Bridal shop owner does her bit for charity
Bridal shop owner collecting dresses for charity
Bridal shop owner Becky Murtagh, who runs Nancy Jane Bridal in Stretford, is doing her bit for charity by collecting used bridal gowns for local charity, St Ann’s Hospice.
The hospice has its own specialist bridal store in Cheadle where it raises money through selling second hand wedding gowns. Bridal shop owner Becky has been helping out the charity store by collecting the dresses, cleaning, and running repairs on them if needed, in order for the charity to sell them on and raise much needed funds.
Becky even made the ultimate sacrifice herself and donated her own wedding dress, which she wore to tie the knot with husband Mark three years ago. The mother of two admitted it was a tough decision to make, as such a garment holds great sentimental value, but conceded she’d never wear it again, so it was right to pass it on.
As well as bridal dresses, the charity also collects other items such as groom and page boy suits, bridesmaid and flower girl dresses, and even accessories such as tiaras, shoes and handbags. Becky says she’s even encouraged her own bridesmaids to give up their dresses for the St Ann’s Hospice.
29-year-old Becky has been donating second hand wedding dresses to St Ann’s Hospice since she set up her business in 2007. The charity say they are very grateful for the work Becky puts in, and know they can always rely on dresses arriving from her in immaculate condition.
Merseyside man has wedding blessing via webcam
With the bride in the US and the groom in the UK the wedding blessing had to be performed via webcam
A man from Formby in Merseyside was forced to have his wedding blessing performed over the internet after issues arose concerning his new American wife’s visa.
36-year-old Ian Wylie married US national Melissa Hughes in a ceremony in California at the end of June. The couple had planned to have a wedding blessing in the UK for all of Ian’s family who weren’t able to make it to the nuptials in America.
However the newlyweds’ plans were thrown into disarray after Melissa’s visa failed to show up in time for her to make it to the UK for the blessing.
30-year-old Melissa submitted her paperwork at the beginning of June, and was told the process would take up to 10 days. However by the end of the month, she was yet to receive her visa and made numerous phone calls in a desperate attempt to get her visa delivered so as to not miss out on her big occasion.
The bride’s mother and her sister were part of the 80-string party who attended the wedding blessing celebration at a hotel in Southport however the bride herself, was notably absent.
Determined to not let it ruin the occasion, the groom set up a web cam link with his new wife in America and the couple received their wedding blessing via the internet, as their family and friends looked on.
The groom’s mother described the ceremony as the “most emotional thing I have ever been to.” Adding that proud groom Ian was carrying his laptop around the guests at the reception introducing his new wife to his family and friends through the internet link.
Photographer dead after guns used as props in wedding snaps
The firing of a gun at a family celebration is common in Sicily
A wedding photographer in Italy has been shot dead after a gun accidentally went off while being used by the bridal party as props for the official snaps.
45-year-old photographer Calogero Scimea stepped in at the last minute to take the pictures at the wedding on the isle of Sicily after the original photographer fell ill. Mr Scimea suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head caused by one of the hunting rifles being used by the bridal party as they posed for photos.
Teenage sweethearts 22-year-old Valentina Anitra and 25-year-old Ignazio Licodia were having photographs taken at the home of the groom’s parents ahead of the wedding. Following the tragic incident, the bride and groom called off the ceremony immediately. The couple and their families who witnessed the accidental shooting were said to be distraught.
The groom’s parents could be prosecuted as the death occurred on their property, although the parent’s of the bride could also be in danger of prosecution as they supplied some of the firearms used in the photographs. It’s been reported that all of the guns were held legally. Ballistic experts have been called in to investigate the circumstances of the shooting.
In southern Italy, and especially on the isle of Sicily, it’s traditional for guns to be fired at special family events and also festivals. Many deaths have been reported in the past as a result of this dangerous practice.
Cars for Stars launches new website, www.carsforstars.co.uk
Cars for Stars logo
Leading chauffeur driven car and limo hire company Cars for Stars Ltd is celebrating this week after the successful launch of its brand new state of the art website.
The new look site at www.carsforstars.co.uk is part of a revamp of the company orchestrated by the new owners who bought out the luxury car operator last month. A whole host of new services and features are detailed on the brand new site as the new bosses at Cars for Stars prepare for a number of new developments being planned for the company.
The cutting edge website will enable the company to look to the future with a brand new sleek image. The contemporary look of the website has been designed by top quality web designers as the new bosses attempt to boost the company’s online profile. The Cars for Stars logo has also had a makeover so as to fit in with the new modern image of the company.
Both of the main Cars for Stars websites have been revamped including www.carsforstars.co.uk and http://www.carsforstars.net/ so as to reach a wider range of customers. Up to the minute information can be found on both sites detailing the range of services offered, plus advice on the best vehicles for specific special occasions, and there’s a special category on each website where information on last minute bookings are posted, and also any one-off discounts being offered.
A gallery with high quality photographs of the best chauffeur cars and limousines within the Cars for Stars fleet has also been added, plus in depth breakdown of vehicle features. The limos and cars have even been set into easy to navigate categories for the convenience of the customers, for example there’s a section dedicated entirely to the best wedding cars available, or the most popular vehicles such as the Rolls Royce Phantom for executive travel.
Customers can also keep up to date on the latest offers available from Cars for Stars by becoming a fan of the company through Facebook or by becoming a follower on Twitter. Linking up with popular social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter is another way by which the new owners are updating the image of the company and modernizing its services.
For more information on Cars for Stars and the company’s nationwide chauffeur driven car and limousine hire services, please visit the brand new website at www.carsforstars.co.uk
Are brides choosing plump bridesmaids to a make themselves feel good?
study reveals brides-to-be are picking overweight bridesmaids to make themselves feel better
According to a recent survey from Slim.Fast, brides are doing just that with one in three admitting to recruiting a large bridesmaid in order to make themselves look and feel good on their big day.
With so much pressure on brides to look perfect on their wedding day, many are turning to drastic measures, such as asking overweight friends to play the role of bridesmaid, so as to ensure they look slimmer in comparison in the all-important wedding snaps.
It’s not just brides who are feeling the pressure according to the study, 20% of female wedding guests embarked on a diet before heading to a wedding celebration. However slimmer wedding guests were also a worry for brides-to-be with 40% saying they felt insecure standing next to skinny guests at their nuptials.
Popular strategies employed by wedding guests to combat these feelings of anxiety include buying a new outfit to boost confidence, but a further 40% said new shoes were the best pick-me-up for pre-wedding angst.
Half of the brides questioned as part of the Slim.Fast survey said they planned to lose weight before their big day.
The practice of choosing larger bridesmaids to boost the self esteem of brides-to-be was described by one of the nutritionists at Slim.Fast as a “worrying trend” as the statistics seem to suggest this is a growing problem amongst brides.
Wedding sponsored by Bingo Club halted by the vicar
Couple forced to reject £5,000 sponsorship money from a bingo club for their wedding after the vicar objected
A couple who won £5,000 towards the cost of their wedding in exchange for displaying an online Bingo Club logo at their nuptials have had to cancel their plans after the vicar marrying them refused to let the sponsored wedding go ahead.
The couple from Newcastle-upon-Lyne had planned to tie the knot in Ballater in Scotland where the bride has family connections. However the vicar who was due to perform the wedding ceremony, Rev Tony Watts, is refusing to allow the bingo company to display logos in his church or take photographs for advertising as he believes it will promote gambling.
28-year-old bride-to-be Suzanne Latta and her fiancé Matt Brown, 37, beat off competition from hundreds of other couples to clinch the £5,000 prize. The national competition attracted widespread attention and is reported to be the first occasion in the UK where a company had officially attempted to sponsor a wedding in exchange for advertising.
In exchange for the £5,000 the competition winners were required to display the bingo company’s logo on the bride’s dress, suits, invitations, shoes, menus and even the place settings at the reception.
Ms Latta described feeling delighted after she and her husband-to-be were named as the winners of the Bingo Bride competition. However following the decision from their vicar to ban the onlinebingoclub.co.uk logo from his church, the couple will now have to go ahead with their marriage next month, with £5,000 less in their wedding budget.
Hotel’s refusal to refund wedding reception deposit after death of the bride causes upset
As the couple hadn't take out wedding insurance the cost of the reception cannot be recouped after the death of the bride
A hotel in the North East of England has hit the headlines this week after it refused to refund a deposit for a wedding reception after the bride sadly passed away.
35-year-old Annette Bainbridge had planned to tie the knot with Paul Teece in November but after suffering a severe asthma attack, the bride-to-be died suddenly at the end of May. Annette and her fiancé had already paid the full £2,000 for their wedding on May 1st.
The hotel was contacted by the grieving family to inform them that the wedding would have to be cancelled following the untimely death of the bride. Despite the tragic circumstances, the hotel asked for a cancellation fee of £1,500 be paid which was stipulated in the contract.
The establishment has since waived the cancellation fee however the cost of the wedding has not been recouped, as the couple hadn’t taken out wedding insurance. The family and fiancé of the deceased bride say that although the hotel is legally obliged to keep the money, they question the hotel’s moral integrity given the sad circumstances which forced the cancellation of the wedding.
When asked for their take on the situation, the general manager at the hotel in question refused to comment, stating that the matter was a private one between them and the groom, Mr Teece.
Wedding prompts bride to lose half her body weight
Sheila was determined she wasn't going to be a "fat bride" and so lost 12 stone ahead of her wedding
A recent survey revealed that the average bride-to-be aims to lose two stone in weight ahead of their big day. However Sheila McInnes went a step further and shed half her body weight before she walked down the aisle.
After her partner Brian proposed, although elated at the prospect of becoming his wife, Sheila refused to name the date as she dreaded the thought being a “fat bride.”
At 24 stone, and a dress size 32, Sheila was morbidly obese. However it wasn’t until she developed sleep apnoea which was caused by her weight, that she felt spurred on to lose the weight.
After being told she’d need to lose 4 stone before being considered for a gastric band operation, the mother-of-two embarked on a diet from the internet which replaced meals with shakes, bars, and soups. After losing the 4 stone, Sheila decided to ditch the gastric band operation and instead continued with the diet, determined to shed the pounds that way.
The dedication paid off as 32-year-old Sheila was able to buy that wedding dress she’s been dreading getting into and walk down the aisle with confidence, 12 stone lighter than she was when she got engaged.
Many friends who attended the wedding hadn’t seen Sheila since her dramatic weight loss which prompted quite a few gasps when she made her big arrival on their wedding day last October.
Husband Brian admitted fighting back the tears as he watched his bride in a stunning strapless size 12 dress walking towards him on their big day.
American beauty actress Mena Suvari wedding details revealed
Mena Suvari and Simone Sestito exchanged vows in a traditional ceremony held in a church inside Vatican City
Just as the first snaps of American Beauty actress Mena Suvari wearing her impressive wedding ring, designed by her new husband emerge, so do the all important details of their big day in Rome.
The 31-year-old actress married her Italian partner of three-years in what was described as a “romantic” and very “traditional” ceremony held in an 8th century church in Vatican City.
Rome was chosen as the setting for the nuptials as the groom, 25-year-old concert producer Simone Sestito, is Italian and his family live around the city.
Mena was described as looking “breathtaking” by one of the wedding guests as she walked down the aisle in an Alice & Oliver designed gown and a pair of Nova diamond earrings. Music for the religious ceremony was provided by a string quartet, organist, and also a soprano singer.
The wedding reception was held at the stunning castle in nearby Bracciano, Castello Odescalchi, the same venue where Hollywood couple Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes tied the knot in 2006.
The newlyweds took to the floor for their first dance accompanied by music from the Gypsy Kings and the night was rounded off with a magnificent firework display.
The couple got engaged in 2008 after meeting the previous year at the Toronto Film Festival.
Penelope Cruz marries in secret Bahamas wedding
Penelope Cruz chose a John Galliano designed gown for her wedding to Javier Bardem
Hollywood actress Penelope Cruz has married Javier Bardem in a secret ceremony held in the Bahamas. The Spanish couple are understood to have tied the knot at a friend’s house in the sun soaked Caribbean.
Only close family members and friends attended the wedding, according to Cruz’s spokeswoman, who also confirmed that the actress had chosen a John Galliano wedding gown for her big day.
The pair started dating back in 2007 when they played an on-screen couple in the movie Vicky Cristina Barcelona directed by Woody Allen. Cruz went on to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the movie.
Spanish actor Bardem is a fellow Oscar winner having picked up the gong for Best Supporting Actor for the 2007 film, No Country For Old Men.
Although Cruz and Bardem only started dating three years ago, the pair have been friends for 20 years after first meeting on the set of Spanish comedy Jamon Jamon.
Prior to their wedding earlier this month, rumours were rife that the pair had become secretly engaged, however both Cruz and Bardem declined to comment on gossip.
Previous to her relationship with 41-year-old Bardem, the Hollywood star dated actor Tom Cruise following his split from his first wife Nicole Kidman, and also Matthew McConaughley for two-years.
Wedding Car Hire
