UK Couple Gives New Meaning To Destination Wedding

Simone and Ryan Feeney were wed in a Las Vegas wedding chapel just two days after Ryan popped the question and seven weeks after the couple began dating. To be fair, they’ve worked together for two years at British Standards, but the bride was surprised not only by the proposal, but also by the wedding itself. The prospective groom presented his bride-to-be with a ring on the plane as they flew to Las Vegas, and fellow passengers cheered when Simone said “yes!”

Not wanting to leave their family and friends out of the festivities, the couple planned to marry again in front of family and friends, with just one problem: Ryan’s family is in Turkey, Simone’s mother lives in Melbourne, her father in Florida and all of their friends are in Milton Keynes.

After talking it over, they’ve decided that they’ll simply take their wedding show on the road. The couple has five weddings planned for 2008 in front of family and friends all over the world. Two of the five events have already taken place, with another three on the schedule. The bride will wear a different dress for each event.

After the first wedding in Las Vegas, the pair went to Turkey to celebrate with Ryan’s mother, who organised a wedding in front of 60 guests. Next on the list is a wedding for the couple’s friends in Milton Keynes. The couple is searching for an outdoor venue and when one is located, they’ll marry again there.

In September, the couple will travel to Florida to wed in a beach ceremony and barbeque reception organised by the bride’s father. Finally, a trip to Melbourne and a ceremony organised by the bride’s mother, complete with five bridesmaids, relatives and a reception rounds out the wedding tour.

The bride says that they’ll enjoy a honeymoon after the last wedding in December, quipping that after all of those weddings, they’ll need a vacation.

Keywords: Wedding News, Weddingblog, Wedding

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Choosing A Wedding Ring

Wedding rings can be traditional or completely unique, but exercise care when choosing a wedding band. Most wedding and engagement rings are made from a gold alloy, but other metals like silver, palladium, platinum, titanium and tungsten are also gaining in popularity.

Pure gold is too soft for daily wear. Typically, gold is mixed with other metals like nickel to give it strength without losing the traditional gold colour. Wedding bands are most often made with 18K gold, which has substantially more strength and will stand up to the rigors of daily wear. Consult with a jeweller about the nickel content of a wedding ring. Some people develop an allergy to metals like nickel, and the higher the nickel content, the more likely a sensitive wearer is to react to the ring.

Do not choose a wedding ring made from different material than your engagement ring. If possible, buy the wedding and engagement rings from the same jeweller at the same time. Different metals may react with each other, and since the rings will be in daily contact, one ring can wear the other down. If the rings are made from the same materials, they are less likely to damage each other when they’re worn together.

If your wedding or engagement ring contains a precious gem, spend the extra money to get a six- or eight-prong setting. The setting should be of the same or harder material as the ring. With a six- or eight-prong setting, a lost prong will not cause the stone to fall out. A broken four-prong setting almost guarantees that the gem will be lost.

One note: tungsten carbide has been gaining in popularity as a wedding band material. It is sold as being virtually indestructible and scratch resistant. Think carefully before buying a tungsten carbide wedding ring. If your ring finger is broken, or your hand is injured and your ring finger swells, a tungsten carbide ring cannot be cut off, since it is harder than the cutters that most hospital emergency rooms use to remove metal jewellery.

Keywords: Wedding Planning, Weddingblog, Wedding

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Olivia Newton-John Weds In Private Ceremony

Actress Olivia Newton-John has married American herbal health expert and millionaire John Easterling in a private ceremony in Peru. The couple also shared a legal wedding ceremony on a Florida beach on June 30, and a reception for guests and well-wishers in California on July 4. The couple began dating about a year ago, although they have known each other for about fifteen years.

Few details of the Peruvian ceremony have been provided to the press, except to confirm that it was in Incan spiritual ceremony that took place on June 21. The couple sold the rights to their wedding coverage to the UK publication Hello! for an undisclosed sum. Guests of Newton-John and Easterling were invited to a barbecue under the ruse that it was to celebrate the Fourth of July, the American independence holiday. Upon arrival, guests were told that they were celebrating the couple’s wedding. Newton-John’s publicist did shoot down rumours that the couple had a second ceremony performed at the barbecue, saying the couple was not married at that gathering.

Newton-John was divorced from actor Matt Lattanzi in 1995 and was at the center of a tragedy in 2005, when her boyfriend, Patrick McDermott, disappeared under mysterious circumstances from a boat off the California coast. This is also the second wedding for Easterling, who is the CEO of the Amazon Herb Company.

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Bride-To-Be Is An Expert At Beating The Odds

Courtney Dempsey is a survivor. Four years ago, the now-33-year-old bride-to-be was told by doctors that she was suffering from terminal cancer and had less than one year to live. She had been diagnosed with late-stage melanoma and the prognosis was not good. Through aggressive treatment, she beat the odds and recovered, only to find that the cancer had returned. After a double mastectomy, Ms. Dempsey beat the odds again and recovered a second time.

During her recovery, she started dating Gary Courtney, 37. Gary moved in with Ms. Dempsey to help her recover and the pair became engaged. Ms. Dempsey and her fiancé entered a contest sponsored by the US-based Us Magazine. The grand prize is a USD$100,000 dream wedding.

Dempsey defied the odds yet again. She won the contest and will now enjoy the wedding of a lifetime. As Dempsey and her fiancé finalise the plans for their big day, she explains that she plans to take her husband’s last name – making her Courtney Courtney. “I love it,” she says. “I’m in sales, so no one will ever forget my name!”

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Mena Suvari Engaged To Simone Sestito

American actress Mena Suvari, who appeared in the film American Beauty, is engaged to music producer Simone Sestito. Sestito reportedly popped the question while the pair were on holiday in Jamaica.

Suvari is happy to take her time planning the wedding and has not yet set a date. This will be her second marriage. She was married to 46-year-old cinematographer Robert Brinkman in 2000. The couple divorced in 2005 and had no children.

Suvari and Sestito have been together since last September, having met at the 2007 Toronto Film Festival. Suvari will next appear in a cinematic adaptation of Garden of Eden, by Ernest Hemingway. Sestito is a music producer and concert promoter. This will be his first marriage.

Keywords: Wedding News, Weddingblog, Wedding

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Garden Weddings Deserve A Little Extra Care

A garden can be one of the most beautiful spots for a wedding, but planning an outdoor affair in the garden can be challenging. With a garden wedding, timing is everything. If your planning cycle permits, consult with a gardener 12 to 18 months ahead of the wedding for information on plantings, recommendations on flowers, plants and trees.

Avoid doing any major reconstruction in the garden in the months leading up to the wedding. In the weeks leading up to the wedding, the garden should be in maintenance mode. Have trees professionally pruned or trimmed several weeks prior to the wedding. Make sure the garden is weeded and watered properly at all times. Also if the garden has a sprinkler system on a timer, make sure that the system is off during the wedding.

Flowering plants add a touch of elegance to the location, so be sure to select those plants that will be in bloom at the time the wedding is scheduled. If that’s unlikely, consider renting or buying greenery or flowering plants from a nursery.

Lighting in a garden setting is important, especially if the garden will pull double duty as the site of the reception. For an evening wedding, torches and lanterns can add both light and ambiance to the wedding site. For a daytime wedding, schedule the event to avoid having the sun beat down on the wedding party or guests. Also avoid times where the sun is likely to shine directly in the eyes of the bride and groom, the guests or the officiant.

Sound may not carry well in the garden, and with a large group assembled, hearing the ceremony may be difficult. Rent a good quality sound system and check it the day before the wedding. The bride and groom should be heard, as should the officiant. Speakers should be placed unobtrusively and in such a way as to avoid feedback.

Provide comfortable seating. Use plastic wherever possible. Metal chairs will heat up in the sun and may be too cold in crisp evening air. Additionally, they can make a substantial amount of noise when they’re moved during the ceremony.

Finally, make a backup plan that includes a nearby indoor site in case the weather isn’t cooperating. If you’ve rented greenery, it can be brought to the backup site to liven up the second-choice location.

Keywords: Reception Venues, Weddingblog, Wedding

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Missing Dog Crashes Wedding

Beau, a Newfoundland-Rottweiller mix, disappeared from a kennel in Rochester, New Hampshire in the US, while his owners were away. Beau had been spotted a few times while on the run, but was never located by Bonnie O’Shea, the owner of the kennel from which Beau had escaped.

Seventeen days after disappearing, Beau turned up in the unlikeliest of spots, a wedding being held in town. The dog was welcomed at the outdoor reception and was a hit with the guests. He dutifully posed for pictures and entertained the guests while waiting for his owners to retrieve him. And just how did his owners know he was at the wedding? Bonnie O’Shea, the kennel owner who had searched high and low for the dog, was tending the bar at the reception when Beau strolled in, apparently little worse for the wear from his time on the run.

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Heavy Rains Cant Keep Pair From Saying I Do

Curtis White and Daniele Ritter, from Winterset, Iowa in the US planned to marry on June 18, but Mother Nature stepped in with a change of plans. Heavy rains in Iowa flooded much of the area, and the governor activated the 365th Maintenance Company to assist with flood operations. White, who works on a farm and also is a reservist in the National Guard, was activated as part of the company and was sent to Columbus Junction, Iowa on June 14.

Ritter wasn’t to be deterred from having her big day. She contacted the Mayor’s office in Columbus Junction, and explained the situation. The Mayor’s office sprang into action and located White. The city located a dry spot for the wedding and provided flowers, a wedding cake, punch and a local singer.

A National Guard chaplain performed the ceremony and Columbus Junction Mayor Dan Wilson gave away the bride. Members of White’s unit and about one hundred local residents, family members and friends turned out for the event. The couple will have to postpone their honeymoon until the floodwaters subside and White is deactivated.

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Leah Wood Weds Jack Macdonald In London

The wedding of model and singer Leah Wood to Jack Macdonald was more noted for its celebrity guest list than for its celebrity couple. Wood, 29, is the elder daughter of Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood. The wedding was a traditional ceremony held at Southwark Cathedral in London. The bride wore a traditional white gown and veil and was escorted down the aisle by her father. The groom wore a black suit and white tie.

Guests included Mick Jagger, L’Wren Scott, Keith Richards, Jerry Hall, Jade Jagger, Kate Moss, Jamie Hince, Jimmy White, Tracey Emin, Alice Dellal, Lisa Fischer, Paul O’Grady and Cilla Black.

Ms. Wood is a model and singer, and recently finished a course of study at Chelsea College of Art and Design. Mr. Macdonald is a television producer in London. The pair have been together for eleven years. Mr. Macdonald proposed to Ms. Wood last year on a family holiday in Kenya. The couple share a home in London.

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Couple Have Reception Site Go Up In Flames And The Band Plays On

Fire fighters crashed a US couple’s wedding reception being held at a hotel to douse a fire that started in a different part of the building. The bridal couple, Trey and Robyn Kunkel, were enjoying their wedding reception at the Radisson Penn Harris Hotel & Convention Center in East Pennsboro, Pennsylvania when the DJ announced that the building was on fire and guests needed to evacuate the room.

Thinking that the announcement was a joke, no one moved – that is, until fire fighters showed up and shooed more than 400 guests out of the building as a precaution. No one was injured in the fire or the resulting evacuation, which was deemed necessary by the fire fighters.

The fire was limited to the roof area of the hotel portion of the complex. The reception was being held in the convention center, which is connected to the hotel, but separated from the actual location of the fire by a parking lot. Guests poured into the parking lot and watched as the fire was extinguished. Once the fire was out, the bridal couple made the best of their plight by donning firefighting gear and posing for pictures on the fire engine with the fire fighters.

Keywords: Reception Venues, Weddingblog, Wedding

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Creative Bride Nets Wedding Sponsorship From Dr Pepper

Kelli Gray and Karl Gau are trying to plan a wedding. The 23-year-olds also have a 1-year-old child and make a combined salary that’s just a few thousand dollars higher than the USD$27,000 average cost for a US wedding. Gray, a hairdresser from Virginia Beach, Virginia, had planned a wedding that would cost just $7,000, but had little leftover cash to save for her big day. One of Gray’s bridesmaid’s suggested that Gray auction off a spot in her wedding to the highest bidder on eBay.

That’s just what Gray did. When the bidding was done, the winner was “Nick” who turned out not to be Nick at all, but a representative for the owners of the Dr. Pepper and Snapple Beverage Companies, based in Plano, Texas. “Nick” promptly upped the company’s $5,700 winning bid to $10,000 and said that the company would sponsor an online contest to see who should fill Gray’s open bridesmaid spot, even hinting that they might plant a surprise celebrity in the role.

Gray is thrilled with the outcome. With the extra money, she and Gau can take a honeymoon after the big festivities.

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Stuck On Ideas For A Wedding Car Try An Elephant

An Indian groom living in Washington, DC turned more than a few heads this week when he and his family paraded down Pennsylvania Avenue - not far from the White House – in a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony. The groom, Manan Shah, arrived at the ceremony atop Minnie, a 7,000-lb Asian elephant, dressed in her wedding finery. (This wasn’t Minnie’s first gig as a wedding car!)

Shah, 28, and his bride, Swati Raval, 26, were joined by hundreds of family members – many of whom had traveled from India for the festivities. As a young boy in India, Shah had seen an elephant deliver a groom to his bride and he wanted to recreate the same entrance. Once at the site of the wedding, the bride made her own spectacular entrance in front of about 400 guests.

Minnie the Elephant, who is 35, was brought down from her home in Goshen, Connecticut for the event. She has appeared in numerous advertisements, loves the attention, and is accustomed to “working the crowds.” In addition to the wedding in Washington, Minnie also made an appearance at a wedding in Boston the next day. She’ll return to Washington, DC this autumn for … you guessed it… another wedding.

Keywords: Wedding Cars, Weddingblog, Wedding

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