Credit Crunch Causes Couples To Go For A Friday Wedding
The credit crunch has led to hundreds of brides switching their big day to Friday to save on the spiralling cost of weddings.
New research shows that church weddings,traditionally held on Saturday a are increasingly taking place on a friday when cars, caterers and photographers are cheaper.
The trend has been growing for a number of years as the cost of getting married has risen but Church of England clergy say it is even more apparent now as couples struggle to pay for their wedding and a mortgage.
With weddings now averaging £20,000 or more, people are understandably keen to control their spending. For a lot of churches, Friday weddings are becoming a regular
feature, and we are far more open to what couples want.’
According to data from the Office for National Statistics, the percentage of religious weddings taking place on a Friday rose from 6 per cent in 1999 to 10 per cent in 2005.
A Friday wedding can cut reception hire costs and even the costs of some of your suppliers. It also means you’re more likely to get the date you want,as Saturdays are booked up far in advance.
The trend of Friday weddings looks likely to continue as the financial pressures of the credit crunch take hold.
Marriage Training In Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Social Affairs is reportedly considering making pre-marriage courses compulsory for couples about to tie the knot.
The hope is this will cut the growing divorce rate especially among young people.
The idea is to force propective couples to attend the marriage courses.
Classes will look at the legal aspects marriage, the rights of the husband and wife and their duties to their children as well as how to deal with both sides of the family.
It has not been stated whether sex education is to be included but some believe it’s badly needed in a society where any discussion about sex is taboo.
Marriage Makes You Live Longer
The secret to a long healthy life is marriage.
According to new figures, men who lose their lifelong partner often die soon afterwards.
The figures reveal that widowers over 85 have the highest rate of death per 1000 (191.6), while married men in the same age group have a death rate of only 140.3 per 1000.
It seems longevity and marriage are directly linked and that marriage is good for your health.
The figures suggested that married people have lower death rates and live longer because they are more likely to look out for each other’s health, serve as role models to children and engage in less risky behaviour.
Jennifer Aniston Plans Wedding?
The former Friends actress was reported to be planning to wed john Mayer before she turns 40 in 2009.
Jennifer and her new man have been inseparable since they began dating, with her following him on his European tour this summer.
OK! reported that Jennifer has decided she wants to wed her “perfect man” in a low key ceremony and spend the rest of her life with him.
The rumours come just days after Jennifer Aniston’s former husband Brad Pitt showed off his and Angelina Jolie’s new twins in Hello.
A spokesperson for Aniston has dismissed the story .
Couple Have A Flying Start To Married Life
A daring couple held their wedding on top of the wings of three aircraft flying at 1,000ft.
The groom, Darren McWalters, 24, stood on the top wing of a plane while his bride, Katie Hodgson, 23, flew alongside on the wing of an identical aircraft in her bridal gown.
The Rev George Bringham flew ahead on the wing of a third aircraft and performed the wedding ceremony over an airborne communications system.
The ceremony was played through loudspeakers throughout RFC Rendcomb airfield Gloucestershire, to the congregation on the ground below.
Chinese Couples Hope For A lucky Wedding
Thousands of Chinese couples plan to get married on the opening day of the Beijing Olympics.
August 8 is an auspicious date on the Chinese calendar.
At least 15,000 couples will get married in the Olympic city on Friday, which coincides with the opening ceremony of the Games.
Wang Zhemeng and his fiance have booked their marriage for the date and he says in Chinese culture the number ‘eight’ is very significant.
In the past, the number eight wasn’t popular, but now it means luck.
From the 1980s, it began to represent becoming rich and now the number 8 is very popular.
Thousands of pregnant Chinese women are also hoping to give birth on August 8, to bring luck to their child.
Marriage Proposal Couple Rescued
Two lovers were rescued as they drifted out to sea following a romantic marriage proposal in a dinghy.
Colin Howell, 35, enjoyed a champagne picnic with his girlfriend, Miriam Light, 26, before setting out from Cromer in Norfolk to pop the question.
The alarm was raised on Friday night after onlookers from Cromer Pier saw the boat more than a mile from the beach in windy conditions.
The couple, dressed in full evening wear, were rescued by a fishing boat.
Full story here.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/7538864.stm
Ex Robs Couple During Wedding
Julie and Neil Lewis were celebrating their wedding day at the New House Country Hotel in Cardiff when their daughter’s ex boyfriend who was at one time expected to be one of the top-table guests, broke in to their house
Hours earlier he had sent Julie, 36, a cheeky text wishing her the best.
Julie and Neil had to abandon their honeymoon and leave 30 overnight wedding guests behind at their hotel when they heard the home they share with their three year old son Alexander and Julie’s two daughters, Jodie, 19, and Bridy, 16, had been trashed and their savings, valuables and a precious charm bracelet taken.
The second shock came when they discovered the person responsible was Robbins of Cardiff, who was Jodie’s ex boyfriend.
At Cardiff Crown Court Robbins, 22, admitted stealing £14,000 from their home with accomplices.
He was jailed on Friday for two years .
But the sentence will be served alongside a four year term he was given a few weeks ago for a drug offence, meaning he will serve no extra time behind bars.
Brides Losses Cancer Battle Nineteen Days After Her Wedding
TRIBUTES have been paid to a bride who died 19 days after she got married in the chapel at Winchester hospital.
Abby Gresham-Burchell, 43, wed her partner of seven years, Thomas John, at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital on July 8.
She Past away last Sunday following a four year fight with cancer.
The couple, who have a five year old daughter had planned to marry at her parish church near Alton, but the ceremony was cancelled because Abby was too ill.
When her condition deteriorated, NHS staff joined together with family and friends to organise a whirlwind wedding so the couple could fulfil their wish to wed before cancer claimed her life.
It was the first wedding ever held in the hospital chapel.
Before her death, Abby told of how her Christian faith had given her strength to cope with her illness.
She was also confirmed in the hospital chapel on her wedding day by the Bishop of Basingstoke, the Rt Rev Trevor Willmott.
Abby requested any donations be sent to the Royal Hampshire County Hospital.
Our thought and prayers are with Abby’s family.
Britney Spears Little Sister Is To Get Married
Britney Spears younger sister Jamie Lynn Spears is all set to walk down the aisle with boyfriend Casey Aldridge,19 by the end of this year. Jamie, 17 who just gave birth to their first child Maddie is busy planning the wedding with her husband to be in his hometown of Liberty, Mississippi where the couple have been living.
Jamie got engaged to Casey in March this year and wants a low key southern style wedding, but big sis Britney is expected to be Jamie’s maid of honour.