Thanksgiving Day! This “sungrazer” will travel toward Earth, passing within 40 million miles. The best time to see this comet is both the morning and evening sky.

December 13 to 14: The Geminid Meteor Shower. As one of the top meteor showers, this is one not to miss! It surpasses the brilliance and reliability of Perseids in August. The best time to see the meteors will be around 4:30 am. You will get the chance to see as many as 2 meteor sightings per minute!