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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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. [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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. [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »

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 [...] Read more »