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A Chicago-area couple who are abstinence educators for the Confederation of Spanish American Families and the LYDIA Home Association practiced what they preached: the couple vowed not to kiss each other until they exchanged wedding vows. Melody LaLuz and Claudaniel Fabien, who met while on their way to Uganda in 2006, waited until June of 2007 to begin dating, to allow Melody to complete a seven-year vow of celibacy.

Fabien, who lived in Tucson, Arizona became friends with LaLuz by talking on the phone and visiting her. He landed a job in Chicago last November and proposed to LaLuz in Miami, Florida in July. The couple works to encourage Hispanic youths enrolled in the Chicago Public Schools to focus on their futures by concentrating on their education and job prospects before becoming romantically involved with others.

LaLuz described the couple’s first kiss as “magical” and said “When you value a kiss, it becomes something of worth.” The couple shared a honeymoon in the Bahamas and will make their home in Chicago.

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A ranch hand in Kerrville, Texas in the US discovered a wedding ring at the site of a 1972 helicopter crash and turned his find over to the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office. After some investigation, Sheriff Rusty Hierholzer found that the ring had once been worn by Staff Sergeant Bruce Dunn, who was one of two US Army Reservists killed in a helicopter crash while on a flight from Corpus Christi, Texas to El Paso, Texas.

Hierholzer was able to locate Linda Sue Sasser, who had been Dunn’s wife at the time of the accident. After she identified the ring by the inscription inside the band, Hierholzer returned it to her at her present residence in the state of Utah. Sasser thanked Hierholzer for providing her and her family with closure for an event that she described as “horrific.”

Dunn and another reservist, Jerome Green, were killed in the crash, which happened on March 1, 1972. The couple had no children and Sasser remarried about five years after the accident. Hierholzer was able to locate Dunn with the help of a few volunteers who scoured Internet ancestry sites for information about Dunn. Sasser had added her first husband’s information to an online family tree just two months before the ring was discovered. In addition to the ring, Hierholzer also forwarded two coins and parts of a watch that were found with the ring at the crash site.

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Kara Patterson, 20, a gymnastics coach attended a tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio, never dreaming that the day would end with her being married in front of about 1,000 spectators. Patterson, who had been engaged to Army Staff Sargeant Ray Hignite, was the surprise guest at her own wedding on December 20, before the crowd at the Duke Energy Convention Center.

Hignite recently learned that he was being shipped out to Afghanistan on January 1 and wanted to surprise his fiancée with a wedding. He worked with his and her family to pull together the last-minute affair, complete with a horse-drawn carriage. The ceremony lasted about ten minutes, and the crowd cheered throughout. Patterson’s father, Brett, who was in on the surprise, said that his daughter had always wanted a big wedding.

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The City of Ottawa has seen a steady increase in the number of couples that are opting for civil weddings. In the past, couples in the Canadian capital could marry before a justice of the peace. The increased workload of the court brought a halt to that practice, but in 2004, the City of Ottawa authorised the city’s clerks to perform civil wedding ceremonies.

Since that time, the number of civil weddings has grown and the City now performs nearly 1,000 weddings each year. The wedding facilities are very small and accommodate only 10 people, including the participants and the clerk.

Not wanting to compete with ministers in Ottawa, the city clerks’ offices don’t allow customisation of the wedding ceremony. The cost of a civil ceremony is CDN$145 if the ceremony is performed during business hours, and CDN$258 if the couple wants to exchange vows after hours or on Saturdays. Rush weddings will run CDN$325 with a $145 marriage license fee tacked on.

Due to the volume of wedding requests, and complaints from couples who want more space for families and friends, the Ottawa City Clerk, Pierre Pagé says he will look carefully at City Hall to see if a space that can accommodate 30 people can be found.

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A report by a diamond industry analyst says that buyers can expect to pay as much as 10 percent more for diamonds this year. Demand for half-carat diamonds is unusually strong, and is outpacing the current supply. The wholesale price of a half-carat diamond will be about USD$2,500, and buyers can expect to pay more for the setting.

Worldwide demand for polished diamonds is expected to double by 2016, and is expected to outstrip mining production substantially. Mining production is expected to grow to about 20 million carats annually, or about 50% more than current production levels.

In addition to the cost of diamonds, consumers can also expect to pay higher prices for gold and other precious metals. Like diamonds, the supply of gold has not been keeping pace with demand. Investors are also buying gold as a hedge against inflation. Platinum, another metal growing in popularity for jewellery, is currently selling high and is expected to maintain its value into 2009.

None of this bodes well for the couples who are seeking wedding jewellery in 2008 and 2009.

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A couple who married last summer is suing a Brooklyn New York hotel over an outdoor wedding disaster Svetlana and Yuriy Orishchenko say could have been prevented. As the bride made her way down the aisle in front of all her guests, the hotel’s lawn sprinklers deployed, sending water sprays all over the wedding guests.

One group of guests on the right side of the set up were drenched when the sprinklers turned on unexpectedly. The guests quickly moved over to the left side of the wedding area, when another set of sprinklers turned on and everyone was hosed down. The hotel staff didn’t get the sprinklers turned off for 15 to 20 minutes.

The hotel owners says he tried to make up for the disaster, sending employees out with towels for the guests, and even offering the couple $5,000. The Orischenkos are suing for $300,000. The wedding party itself wasn’t doused and the wedding did go on after the wedding site was mopped up. No one is sure why the sprinklers went off when they did, but the hotel owner says he thinks that control box for the system was struck by lightning a few days before the wet wedding.

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Now that the Muslim holy month of Ramadan has concluded, shops are abuzz as Pakistan’s wedding season has begun. Shops are reporting brisk business for wedding clothing and jewelry, with white gold and diamonds being among the favorite jewellery choices. Replica jewellery is also in high demand due to the high cost of gold and diamonds.

Invitation printers are also working around the clock to meet the demand for wedding invitations. While most invitations are being printed on paper and cardstock, some couples are opting for exotic invitations on velvet or leather. The wedding business is expected to stay brisk until Eid Al Adha, which falls on 8 December in 2008.

Regardless of your religious affiliation, Kardella has a wide selection of invitations to choose from. Our designs include traditional, modern and everything in between. You can also find custom invitations, unusual, eye-catching colours and exceptional paper stocks, all at excellent prices.

Visit our online catalogue today. Samples are available at the listed per-unit cost and postage is on us when mailed to an Australian address. Visit us today and see why so many brides prefer to use Kardella for their wedding stationery needs.

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The Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Clearwater, Florida is giving away a free wedding for up to 100 guests on Valentine’s Day, which falls on a Saturday this year. The aquarium will provide an ordained minister to perform the ceremony, and aquarium officials say that resident dolphins Winter and Nicholas will participate in the ceremony.

The package includes the use of the facility, sparkling wine for all of the guests, a wedding dress and tuxedo, wedding cake, cookies, photography flowers and a one-night stay in a local hotel. Couples are responsible for their own travel to and from the facility. The contest, open only to US residents, drew 77 entries .Entering couples were asked to submit a photograph of themselves and an essay explaining why they should receive the prize package.

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium operates a marine animal rescue and rehabilitation center, as well as educational programs for visitors both in-person and via the Internet. The Aquarium will announce the winning couple on 20 January.

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The Jewelers of America Association reports that sales of diamond engagement and wedding rings are sluggish at large retailers, while small jewellers are seeing strong sales. Overall, spending on engagement rings in the US is expected to top $6 billion in 2008 and spending on wedding bands will add another $2 billion.

The differential can be attributed to the personalised service that customers receive at smaller boutiques. In addition, smaller boutiques are more likely to employ jewellers who fashion the rings on the premises, giving the buyer greater control over the quality of the gems used in the rings, the design and the price. Larger retailers, on the other hand, are more likely to sell pre-fabricated rings that don’t provide the customer with many options to balance the size and quality of the stone with the buyer’s budget.

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Erica Schultz, a Bay City, Michigan woman, will marry on 18 October with her best friend and matron of honour at her side. Angelene Schultz, 92, will act as the bride-elect’s official witness for the ceremony, as Erica marries her long-time fiancé, Mark James.

The couple stopped by Gran’s house on the way home from their first date in 2001. According to the bride, Angelene bought a house down the street from one of her sons when her own husband died, and has been active in her five children’s and fifteen grandchildren’s lives ever since. Erica, 26, visits Angelene every day to get her mail and monitor Angelene’s prescription medication.

In addition to playing an important role in her grandchildren’s lives, Angelene has also been active in the wedding planning process. She helped Erica choose her wedding gown and picked out a red dress for herself. Angelene says that being in the wedding party is a big honour and she’s delighted to be part of Erica’s big day.

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Police in Hanover Germany put an end to the wedding plans of two childhood friends, mainly because the prospective bride and groom were just 5 and 6 years old. On New Years Eve, as their parents celebrated the holiday, the pair watched a documentary about Africa on television. As the programme aired, the two hatched a plot to marry in Africa.

The next morning, as their parents slept in, the two children packed their bags and headed off to the airport, along with the bride-to-be’s seven year-old sister. The group left home at sunrise and caught an early morning tram to Hanover’s central station. A guard at the station noted the group – sans adult supervision – and notified the police.

Two officers arrived and convinced the travelers that they would not be able to get to Africa because they had no money for plane tickets. Instead, the group accompanied the officers back to police headquarters and toured that facility while they waited for their parents to pick them up.

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Actor Woody Harrelson, known for his role as Woody Boyd in the US television programme Cheers, and films including White Men Can’t Jump, Money Train, Natural Born Killers, The People vs. Larry Flynt, Wag the Dog, The Thin Red Line, and No Country For Old Men, wed Laura Louie, his girlfriend of twenty years, in Hawaii over the Christmas holiday.

The couple wed in a ceremony in Hawaii on 28 December, attended by the couple’s family and friends. Reportedly, Owen Wilson, Sean Penn, Willie Nelson and Alanis Morissette attended the traditional Hawaiian wedding near the couple’s home in Kipahulu, on the island of Maui.

Morissette is said to have performed at the wedding and also served as the maid of honour. The bride wore a white dress for the occasion. The groom wore a Hawaiian print shirt. The couple have three daughters together. This is the second marriage for Mr. Harrelson. He was married briefly to Nancy Simon, daughter of playwright Neil Simon.

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Design students at the International Academy of Design and Technology have created a completely original wedding dress as a gift for retired army Captain Riane Nelson. Nelson and her fiancé married in a quick wedding ceremony on 24 January in Las Vegas, Nevada. The couple met in Iraq, where she was a nurse and her fiancé, still serving, is a combat medic.

The dress design was part of a sketch contest that the students held. Nelson picked out a few sketches she liked, but until the dress fitting, she had never seen the final creation. The students were also challenged because they did not have regular access to Nelson. The dress was built on a mannequin set to Nelson’s approximate measurements. The material for the dress was donated, but would have cost about USD$1,000. In addition, The students put in hundreds of hours on the dress.

Nelson’s fiancé, Alastaire Addie flew in from Iraq on 23 January and the couple will fly back to Germany after the wedding. Addie’s assignment in Iraq does not end for a few more months, and Nelson will work in Germany until the couple can be reunited.

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Love must be in the air because so many celebrity couples are planning their weddings. Nickelodeon actress Jamie Lynn Spears shocked the industry just more than a year ago when the then-16-year-old actress announced that she was expecting a baby. The star of Nickelodeon’s Zoey 101 said at the time that she and the baby’s father, Casey Aldridge, would get married after the baby was born. Now it seems that Spears’ wedding plans are set to take off. Spears is rumoured to have purchased a wedding gown designed by Monique Lhuillier, has ordered invitations and has chosen a three-tiered chocolate wedding cake. Spears left Hollywood following the series finale of Zoey 101 and lives in Liberty, Mississippi with Aldridge and their daughter.

In other celebrity wedding news, Australian actress Isla Fisher, who is engaged to comedic actor Sacha Baron Cohen, says that the couple will not sell pictures of their wedding to magazines. Fisher says the couple will have a small ceremony attended only by family and close friends. She says that no date or location has been set, but that the couple’s celebrity has made the wedding “very difficult to plan.” The couple have a one-year-old daughter.

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The use of a restaurant’s bathroom is typically free, but one California woman’s trip to the restroom set her back nearly USD$6,500. Allison Berry used the restroom at the Black Bear Diner in Tempe, Arizona, her 7-carat diamond ring valued at USD$70,000 fell into the toilet. City workers tried to retrieve the gem from the sewer system, but failed. Ms. Berry was visiting Arizona and was understandably unwilling to part with her ring without a good fight.

In a last-chance effort to retrieve the ring, the city called in Mr. Rooter, a local plumber with a video scope, typically used to assess the insides of piping and underground sewers. Mike Roberts, of Mr. Rooter, arrived on the scene and put the camera to work, scoping out possible locations for the ring.

After eight hours of jackhammering, and the removal of several pipes, the ring was recovered, and after being cleaned, was apparently no worse for the wear. The Berrys paid USD$250 to have the bathroom re-tiled, and paid an additional USD$5,200 for the ring retrieval. For their efforts, the couple gave Roberts and another plumber an extra USD$400 each, and another $200 to a restaurant employee who stayed late into the evening to lock up.

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A New York couple have a taxi driver to thank for the return of their wedding cash, which they accidentally left behind when they exited his cab after their wedding ceremony. The driver found a box in his trunk at the end of his shift and set it aside for a day to see if anyone called or came around to claim it. When no one inquired about the box, he opened it and found that it was stuffed with cash, cards and checques made to the newlyweds.

The driver’s seventeen-year-old daughter convinced the driver to look through the cards to see if he could find an address for the pair. One card held the couple’s full address, so the driver, Haron ur Rashid, took the box to the couple’s home and turned it over to the doorman at their building. The couple, who considered canceling their honeymoon plans because of the missing box, went to Mexico after all, not knowing that their wedding gifts had been found.

The driver’s good deed might have gone unnoticed until the couple’s return, except that a relative of the groom had snapped a picture of the couple as they entered the cab. The cab had a distinctive roof-mounted advertisement, and the relative set out to locate the cab, not knowing that Rashid had already turned the money over to the couple’s doorman.

When the cab was located, the driver happily informed the family that the money was already waiting for the couple upon their return.

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A couple from the UK jetted to the Dominican Republic to marry in front of friends and family, but the happy circumstances went bad almost immediately. The couple, Simone and Samuel Hibbard, booked their dream wedding through First Choice, a UK travel agency.

The agency told the couple that they had to be in the Dominican Republic for five working days prior the wedding, which had been planned for 10 or 11 December. They planned to stay at the five-star Gran Bahai Principe Punta Cana. When they arrived, the resort told them that the wait was unnecessary and that their wedding had been re-booked for 5 December.

The reschedule meant that the couple would have to wed without their guests. The couple took the 5 December date, and later were told that a last-minute cancellation on 11 December meant that the couple could re-take their vows before the guests who had arrived as planned.

During the second wedding, the wedding party members were overtaken by a severe stomach bug that ruined the second reception. The couple also missed out on a wedding breakfast that was supposed to have been part of the package.

The couple contacted an attorney upon their return and found that more than 40 claimants who had a similar wedding experience at the same resort in 2007 are also suing the travel agency. First Choice says that it thoroughly checks out the resorts its uses for wedding events and is confident that future guests will receive high quality wedding preparations and vacations.

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Wisconsin residents Stephanie King and Andrew Gray would like to issue a very special invitation to their wedding to the pilot and co-pilot of US Airways flight 1549, which splash-landed in New York’s icy Hudson River on January 16. The couple, who are in the middle of planning their wedding, were aboard the doomed jet when it took off from La Guardia Airport. Just moments after the airliner took flight, it met a flock of birds which struck the plane, causing both engines to fail simultaneously just 3200 feet above New York City.

The pilots assessed the grim situation and determined that a water landing was their only hope of survival. The captain informed the passengers of the mishap and told them to brace themselves for impact. King and Gray kissed and said “I love you.” Shortly afterward, the pilots made a miraculous soft landing on the river’s surface. King, Gray and 153 other passengers and crew aboard the plane survived the impact amd escaped to the plane’s wings, where they were plucked out of the water by nearby ferries and Coast Guard rescue boats. Shortly after the last passengers were rescued, the plane sank.

The couple said that they would like to invite the pilot and co-pilot to their wedding as a way to thank the heroic pair.

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A British bride says she is lucky to be alive after a horse drawing the carriage she was riding in bolted after being frightened by oncoming traffic. Sophie Clarke and her father were riding in the carriage on the way to St. Leonard’s Church in Bretforton, when the horse was spooked.

The driver and his assistant were both thrown to the ground, leaving Clarke and her father to fend for themselves. The hapless horse carried the pair for another mile and a half, onto a railway track. At that point, Bob Clarke pushed his daughter out of the carriage and then jumped as well. The groom was called to the scene and arrived to find his fiancée being attended to by paramedics.

The bride suffered cuts, bruises and a concussion and was taken to nearby Worcester Hospital for evaluation. She was released later that day. The ceremony was cancelled, but the couple have rescheduled the wedding for a date in January. The second attempt will be a quiet affair, attended only by the couple’s immediate family and close friends.

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A London High Court judge sided with Madonna in the singer’s suit against the Mail on Sunday tabloid, which published stolen photographs of the singer’s wedding to director Guy Ritchie. The tabloid published an 11-page spread of photographs allegedly lifted from the singer’s Beverly Hills, California home by an interior decorator, who was paid about USD$7,500. The spread appeared as Madonna and Ritchie were in the midst of separating.

Madonna had no idea that the photos had been swiped until they appeared in print and claimed that the publication was a gross violation of the singer’s privacy. Prior to the spread, no photos of the singer’s 2000 wedding had been published. The court agreed that the publication of the stolen images constituted an invasion of privacy, and will determine the damage award at a separate hearing in early 2009.

Madonna is seeking USD$7.5 million in damages, but the court has not yet determined the actual amount of the award. The paper is contesting the damage request, saying that the photos are not worth what Madonna is seeking. Meanwhile, Madonna and Ritchie concluded their divorce settlement privately in November.

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NSW Premier Nathan Rees and his new bride Stacey Haines may be just the first of what New York City wants to see more of: couples traveling to the city to get married. Haines’ sister lives in New York City and took part in the ceremony, which Rees and his bride had hoped to keep a private affair. The couple honeymooned in New York City for a few days before returning to Australia, but New York City has high expectations for its budding romance business. The city has just completed an extensive USD$12 million renovation of the Manhattan Marriage Bureau, and hopes to attract couples from all over the world as a way to boost tourism in the city.

Last year, the City of New York issued 66,000 marriage licenses. Considering that the New York metropolitan area is home to more than 8 million people, the city certainly thinks it can do better. Clark County, Nevada, (home to Las Vegas), is the United States’ undisputed heavyweight marriage license champion, having issued nearly 109,000 licenses last year. Couples can obtain a marriage license in New York City by paying a US$35 fee and waiting for 24 hours after filing their application.

The newly remodeled Marriage Bureau features dressing rooms for the bride and groom, an enlarged wedding chapel, and scenic backdrops that couples can use for photographs, In addition, the office will play the music of the couple’s choice during the ceremony. While New York City has not yet built any 24-hour drive through wedding chapels, the Big Apple is hoping to attract love-struck couples – during regular business hours.

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Michael Jacobson is an avowed atheist who wants to officiate at weddings in Las Vegas. There’s a small hitch in Jacobson’s plans – Nevada state law forbids non-religious officiants from performing weddings. Judges and civil officials are exempt from the requirement, but Jacobson’s application to perform weddings was rejected by officials who say that state law requires that licensed officiants have some connection to a religious congregation.

The American Humanist Association and the Center for Inquiry are leading the effort to persuade the state legislature to modify state law requiring a religious connection for applicants who want to perform marriages. If Plan A fails, the organizations plan to sue the state on the grounds that wedding officiants are agents of the state, and the state is prohibited from mandating any type of religious connection.

Jacobson says his name will be on the suit, but suing wouldn’t be his first preference. The state law at issue has been on the books since the 1960′s and was adopted to prevent “freelance ministers” who had no other congregational duties, from performing marriages. Clark County, in which Las Vegas is located, issues more than 100,000 marriage licenses each year. Wedding chapels there operate 24-hours a day in what has become a cutthroat business.

The American Humanist Association and the Center for Inquiry say they hope that Nevada will allow notaries – who can administer oaths and act as official witnesses – to perform wedding duties. Only three other states in the US allow notaries to seal a wedding deal.

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Archduchess Marie-Christine of Austria married Count Rodolphe of Limburg Stirum on December 6 in Mechelen, Belgium. The couple were wed in a civil ceremony prior to a religious ceremony at St. Rumbolds Cathedral. Marie-Christine is the great-granddaughter of Emperor Karl and Empress Zita. Her new husband, Count Rodolphe, is the son of Count Christian and Countess Colienne d’Oultremont.

The bride wore a full length white dress designed by Yves Dooms, and a veil made of heirloom lace accompanied by a Luxembourg family tiara. The groom wore a black and grey tuxedo.The 23-year-old bride was given in marriage by her father, Archduke Carl Christian.

Marie-Christine is descended from the Hapsburg dynasty and Rodolphe traces his royal lineage back to the ninth century. The couple were married in front of royalty from Belgium, Luxembourg, Romania, Yugoslavia, Liechtenstein, and Austria. The couple announced their engagement in June. This is the first marriage for both.

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The signs have been coming for more than a year. Officials in Hawaii, a wedding destination extraordinaire, noted earlier this year that the number of Japanese tourists visiting Hawaii to wed had decreased noticeably in the past year. The wedding industry in the Aloha State has taken another hit, as wedding parties from other places – most noticeably in the US – aren’t hitting the beaches like they did at one time.

Event coordinators are saying that the number of wedding events they’re planning is decreasing, and for the first time in memory, one company says that it is organising more baptisms than weddings in the month of December. Overall, according to Penei Aller, owner of Beach Weddings Hawaii, their wedding business is off by 50 percent over last year.

Part of the downturn in business isn’t directly related to the economy. Two major airlines that served the island state have shut down operations, making it more difficult to get tourists in and out of the area. Air travel to Hawaii is off by more than 15 percent since 2007, and things don’t look to be improving. In addition, the State of Hawaii is now actively enforcing regulations that require couples who want to wed on the beach to obtain a special permit.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources is enforcing a law meant to regulate private parties on public beaches in Hawaii. Before this year, the law had not been applied to weddings, but the state has changed its policies in an effort to protect the shoreline. Permits are required for any event that includes professional service providers of any type, including ministers. In addition, state regulations limit beach weddings to no more than two hours, and no chairs may be brought onto the beach, with exemptions for elderly and disabled guests. Decorations are also strictly limited. Permits cost $0.10 per square foot and have a $20 minimum.

Other wedding-related businesses, like catering, photography and planning services are reporting drops in business of between 20%-50%. The events are growing smaller, too. Several professionals note that brides are often looking for personal services, like hairstyling and manicures, by themselves where two years ago, bridesmaids would have been included.

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Singer Stacy Ann Ferguson – better known as Fergie – of the Black Eyed Peas, will reportedly marry her long-time fiancé and actor Josh Duhamel in early January. Access Hollywood reports that the ceremony will take place on January 10 in Southern California.

The couple have been dating since 2004 and became engaged in December 2007. Fergie will star in the soon-to-be-released adaptation of the musical Nine, along with Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Dame Judi Dench, Sophia Loren, Kate Hudson, Marion Cotillard and Daniel Day Lewis., many of whom have been invited to attend the wedding.

Duhamel, who is best known for his role in the Steven Spielberg film The Transformers Movie, recently completed filming of a romantic comedy titled When In Rome. Prior to his engagement to Ms. Ferguson, Duhamel was engaged to fashion model Kristy Pierce. This will be the first marriage for both.

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Richard Needs, a former builder, married his wife Lilian on Christmas Day, 1934 because that was the only day he could get off from work. The pair married in a church in Newport and were serenaded by guests singing Christmas carols.

Needs first saw his wife in a park in Newport, and after seeing her walk through the park at the same time each day for a week, he finally spoke to her. The couple married and had three children. Needs says that the Christmas Day nuptials weren’t that unusual for the time, but spending 74 years together with his wife is certainly an unusual accomplishment.

Asked about the secret of their long marriage, Needs credits not having too many disagreements with his wife. Daughter Pat agreed. According to her, the Needs’ are the most devoted couple she knows. She says her memories of her parents together were always happy. Her father played in a band and her mother would watch. She also said that her parents spent time dancing together and having fun.

The Needs’ did spend four years apart during World War II, while Mr. Needs served in the army. Surprisingly, the Needs aren’t the UK’s longest-married couple. That honour belongs to Frank and Anita Milford, who celebrated their 80th anniversary in May.

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In honour of Veterans’ Day, a group of military brides-to-be received designer wedding dresses free of charge. The giveaway was sponsored by the Azteca Wedding Plaza and took place on 11 November. A few of the brides-to-be were enlisted themselves, but most of the recipients are engaged to men who are serving in the US military.

The giveaway was part of a national campaign called Brides Across America, which was organised to donate wedding dresses to military couples. At the Azteca Wedding Plaza, the first 41 women to respond received free wedding gowns. The shop owner, Royna Rosell, said that she was inspired to give away the dresses because it was the right thing to do, and because her family has a history of military service.

The dresses being donated ranged in price from $600 to $2,000 and brides could choose any dress they liked. The dresses were donated by the shop, as well as by manufacturers and vendors. The shop made an exception for one bride, who could not be at the store on 11 November to select her dress. She’s stationed in Iraq and will not be home on leave until mid-December. She does not expect to be home again until August 2009 for her wedding.

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Yang Wei, who won two gold and one silver medal in men’s gymnastics at the Beijing Olympics married his long-time fiancée, former Olympic women’s gymnast Yang Yun. In the process, he created a controversy that has yet to die down in China. Wei accepted corporate sponsorships to underwrite the cost of the wedding, which was extremely lavish by local standards.

Reportedly, the bride – who won a bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics – wore a golden wedding dress provided by a Japanese designer that was rumoured to cost AUD$6.7 million. The wedding was sponsored by several different companies and included celebrities and government officials. Wei called the corporate gifts “expressions of love” for the couple from friends and companies.

Wei defended the wedding, saying that he had promised his bride a romantic wedding because she had supported him and encouraged him during his Olympic training. The wedding, which took place on the island resort of Hainan, is just one of several opulent weddings in China that have drawn fire from critics recently.

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A newly married man was surprised by his new wife and members of the wedding party who pitched in to rent the University of California at Los Angeles cheerleading squad and the school’s mascot for an appearance at the couple’s wedding reception. The cheerleaders livened up the wedding reception by performing acrobatic stunts for the wedding party and guests.

The groom and guests, who were unaware of the planned entertainment for the evening, enjoyed about an hour with the cheerleading squad as they performed their sideline stunts and danced with wedding guests. The cheerleading squad rents itself out for $100 per cheerleader for special occasions as a way to help fund their travel and activities. This was the first time the group performed for a wedding.

The group appeared in their UCLA cheer outfits alongside “Joe Bruin,” the school’s mascot, to the delight of the guests who were presumably UCLA fans.

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A couple in the UK exchanged wedding vows atop a specially built platform. After they said their “I do’s” they kissed and plunged nearly 150 feet over the side of the platform. They became the first couple to seal their wedding vows with a bungee jump. The pair were joined (on the ground) by 10 friends and family members who celebrated with the couple at a reception.

The jump cost the pair about £7,000, and are the first of what Marriage In The Sky spokesman David Ghysels hopes will be a steady stream of couples who want to take this particular kind of plunge. The wedding service is an off-shoot of Meeting In the Sky, a Belgian company that hosts corporate meetings and presentations on a suspended platform with airplane-like accommodations.

Using the same style of platform, the couple can be joined by as many as 10 guests. The company hopes to establish wedding sites at marquee wedding spots like the Grand Canyon in the US or the Tower Bridge in London.

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Brent Harris, 24, is indeed a lucky man. He and his fiancée, Sherry Johnson of Springfield, Illinois in the US, were planning a Christmas Eve wedding in Springfield. At 6:00 AM on Tuesday, December 23, Harris called Johnson from Seattle, Washington to tell his fiancée that he had overslept and was in serious danger of missing his Chicago-bound flight. Rebooking a flight at the height of the holiday travel season was going to be tricky, at best.

While Johnson and her father scurried to find alternate flight plans for Harris, he rushed to the airport. With just five minutes to spare, he made his original flight and was on his way to the wedding. Shortly before Harris’ plane was scheduled to land in Chicago, and with his fiancée already en route to meet him at the airport, a massive winter storm hit the area and Harris’ flight was diverted to St. Louis, Missouri, 300 miles away.

Johnson called her father, who was on the way to her wedding by car. Dad turned around and drove to St. Louis to pick up his future son-in-law. The pair traveled together through a snow- and ice storm, arriving in Springfield that evening.

Johnson and Harris married on Christmas Eve morning in a civil ceremony at the Sangamon County Courthouse. The couple, who have been dating for just over a year, wanted to get married sooner rather than later. Harris recently enlisted in the US Army and has spent the last five months in basic training and at his first assignment in Washington State. He is scheduled to deploy overseas in 2009. The couple wanted to spend as much time as possible together before he ships out. Harris is awaiting approval from the US Army for housing that will accommodate his new wife. He will return to Washington – minus his wife – on December 31.

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Jie Hua Zhou, a Chinese citizen, was arrested at her home in California by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, who accuse her of arranging phony marriages for the purpose of speeding citizenship applications. Under US laws, foreign-born individuals may apply for US citizenship if they marry a US citizen.

ICE officials say that Zhou charged between $20,000 and $50,000 to pair citizens and non-citizens in fake marriages. According to officials, Zhou tried to cover the operation by having the “married” couples open joint bank accounts, file joint tax returns, and pose for wedding photos. Couples who followed Zhou’s advice could also be facing charges of filing false tax returns.

Zhou will go before a judge on December 29 for arraignment on the charges, and will remain in jail until that time.

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Dannii Minogue is denying that she and her man, Kris Smith, a former rugby league player, have split. In fact, Minogue is planning to take Smith home to Australia over the holidays to introduce him to the family, including sister Kylie. She has not confirmed any wedding details.

Minogue, a judge on the show The X Factor, rubbished rumours that the two had split. Minogue has been working in the UK, but began her career as a singer, songwriter and actress in Australia. Minogue has been married once before to Australian actor Julian McMahon. She was also engaged to Canadian Formula One driver Jacques Villeneuve and musician Craig Logan. Minogue and Smith have been dating since August.

English actor Orlando Bloom, meanwhile, has been denying rumours that he and his gal pal and Australian model Miranda Kerr are engaged. Kerr’s spokesperson told People Magazine that the rumours are not true, and that the pair have no plans to tie the knot now or in the future. The rep labeled the rumours as “completely false and misleading.” The couple began dating earlier this year.

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Victoria Beckham has turned down an all-expenses paid four-day wedding holiday in Egypt offered compliments of co-Spice Girl Mel Brown. The plan apparently involves a four-day treasure hunt that includes a renewal of wedding vows for Scary and her mate on Day 2 of the event.

Mel B. has apparently invited a number of other celebrity guests to the event, via a 20-page invitation designed to look like an Egyptian passport. Guests will also enjoy a day of diving in the Red Sea. It is not known if any of the other Spice Girls are on the A-list for Scary’s wedding renewal, but Sarah Harding, television presenter Fearne Cotton and S Club 7 star Rachel Stevens were also invited to attend.

Mel B secretly married film producer Stephen Belafonte last summer in Las Vegas. Belafonte and Brown have no children together, but Mel has two daughters from previous relationships and Belafonte has one. Brown also won a paternity settlement from comedian Eddy Murphy shortly before she married Belafonte.

Beckham says that she will not attend the event because – while she appreciated the time she took to reunite with the Spice Girls last years – she was uncomfortable on tour and realised that she has moved from entertainment to fashion. Victoria and her husband, soccer star David Beckham, now make their home in the United States.

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William Shakespeare said “Hell hath no fury like that of a woman scorned,” and he wasn’t kidding. Catherine Specchia is suing Mario Roveto for USD$1 million to compensate for a broken engagement. Specchia alleges in her suit that Roveto agreed to marry her in August 2007, but never had any intention of going through with the wedding.

Specchia claims that Roveto’s abusive actions contributed to the deterioration of their relationship, and ultimately led to the couple’s split. Specchia says that before the relationship fizzled, she and her parents had already spent more than USD$68,000 on wedding preparations, including $32,000 for renting a venue and $12,000 for a wedding dress. The family also said that it spent more than $3,000 on wedding invitations for the event.

The woman is seeking additional compensation from Roveto for running her wedding day, and subjecting her to mental and physical abuse.

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Gaston Tong Sang, president of French Polynesia, thinks that wedding bells will be ringing in Tahiti if a few key provisions of the country’s marriage laws are changed. Tong Sang says he wants changes that will uncomplicate the process of getting married in Tahiti, and believes that will bring 1,000 or more couples to the island nation each year to tie the knot.

Tong Sang says that the French Polynesia Assembly could adopt the new measures as early as March, and that could produce an influx of tourists in the second half of 2009. Tong Sang wears many hats. In addition to being the president of French Polynesia, he is also the nation’s Tourism minister as well as the mayor of Bora Bora in the Leeward Islands.

Current laws require foreign couples to stay in French Polynesia for six weeks before asking the mayor to officiate at a wedding. The six-week wait includes an official publication of the request for a wedding. The new changes would permit the couple to request a civil ceremony at the time they book their flight and hotel reservations. When the couple arrive, they could be married right away.

Tong Sang made his pitch to change the marriage laws of his country at a tourism conference in Paris. The French Immigration Minister, Brice Hortefeux, was said to be enthusiastic about the plan, and indicated that Tahiti could also become a destination choice for couples from China, India and Russia, if laws were further modified to enable residents of these countries to obtain tourist visas more easily.

Tong Sang said that the country had not forgotten the boost it received from the movie “Mutiny On The Bounty” which was filmed in French Polynesia, and was looking at ways to boost the country’s economy through increased tourism.

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American actors Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green say that, despite rumours to the contrary, they are still engaged and still planning a low-key wedding. The pair have declined to offer details of the pending nuptials, but insist that they’re very much in love and still together.

Fox, best known for her role as Mikaela Barnes in the Transformers Movie, was named Maxim Magazine’s World’s Sexiest Woman earlier in 2008. The 22-year-old actress says that she favors a low-key wedding. The pair also indicated that they had originally planned to elope, but are now considering a small ceremony with a few guests.

Brian Austin Green, 35, is best known for his role in the US television programme Beverly Hills 90210, and also appears in the Fox television programme Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. The pair say that the media won’t be invited to the event – whenever it does take place – and are likely to learn about it only after it has occurred.

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A police officer from Des Moines, Iowa in the US will have to replace his wedding ring on his own. Mersed Dautovic lost his ring on October 17, as he attempted to arrest Kim Eugene Aldrich during a traffic stop. Aldrich fled and Dautovic gave chase, eventually ending up in front of Aldrich’s home. Dautovic was also attacked by Aldrich’s dog in the melee.

During the arrest, Aldrich attempted to grab Dautovic’s department-issued handgun, but was not successful in disarming the officer. During the scuffle, Dautovic lost his wedding ring. Dautovic brought a metal detector to the scene in hopes of locating the ring, but it was not found.

A spokesman for the Des Moines Police Department says that it is department policy to replace uniform items that are damaged or destroyed in the line of duty, but personal items, like rings, watches, and other jewelry, do not qualify for replacement. The DMPD officially discourages officers from wearing personal items like jewelry and watches while on duty. Members of the Des Moines Police Officers’ Union said that they would take up a collection among themselves to replace Dautovic’s ring.

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Few brides who are in the middle of wedding plans took into account the possibility of a recession, and they’re learning to be savvy with the money they have to spend. Bridal shoppes are reporting that business is definitely down, as many women are buying dresses “off-the-rack” or borrowing them, borrowing headpieces, or buying them at bargain prices on eBay and other auction sites.

Florists are also feeling the pinch of the tight economy, as brides look for ways to cut corners. Many brides are foregoing the foray into fresh flowers, buying them instead at wholesalers or even buying bouquets at supermarkets.

Another change? Many caterers are reporting that guests are refusing wedding invitations because they can’t manage the travel costs associated with the event. Because wedding venues are booked so far in advance, many wedding venues and banquet halls have not yet noticed the downturn in business.

While the surest way to cut costs is to decrease the size of the guest list, many brides are looking for other ways to trim their bottom lines. Kardella offers an exceptional selection of do-it-yourself wedding invitation kits, as well as low-cost traditional pre-printed invitations. And as always, Kardella will pay the postage on completed orders shipped to an Australian address.

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Mercedes Gorden’s life changed forever on August 1, 2007, when the bridge she was driving on collapsed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the United States. While Gorden survived, her car plunged more than 60 feet, and was hit by several other cars and falling debris.

Gorden suffered shattered ankles and shins, and has undergone eight operations to repair the damage and reconstruct her legs. At the time of the collapse, Gorden was engaged to Jake Rudh and was planning her wedding. The collapse and recovery changed all of that, but thanks to a pair of wedding planners in Minneapolis, Gorden and her fiancé enjoyed what is described as a lavish wedding at virtually no cost to them, when they finally walked down the aisle on October 17.

Everything for the couple’s wedding has been donated, including the dress, the venue, the food and liquor for 120 guests, flowers, cake, clothing, limousine service, invitations and dancing lessons for Gorden. She also received donated laser surgery to reduce the visible scarring on her legs.

Vendors in Minneapolis were more than willing to help the couple, who have been together nearly constantly since Gorden was pulled from the wreckage of the collapsed bridge. Gorden only recently returned to work part-time. Breaking tradition, Rudh walked his bride-to-be down the aisle himself. Gorden says he’s earned the right to do that, having been her support for the last 15 months. The couple also took time to remember the 13 people whose lives were lost in the tragedy, by setting a floral wreath in the Mississippi River near the site of the 1-35W bridge failure.

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Constitutional experts in the UK have long argued that the registry office wedding of Charles and Camilla did not constitute a legal wedding, as royals are barred from having registry office weddings. Recently revealed Whitehall papers that confirm that royals are not eligible to take part in civil ceremonies have restirred the debate over the validity of the Prince’s second wedding.

The Marriage Act of 1836 first introduced the civil wedding in the UK, but the statute specifically excluded royalty. The ban was reconfirmed in 1949, when the Marriage Act was overhauled. A Home Office memo from 1948 supported the continuation of the ban, and a 1949 Home Office memo stated emphatically that royals must not be permitted to marry in civil ceremonies.

Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer overturned the ban in 2005, which permitted Charles and Camilla to marry at Windsor Guildhall. While it is unlikely that the marriage would be declared invalid at this point, Downing Street officials have always refused to release the advice that convinced the ministers at the time to permit a civil wedding.

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The Reverend Martin Dudley made headlines around the world earlier this year for conducting what was believed to be a same-sex wedding in St. Bartholomew-The-Great, the church featured in the film “Four Weddings And A Funeral.” Dudley officiated at a blessing service for two male priests who both returned their clerical licenses after the event.

Dr. Dudley faced sanctions for his actions by the Bishop of London, the Right Reverend Richard Chartres that included the loss of his job. Dudley wrote a letter of apology to the Bishop, in which he expressed profound regret for the incident, and in which Dudley recognised his failure to appreciate the media attention and embarrassment that this would draw to the Church of England. He further stated that he did not clearly think through the consequences of using the Order of Service prepared by the men for their “wedding.” Finally, Dudley promised that he would not preside over such services in the future.

The Bishop accepted the letter of apology and through a spokesman, said that he now considers the matter closed.

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In India, where arranged marriages are still the norm among wealthy families, pre-marital investigations of the prospective bride or groom are big business. Historically, parents arranged marriages among their children and the children of families known to them. Today, parents who are looking to find a spouse for a child take out ads in the newspaper or on the Internet.

Divorce is looked down upon in Indian society, so finding a suitable spouse is critical. To make sure that the prospective spouse is as presented, parents will often hire a detective agency to verify the person’s background and claims about themselves.

Such detective work can cost hundreds of dollars and involves following a prospective spouse around, verifying employment, age, marital status, and photographing or video taping their behaviour. Smoking and drinking are both frowned upon, as is being deceitful about one’s age. Women often try to hide previous and current relationships, since virginity is highly valued among women of marrying age.

According to private detectives, it’s not unusual to find that a prospective spouse is still married to someone else, or that a child has a love interest – unbeknownst to the parents. In addition, brides from rural areas are normally young and may never have been to a major city before. Once they arrive in the city, without supervision, they may indulge in the temptations of city life.

For parents who are trying to arrange a marriage, spending money to find out that a prospective spouse is not suitable is preferable to paying for a wedding that is the beginning of what might be a lifetime of unhappiness for a son or daughter.

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The centerpiece of the New England Aquarium is the Giant Ocean Tank, a 200,000 gallon container that houses some of the aquarium’s most honored guests. Bob Pirrmann, a marketing executive and diving enthusiast, was scratching the back of a 560-lb sea turtle in the tank when a water jet attached to the tank’s filtration system went off and knocked Pirrmann off balance. The jet also knocked Pirrmann’s wedding ring off.

Pirrmann, who was in the tank as part of the kick off of a marketing campaign he helped to create, didn’t realize that his wedding band was missing until he exited the tank. He asked the aquarium’s regular diving staff to keep an eye out for the ring, but after three months, gave up hope that the ring would be found. About a week after purchasing a new band, he received an email from the aquarium saying that they’d located his ring, on a piece of finger coral in the tank, while the tank was being cleaned.

The aquarium returned the ring to Pirrmann and invited him to take a second dive in the tank, which he did – without his wedding ring. He plans to wear the backup ring he purchased and keep the original band in a safe place. The original band, made of silver, is tarnished, but Pirrmann doesn’t plan to polish it. He’ll keep it as is, he says, for its “story value.”

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While gold prices reached record highs in March 2008, and have declined by 20 percent since that time, analysts expect another rise that will co-incide with the wedding season in India. According to an analyst with JP Morgan Chase, gold purchases from India account for price increases of about 10 percent annually from September to December.

India is the world’s largest purchaser of gold bullion, and analysts expect the price per ounce to rise to USD$900 by the end of the year. That’s about USD$130 lower than the high mark reached in March. Aside from the wedding season, India makes substantial gold purchases in preparation for Diwali. A good percentage of the gold sought by India may come from Australian mines operated by Newcrest and Lihir. Globally, gold production is down because the cost of producing the metal is rising.

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Ashley Olsen has rubbished rumours that she will marry beau Justin Bartha next year in the French Riviera. Through her publicist, the actress and fashion designer has refuted media reports that indicated she was planning a million-dollar spectacular in the summer of 2009.

Nicole Caruso, a spokesperson for Ms. Olsen, says that the pair are not engaged. Caruso says that Olsen and Bartha are enjoying each other’s company and have no current plans to take their relationship farther at this point. Olsen and Bartha have been dating since the beginning of 2008. Bartha, who is best known for his role in the feature film National Treasure, has been mum on the controversy.

The diminutive fashionista recently lashed out at paparazzi photographers, whom she accused of turning her into a wreck. Olsen complained that the photographers go too far in trying to take her picture, and says she worries that someone – either herself or an innocent bystander – will get hurt. She says that photographers in Los Angeles are far more aggressive than those in New York, saying that they will run red lights to get close to her car. Olsen says that she cannot imagine driving with children in her car and “pretend for their sake that you are not scared.”

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Television cooking diva Rachel Ray, host of the self-titled Rachel Ray Show, says she will foot the bill for fifty couples who lost their reception venue and deposits when two Houston banquet halls declared bankruptcy following Hurricane Ike. Ray says she has created a one-hour episode about the couples that included a giant wedding on the baseball diamond at Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros baseball team on 2 November.

Some couples lost as much as $20,000 on deposits paid in cash to the venues. In addition to providing a venue large enough to accommodate all of the couples guests, the show has also arranged for donations of clothing, jewelry, food, flowers, photography, decorations, cakes, live entertainment and hotel space. Ray created a menu specifically for the event.

Ray, who normally works from her studio in New York City, sent a team of planning experts to Houston to work with the couples to create a special day. The show, which includes two weeks of preparation footage, will air sometime in late November.

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Gay couples in California last week rushed to beat the November 4 election during which California voters were to decide the fate of gay marriage in that state. As it turns out, voters approved the closely contested ban, amending the state constitution to define marriage as a state that exists between one man and one woman. Los Angeles County officials stopped issuing marriage licenses to gay couples at midday on November 5, when the results of the election were certified.

Two other states, Arizona and Florida, also approved constitutional bans on gay marriages on November 4. Currently, about 30 US states prohibit gay unions. Only two states, Massachusetts and Connecticut, have sanctioned same-sex marriages. New York recognizes the validity of gay marriages performed in other states, but does not offer same-sex unions within New York.

Neither the California legislature nor the state court system have determined the status of the thousands of gay marriages that were performed between mid-June and November 3. Proponents of the ban are expected to challenge the legality of the same-sex weddings that were performed in the state. Ultimately, the US Supreme Court is expected to take up the issue of same-sex marriage, but to date, the court has declined to weigh in on the constitutionality of the state bans.

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A Japanese groom who was scheduled to be married in a hotel ballroom at The Risonare resort hotel in the Yamanashi Prefecture was arrested on suspicion of arson after an early morning blaze broke out at the site of wedding ceremony. Police allege that Tatsuhiko Kawata spread kerosene around an entrance to the ballroom where his wedding was supposed to take place and lit a fire.

The resulting blaze caused minimal damage to about 10 square meters of ballroom space, including the doorway, walls and ceiling. About 150 hotel guests were evacuated as a precaution, but were allowed to return to their rooms. According to a hotel employee, the sprinkler system doused the flames before any major damage occurred.

Kawata became a suspect after calling off the wedding and dropping out of contact. Police questioned Kawata at his home the morning after the blaze, and said that he had a reason to call off the wedding. According to the police report, Kawata confessed to setting the fire as a way to get out of his wedding plans because he was already married to another woman.

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Actor Brad Pitt and long-time fiancée Angelina Jolie may be planning a low-key wedding. No date has been announced for the nuptials. Jolie said in a recent interview published in the Italian language version of Vanity Fair that she thinks the older children in their brood will pressure the couple to marry.

A friend of the family said that the couple will opt for a simple, civil ceremony rather than a showy, celebrity-laden event. The couple have not acknowledged that they plan to wed, but Jolie has often considered marriage to be in the couple’s long-term future.

Jolie, who is twice-divorced, is in no big hurry to tie the knot, preferring to marry when “the time is right.” Pitt was previously married to actress Jennifer Aniston and was cast in an unfavorable light when the couple split up. Shortly after they announced their engagement, Pitt said he and Jolie would marry when everyone in society enjoyed the right to wed, referring to gay marriage.

California, where the couple make their home, now permits gay marriage, but that could change following the November elections. A ballot proposal would create a constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage in that state. If successful, the proposal would mean that California would join at least twenty-six other US states that constitutionally prohibit gay marriage.

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Manuel Uribe, who holds the world’s record for weight, married his fiancée in a civil ceremony in Mexico on Monday, October 27. The ceremony, which was attended by more than 400 guests, marked one of the few times Uribe has left his home in the past six years.

Uribe married Claudia Solis and danced at his reception banquet, which featured a five-tier wedding cake. Uribe, 43, had just one bite of the cake. The couple met when Uribe went to visit a dying friend, who was also morbidly obese. Solis was married to the dying man, who passed away shortly after Uribe’s visit.

With Solis’ encouragement, Uribe, who once tipped the scales at 560 kg, has lost more than 250 kg to date and has a goal of whittling himself down to just 120 kg. Should he accomplish his goal, Uribe may also be entered in the Guinness Book of World Records as the person who has accomplished the greatest weight loss. Losing 250 kg has taken Uribe two years. If he continues to lose weight at his current rate, he will achieve his goal sometime in the middle of 2010.

Uribe’s wedding was videotaped by The Discovery Channel and will be the subject of an upcoming documentary.

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A Canadian woman who is engaged to marry a Texas man will have to wait in Canada while the couple sorts out her immigration status with the US Federal government. Christine Tyrrell was trying to board a plane to Houston, TX from Edmonton, Alberta when she got the bad news from US Customs officials: her dress, which she was worried about getting on board the plane as a carry-on item, was OK to pass, but Christine wasn’t going anywhere.

Tyrrell and her fiancé Mark Hughes were seemingly victimised by conflicting advice dispensed by Customs officials in Texas, who advised Hughes not to apply for a “fiancée visa” and border agents who told Tyrrell she couldn’t enter without one. Although the wedding was planned for September 20, 2008, the processing time required for fiancée visas exceeds their planned wedding date.

US Customs officials recommended that the couple either apply for a fiancée visa and delay their wedding or marry outside the US and apply for permanent entry for Ms. Tyrrell after the wedding has taken place. The couple have not yet decided what route they’ll take, but they’ll lose about USD$7,000 in deposits and associated wedding costs due to the cancellation.

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Mark Wahlberg, 37, will marry long-time girlfriend Rhea Durham in a private ceremony in August 2009. The star of the current feature film “Max Payne” says that he and Ms. Durham have been making plans to marry. He did not name a specific date, but did indicate that the ceremony would be held in a Catholic church, and would involve only family and a few friends. He also said that the media would not be invited and that the couple have no plans to sell their wedding photos to the media.

Wahlberg and Durham have three children together, ranging in age from 5 years to one month. He recently purchased a USD$35 million mansion in Los Angeles to accommodate his growing family, and his desire to host guests at his home. The couple have their former home on the market for USD$16 million.

Durham is a fashion model and has graced the covers of Vogue, Marie Claire and ELLE. Wahlberg began his career as a recording artist and made the move to acting, directing and producing television programmes and films. Wahlberg, who has had several famous brushes with the law, credits his Catholic faith for helping turn his life around. This will be the first marriage for both.

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A 21-year old Portuguese woman was arrested in London last month on suspicion of aiding an illegal immigrant to enter Britain. Just minutes after the bride left the church in Dulwich, South London, police moved in and stopped her car. The bride was wearing a white dress and veil, but the groom was nowhere to be found.

The groom, a 37-year-old Nigerian man, was not with the bride. He arrived separately at the scene and was arrested on suspicion of entering Britain illegally. A later search turned up several false passports with the same picture but several different names. The arrest was part of a crackdown in Britain on illegal marriages designed to help immigrants enter the country. The investigation was conducted jointly by Metropolitan Police and UK Border Agency investigators. The UK Border Agency is holding the ersatz groom in custody pending deportation proceedings.

The number of sham marriages in Britain has dropped dramatically since 2004, when Home Secretary David Blunkett instituted a series of investigations designed to find and prosecute citizens and non-citizens who participate in this type of immigration fraud. According to national statistics, the number of sham marriage prosecutions dropped to 400 in 2007, from a high of 3,500 in 2004. Police credit the stepped-up investigation and prosecution of sham marriages as the reason that so few are attempted now.

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Actor Justin Timberlake, 27, has proposed to his girlfriend of two years, Jessica Biel, in Rome, Italy. Biel and Timberlake were in Italy for the wedding of Beverly Mitchell, one of Biel’s co-stars in the US television programme “7th Heaven.” Ms. Biel, 26, has accepted Timberlake’s proposal, although the pair have not formally announced their wedding, nor set a wedding date.

The couple have dated since 2006. Timberlake is known for his role in the pop music group NSync. He has also starred in recent theatrical films, including Shrek The Third and The Love Guru. He began his entertaining career as a member of the New Mickey Mouse Club with co-start Britney Spears.

Ms. Biel is best known for her role in 7th Heaven, but has also appeared in theatrical films, including Easy Virtue, Hole In The Paper Sky, the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Ulee’s Gold. This is the first marriage for both Biel and Timberlake. Previously, Timberlake had been romantically linked with Spears, actress Cameron Diaz and briefly, actress Scarlett Johansson.

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A UK couple won the permission of the Archbishop of Canterbury to marry at St. John’s in Monmouth. The church, which was opened in 1889, does not hold a council wedding license, and as such, has only hosted one other wedding in the congregation’s 119-year history. Such weddings at non-licensed churches are only held with the permission of the church.

Jane Ridley and Nigel Griffiths applied for, and won permission to marry in St. John’s, a congregation that normally has 10 or 11 people, according to the bride, but can hold as many as 57 people inside the church building. Ms. Ridley has been a member of the congregation at St. John’s for about two-and-one-half years, and felt that it was important to marry in front of her congregation. According to the church warden, only one other couple have ever sought permission to marry there.

The Archdeacon of Monmouth, Reverend Richard Pain, who was also instrumental in helping the couple win the church’s permission to marry at St. John’s, performed the wedding. Ridley and Griffiths are among the youngest congregants, so it is unlikely that there will be any weddings in St. John’s immediate future.

The Ridley-Griffith wedding comes at a time when couples in the UK are enjoying the benefit of newly relaxed rules about Anglican church marriages. Under the old rules, couples could only marry in the church they attended or the parish they lived in. Now, couples can also marry in churches where they have a special connection, as long as they have lived in the area for six months, or their parents or grandparents married in the church the couple wish to use. Ironically, the Church of Wales is disestablished, so the relaxed wedding rules that apply to other churches in the UK are not in force in Wales. In Wales, couples can only marry in a church at which at least one member of the couple attends.

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A wedding dress made from a WWII Air Force parachute has resurfaced at the Lake County Museum in the US state of Illinois as part of an exhibit devoted to World War I. Following the war, nylon was scare in civilian circles, so US Air Force pilot John Smelcer sent the nylon parachute to his fiancée, Carol Kirkpatrick in 1947. Read more about this wedding dress

American actress Scarlett Johansson and actor Ryan Reynolds have married in a private ceremony which took place on Saturday, September 27at a “remote wilderness resort” outside of Vancouver, British Columbia. Few details of the event were available to the press.

Johansson had earlier announced that the couple would delay their wedding date until after the US presidential election. Johansson’s brother Adrian Johansson works for the Barack Obama campaign, and the actress had said that trying to schedule the wedding during the election season would be too difficult for her family.

The couple have been dating since February 2007, and announced their engagement just four months ago. As recently as last week, Johansson and her mother were spotted in a Monique Lhuillier boutique. Other sources said Johansson’s dress was designed by Stella McCartney.

This is the first marriage for both Johansson, 23, and Reynolds, 31. Reynolds had previously been engaged to Canadian singer Alanis Morrissette. Prior to her relationship with Reynolds, Johansson had been romantically linked to actor Josh Hartnett.

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A US couple who married in Balgonie Castle near Glenrothes and Edinburgh in Scotland persuaded a local falconer to help them incorporate an owl into their wedding ceremony. The bird was trained by falconer Wayne Poole to deliver the couple’s wedding rings to the wedding party.

Celeste Allen, who is a teacher, wanted to incorporate the owl because they are symbols of wisdom and education. Finnbar (the owl) left his perch at the back of the ceremony site and delivered the rings to Kevin Swift, the best man and groom David Swift’s son. The rings were secured with a leather strap around the bird’s leg. Finnbar executed the special delivery flawlessly, and then returned to falconer Poole.

The castle staff report that this is the first time a bird has been used to deliver wedding rings to a couple, and Poole reports that this is also a first for Finnbar, who also posed for pictures with the couple after the ceremony.

The couple considered marrying in England because one of Allen’s sons is on a temporary work assignment in York. English law requires a 21-day residency before authorising a wedding. Scotland’s rules require only a one-day stay.

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Despite uncertainty in the economy and the rising costs of weddings, the number of weddings taking place in Australia is up. The Australian Bureau of Statistics released 2007 figures that show that the number of weddings in Australia is up to its highest level since 1990. The bureau noted 116,000 weddings in 2007, up two percent from the number of weddings recorded in 2006. About half of those marriages involved first-time marriages for both parties.

In comparison to the population, however, the marriage rate in the country has declined. On a per capita basis, the marriage rate has dropped from 7.1 per thousand to 5.5 per thousand. Bureau statistics show that the divorce rate in Australia is also dropping, and currently stands at 2.3 per 1000 people.

The median age for marriage was 29.6 years for males and 27.6 years for females. According to ABS figures, the median age for marriage has been increasing since 1988. The most popular month for marriage in Australia is March, followed by November and October.

More than three-fourths of people who chose to marry in 2007 had lived with their intended spouse before the wedding, and more than 60% of people who married in 2007 opted for a civil ceremony. Of the 37% who opted for a religious ceremony, one-third of those were Catholic and nearly 18% were Anglican.

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A team of vicars from the Church of England participated in the UK’s National Wedding Show, held 10-12 October in Birmingham. The National Wedding Show was expected to attract as many as 15,000 visitors, and the Church of England was just one of 300 exhibitors at the event.

Part of the reason for the move is to help publicise the new rules governing church weddings in England. Prior to the rule change, couples could marry in a particular church only if they were members of the congregation. The relaxed rules mean that couples can get married in most churches in the UK.

According to the Rt. Rev. Tim Stephens, the Bishop of Leicester, many couples would opt for a church wedding if they knew they could have one. Research performed by the Church when the rule relaxation was being considered showed that 25% of couples would have opted for a church wedding had the option been available to them. In the past ten years, the number of civil ceremonies has increased sharply, while the number of church weddings is down by 40 percent. About 60,000 weddings each year are performed in churches in the UK, while 50,000 civil ceremonies take place each year.

In addition to explaining the relaxed rules, the vicars will be demonstrating the Church of England’s new online wedding planner, answering couples’ questions and helping engaged couples connect with the churches of their choice.

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Darren McWalters proposed to Katie Hodgson in the Brazilian rainforest and wanted a wedding that would outdo his proposal. McWalters got his wish as he and Hodgson stood on separate aircraft wings to make their wedding vows on August 5. The two airplanes, along with a third that carried the Reverend George Bringham, flew 1,000 feet above the RFC Rendcomb Airfield in Gloucestershire, where family and friends had gathered to listen to the ceremony, which was being broadcast from the planes overhead.

As the pair from Lancashire exchanged their vows in flight, their planes spewed white smoke. Hodgson, who wore a bridal gown for her wedding flight, says she’s always been a bit of a daredevil, but says that prior to meeting Hodgson, McWalters was afraid of heights. After landing, the couple joined family and friends inside a reception hall at the airbase and exchanged rings.

Reverend Bringham, 67, is a seasoned pro at this. He performed another mid-air ceremony for a couple eight years ago and said that he wasn’t afraid at all. Bringham did say that he thought he might lose his goggles mid-flight.

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Singer Beyonce Knowles showed off her $5 million diamond wedding ring at the Conde Nast Fashion Rocks concert in New York City on September 5, 2008. The eighteen-carat flawless center diamond is part of a ring designed by jeweller Lorraine Schwartz.

The ring was clearly visible on the red carpet as Ms. Knowles entered the event, but she removed it for a duet she sang with singer Justin Timberlake. The ring made its second appearance when she sang a tribute to Etta James, whom she will portray in an upcoming movie about the singer.

Ms. Knowles and rap artist and producer Jay-Z were married in a private ceremony in New York City in April, but have not yet confirmed their nuptials. Jay-Z’s wedding ring made a brief appearance in late July, but the recording artist/producer normally opts to leave it at home when making public appearances. Some sources say that the power couple have a combined net worth of about $1 billion and the ring represents just a fraction of the couple’s assets.

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A Sydney groom and his best man were seriously injured when they fell 15 metres down a rocky embankment upon leaving the wedding reception at the Manly Pier Restaurant. The men were exchanging farewells and engaged in a bit of horseplay when they accidentally bumped a gate near the edge of the embankment. The gate gave way and the men fell down the rocks and into the water below. The accident apparently occurred when the last guests were leaving the reception.

The groom, 32, was less injured and was listed in satisfactory condition at the Royal North Shore Hospital. The best man, 40, who hails from Victoria, was thought to have suffered a spinal injury and remains in serious condition.

The bridal couple had honeymoon plans but there was no word on whether the accident would delay the honeymoon. Neither man had been released from the hospital as of Sunday.

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A man preparing for his wedding was struck by a bolt of lightning just a few hours before the ceremony. Mike Speck, 54, from Evergreen, Colorado in the United States, was preparing his backyard for the ceremony when a bolt of lightning struck both him and his neighbor’s home simultaneously. While Speck walked away with hardly a scratch, the neighbor’s home caught fire. Speck and another neighbor sprang to action and doused the flames with a garden hose.

Speck said he was stunned and shaken by the bolt and was surprised at how bright and loud the strike was. He was given a clean bill of health by paramedics who were called to the scene to evaluate the somewhat frazzled groom and the wedding went on as planned. The bride, Dawn Speck couldn’t believe what was happening on her wedding day, but the couple didn’t miss a beat and entertained their guests.

Speck is a veteran of lightning strikes. He was hit for the first time 15 years ago and again, walked away no worse for the wear.

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Victoria Elliott and Daniel Robinson had planned their wedding for more than a year and would have exchanged vows at the Orton Hall Hotel in Orton Longueville, Peterborough had it not been for the discovery of some World War II-era incendiary devices that were unearthed at the hotel as the guests began to arrive.

Workers were digging a trench for a new patio when they came across what appeared to be bottles with liquid in them. Two of the bottles broke and ignited. Additional devices ignited when they broke upon being dumped by the mechanical digger. The crew called off the dig, the hotel evacuated the guests and turned away others who were arriving.

A military ordnance team was called in from Nottingham to dispose of the rest of the devices, but could not move the remains until the following day to allow them to stabilise. The hotel remained closed and the wedding was a scratch.

The bride, who is a solicitor for the city, was too distressed to speak, but her mum wondered why the bombs, which had been there for more than sixty years, couldn’t be left just one more day. According to the Army, the bombs posed an unacceptable risk after having been disturbed.

The bride’s family did not indicate when the wedding would take place.

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Elizabeth Emanuel, who gained notoriety for designing Princess Diana’s wedding dress, has announced that she will auction the pink chiffon blouse she loaned to Lady Diana Spencer for a Vogue Magazine photo shoot shortly before Diana became engaged to Prince Charles in 1980.

The chiffon blouse, designed by Emanuel, was worn by Lady Diana for a portrait taken by Lord Snowdon, and led Diana to purchase a black dress from the design shop, which she wore on her first official royal public engagement. Diana later requested that Emanuel and her former husband, David Emanuel design her wedding dress.

The distinctive pink blouse was loaned to Vogue Magazine after the publication called the Emanuels and asked if they had a blouse with a very high neck that they would be willing to lend to a “very famous personality.” The magazine did not reveal the wearer at that time, but the couple were thrilled to learn that it was Lady Diana who would appear in their creation.

Emanuel says that financial difficulties are the reason she’ll be auctioning off the blouse, along with a collection of about 200 other garments designed for celebrities, including dresses worn by actresses Elizabeth Hurley and Helena Bonham Carter. In addition, a 16-inch miniature version of Diana’s wedding dress made from the same material as the dress itself, will also be included in the auction. Emanuel had hoped to avoid auctioning the collection, but investments in a planned business venture did not materialise as she had hoped, and she says that her situation forces the auction. The Internet auction will take place between 3 and 13 November on AuctionAtrium.com. Emanuel would not venture a guess as to how much such an auction would generate.

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US actor James Gandolfini, most recognised for his role as Mafia don Tony Soprano in HBO’s gangster series The Sopranos, married his fiancée, Deborah Lin, in Honolulu, Hawaii in front of about 200 guests. The bride, 40, is a former model and was once named Miss Asia World. Mr. Gandolfini’s eight-year-old son served as his best man.

Ms. Lin wore a white dress made from Italian lace and was escorted down the aisle of the Central Union Church by her brother, Wendell Lin. The groom wore a black tuxedo. The church was decorated with lilies and rhododendrons, and the couple entertained family and friends at a dinner reception at the Kahala Hotel, where they enjoyed a dinner of duck breast, mahi mahi and filet mignon.

Gandolfini and Lin began dating in 2006 and the pair became engaged over the Christmas holidays last year while in the Bahamas. Lin was first introduced to Gandolfini several years earlier by her college roommate Paula Hight.

The couple planned to travel to New York City for a second reception for friends there. This is the first marriage for Ms. Lin and the second for Mr. Gandolfini, who divorced his wife Marcy in 2002.

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