WEDDING SPECIAL
TRADITIONS AND SUPERSTITIONS ‘Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue’ – this saying originates from an ancient custom where brides wore a blue ribbon in their hair to symbolise their fidelity. The Victorians adopted the custom and it is still adheres today. ‘Old’ was an old garter given by a happily married woman to ensure future happiness, ‘new’ looks to the future for health and wealth, ‘borrowed’ is for the bride’s family to give something for a token of their love, but it has to be returned to ensure good luck, and ‘blue’ is thought to be lucky and represent constancy and fidelity. Before 2012 you could only legally marry in the UK between the hours of 8am and 6pm (presumably so you could see who you were marrying in daylight!). The change in the marriage laws now means you can get married at any time, and it’s much more flexible about where you can marry. But the venue must be a permanent structure, with a roof, approved for marriages and accessible to anyone to use. If you want to be slightly different you might have to look overseas.
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Wacky weddings
Weird and wonderful places to marry – you name it, you can probably get married there... climbing a mountain, deep sea diving, white water ra ing, are just a few examples which have been done before. We’ve found a few packages on offer... Skydiving. Marry in the plane and then take a leap of faith (literally), and the pastor comes too. It has been done and, of course, in Las Vegas it comes as a package. Hot air balloon. You can marry up in the air, although a bit more serenely than skydiving. Guests (as many as the basket accommodates) can come too. This is offered in New Zealand. Exotic underwater weddings are available in Australia on the Great Barrier Reef, in Bali and the Bahamas. And even stranger... Dogs can get married too. Owners are spending
thousands of pounds on weddings for their pampered pooches. Apparently you can marry an inanimate object, someone married a station once. And for narcissists the world over – you can marry yourself. But it might make for a very small party… Useful website www.excitingweddings.co.uk