Photo: Nicole Radja; Photo Illustration: Stephanie Gladney

So maybe your first marriage left you heartbroken, dirt poor and feeling as if all the joy had been sucked out of the universe. The good news is now you’re marrying someone who’s sweeter, sexier and far more suited for forever than the first one was. Here are ways to make your second wedding memorable, without repeating the past.

Throw a big bash or keep it simple?
When it comes to walking down the aisle for the second time, either a lavish wedding or a simple affair is the way to go, so long as “Wedding: the Sequel” is a distinctly different experience than the original. “There aren’t a lot of taboos when it comes to second marriages, but I think it’s tasteful to make the ceremony different than your first one,” says Meghann VanderBaan, wedding planner and owner of Blush and Bashful Events (2043 W Wabansia Ave, 773-687-8834). “I always advise couples to get creative, don’t feel like you have to stick to a traditional wedding plan, and have fun with the process.”

Erin Shea, a second time bride-to-be who lives in Roscoe Village, says the radically different ceremony she chose for her second nuptials is a reflection of how her new relationship differs from the first marriage and also how her personality has changed.

“My first wedding was a really elaborate, traditional wedding. We had 200 people, a big sit-down dinner reception, I rented a trolley for the whole wedding party, I had a big diamond, honeymoon in Ireland, the whole kit and caboodle,” she recalls. “When Scott and I decided to get married... we knew that we wanted nothing resembling our first weddings. We are two very different people than we were then.”

Skipping as much hoopla as possible, Shea and her future groom plan to elope to a small dairy farm in Vermont on October 25. Forgoing an engagement ring, formal reception and gown—the bride plans to wear an ivory cocktail dress from Nordstrom—Shea says the event’s simplicity shows her increased attention to the relationship.

“For anyone getting remarried, you tend to focus a lot on the marriage aspect, not the wedding aspect,” she notes. “Besides, I think I would have stabbed myself in the uterus if I had to think about things like flower arrangements and invitations again.”

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