Saint Lucia has been named as the top honeymoon destination for the 12th time by the World Travel Awards. This is also the third consecutive win for the island nation.
It beat out other loved destinations like Jamaica, the Maldives, Mauritius, Paris, Miami Beach, Oman, Maui in Hawaii and Cartegena de Indias in Colombia.
While virtually accepting the award, Minister Honourable Dominic Fedee said: “Saint Lucia’s internationally acclaimed status is what we strive for daily in our strategic marketing and promotion efforts.
“The destination undoubtedly boasts of true passion in all key niches and amongst its hidden gems. It is indeed an honour for Saint Lucia to be named once again as the World’s Leading Honeymoon Destination, a sincere reflection of our culture and the people who propel the industry.”
It seems this destination is quite popular. In addition to its winning category, Saint Lucia was also nominated as the World’s Leading Island Destination, World’s Leading Wedding Destination and World’s Most Romantic Destination 2020.
Saint Lucia is a sovereign island country in the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It is especially popular for its lush rainforests, towering mountains, secluded coves and vibrant local communities. It is an adventure-lovers dream destination.
If you’re newly engaged, you may be so in love with your ring that you never want to take it off. While fully understandable, an engagement ring is not a typical piece of jewellery.
While an engagement ring is designed to be durable, certain activities can cause it to lose its lustre over time. There are obvious moments in time you shouldn’t wear your engagement ring, like while exercising or doing the dishes or any other type of cleaning that involves detergents. But what about when you rest your head at night?
Sleeping is the least active thing you could do, and for some wearing an engagement ring while closing their eyes won’t cause too much of an issue. Experts are divided on whether it helps or harms.
Some experts argue that an engagement ring is a fine piece of jewellery, and should thus be treated as such and not be worn during activities that could affect it. Others, however, believe sleeping in your engagement ring is a smart way to ensure you don’t lose your jewellery because where else would it be but your finger?
However, there is an argument to be made for rough sleepers. Beyond it being precious, your ring can easily get caught in things like your hair or on your sheets if you’re a particularly wild sleeper. This can create friction and may cause the stone to loosen in the setting. If your stone is lower on the Mohs scale of hardness and thus more fragile, sleeping in it could make it more prone to damage.
The best thing to do is to have a dedicated place on your nightstand where you leave your jewellery. Before you go to bed, just pop the ring off and it will be safe for the night. This will also guarantee that you won’t lose or misplace your jewellery.
For centuries, it has been an enduring wedding tradition that a father walks his daughter down the aisle on her big day. As the first moment guests (and the bride’s partner) sees the bride, this is a pretty big deal.
While usually a sweet and sentimental moment, it comes from less than heartwarming origins. According to wedding historian Susan Waggoner, this tradition comes from the days when arranged marriage was a normal custom in society.
In many societies, a bride was considered a form of financial liability who could be transferred from her father’s household to her eventual husband’s home.
With marriage being more of an economic choice than a romantic one, some grooms got spooked at the thought of getting hitched. This is where dads came in. Fathers would act as a physical reminder (and threat) of the deal, making grooms more likely to go through with the wedding.
Over the years, as with virtually every other wedding tradition, the origins of this custom has become sanitised and romanticised. Today, its a special moment for brides to walk arm in arm with their father on such a special occasion.
As the times have changed, however, so has the tradition. Some brides don’t have fathers and have alternative family members walk them down the aisle. Some share strained relationships with their dads, and choose to not partake in this tradition at all. In the case of some same-sex couples, it might be a groom walking down the aisle instead of a bride.
The beauty of weddings nowadays is that couples have choices. Some traditions, while sentimental for some, are outdated or hurtful to others. There is no one way to get married. Traditions are not required, and rules don’t always have to be followed.
Veils are not made equal. From fabric and length to fullness and style, every aspect of your wedding veil can make or break your bridal look.
With thousands of veils to choose from, it can easily feel like an overwhelming task. However, there are ways to refine your search. These are the key veil lengths and the looks they suit best:
The birdcage:
For a vintage flair, opt for the birdcage veil. This short veil often features stiff netting or mesh that covers just the forehead and top half of the face. They are usually fastened to pillbox hats or headbands.
This veil looks best for brides wanting a more vintage, throwback look. It pairs especially well with tea-length dresses.
For a more classic look, the fingertip length veil is perfect. This mid-length veil stops below the waist and is flattering on every body shape. Not too long and not too short, this veil can be dressed up or down depending on how fancy you want your look to be.
This is truly the jack of all veils. It flatters a range of hairstyles and dresses, so you have endless options with this look. If your dress is quite embellished and dramatic, it may be best to pair it down with a more simple veil. However, a more simple silhouette can be given added drama with a full veil.
One of the most popular veil looks is the ballet length. Also known as the waltz veil, it falls below your hips, anywhere between your knees and ankles.
This look is extra feminine and romantic, and works especially well on petite brides as it won’t drown her out with fabric and make her appear smaller.
Most brides traditionally opt for the chapel length veil, which drapes all the way to the floor and spreads out a few inches behind their wedding dress.
This style is more formal and traditional, making it perfect for brides wanting a classic look.
This style is essentially the extended chapel veil. It’s usually about 30-60cm longer than a wedding dress, and often requires assistance when laying it out neatly behind you.
Brides wanting a bit more drama but not too much fuss will love this look. It complements ballgowns especially well, adding a special fairytale spin.
It’s clear to see how this veil got its name. Channel the drama of Princess Diana with a bold wedding veil that extends not only centimetres but meters behind your dress. Of course, you’ll need some assistants on hand to make sure it looks perfectly sleek and straight, and that no one trips on it.
Naturally, this veil is perfectly designed to complement a dramatic ballgown.
A 300-person wedding in Washington State has been linked to dozens of coronavirus cases and the deaths of seven care home residents in the area, none of whom attended the wedding.
A reported seven care home residents, aged between 70 and 90, have died after staff members at the facility attended the November 7 wedding.
At the time the wedding was held, indoor ceremonies in Washington State were limited to 50 people.
In an announcement, the Grant County Health District explained that residents were staying at three care homes in Grant County, Washington, and all seven had underlying health conditions. There were also three other deaths not associated with the Long Term Care Facilities
“Our investigations have determined that there were long term care staff who tested positive for COVID-19 who attended the large wedding in Ritzville, WA reported on November 16. Because staff in these facilities care for entire units, direct contact with associated patients is not known. Our most vulnerable community members — elderly, immunocompromised, and those with chronic conditions — are especially at risk of complications due to a COVID-19 infection and we must continue to take measures to protect them from this disease.
“The best way to do that is by staying home as much as possible. Your choice to gather with those outside your household could lead to additional cases of COVID-19 and even death. Please protect those you love by staying home,” they concluded.
In a story that is wildly millennial, Hollywood “it”-couple Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra began their love story thanks to a Twitter DM.
Since then, they’ve had a whirlwind romance that saw them date, get engaged and marry in quick succession. This beautiful couple have been married for two years, but have been giving us couple goals for even longer. Here’s how they stole each other’s hearts.
Back in 2016, the Jonas brother slid into actress Priyanka Chopra’s Twitter DM’s with a casual, “I’m hearing from a few mutual friends that we should meet,” the singer told Vogue.
Not one to mince words, Chopra responded with, “My team can read this. Why don’t you just text me.”
For about a year, the pair shared friendly yet flirtatious conversations over text. They finally met in person at the 2017 Vanity Fair Oscar party in February. Jonas was so bowled over by Priyanka’s look that he went down on one knee and loudly proclaimed, “You’re real. Where have you been all my life?”
The pair continued to hang out, and even attended the Met Gala together later that year, both wearing Ralph Lauren. At the time, however, Chopra claimed they were just friends and had attended together because they were wearing the same designer.
Nearly a year after that fateful DM, the pair went on their first official date in May 2018. They went to see Beauty and the Beast at the Hollywood Bowl. It was a fast romance for the pair from this moment. In June, Chopra was Jonas’s plus-one to his cousin’s wedding, and the couple went Instagram official on June 22.
Before the dust settled on their relationship announcement, the pair were back with even bigger news: In July, they got engaged. Jonas had proposed the day after Chopra’s 36th birthday while on holiday in Crete.
The pair announced their engagement in August while on a trip in Mumbai, in which their families met for the first time.
Chopra’s engagement ring was designed by Tiffany’s, a childhood dream of hers. Going along with the theme, she hosted her bridal shower at the iconic Tiffany’s Blue Box Café in New York. She wore a strapless white Marchesa gown and A-list stars like Lupita Nyong’o and Kelly Ripa were on hand to celebrate with her.
The pair’s elaborate wedding weekend kicked off on December 1, 2018. Their nuptials were done in spectacular fashion with a three-day wedding blending Hindu and Christian traditions.
They said ‘I do’ at the Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Kevin and Joe Jonas, Sophie Turner, 30 Rock actor Jack McBrayer and Elizabeth Chambers Hammer were just a few of the notable guests at this lavish wedding.
Every member of the bridal party stunned in Ralph Lauren, with Chopra stealing the spotlight in a Ralph Lauren-designed dress that was hand-embroidered and hand-beaded with more than two million mother-of-pearl sequins. It was her veil, however, that truly stole the show. A 22-metre veil, that is! Chopra’s veil required assistance from five people to bring to the altar where Nick Jonas was awaiting her.
The couple enjoyed a mini-moon in Oman before hosting another reception in Mumbai on December 19, and yet another one on December 20.
With wedding celebrations over, the pair went on a proper honeymoon to the Caribbean, a trip entirely planned by the singer.
Just when we thought the festivities were over, the pair once again celebrated their nuptials. They hosted an American-based reception at Nellie’s Southern Kitchen in North Carolina, Jonas’s family restaurant, on January 27, 2019.
Since then, the pair continue to look as loved up as ever. They recently celebrated their 2-year wedding anniversary.
In a story entirely fitting for 2020, a bride would not let her positive COVID-19 diagnosis stop her from getting married.
California couple Lauren (29) and Patrick Delgado (27) have been engaged since May 2019, and had already downscaled their big day due to the pandemic. They changed their venue and guest list three times, and took it in their stride as they were excited to marry. However, things took a turn for the worse when Lauren tested positive for COVID-19 only five days before their wedding.
“Everything that could go wrong did go wrong,” Lauren told NBC News. “”I was really saddened because everything we had planned was already getting cancelled.”
Their November 21 wedding was so impromptu that Lauren didn’t even have enough time to pick up her wedding dress, and instead just wore a white dress straight from her closet.
Patrick stood outside the home as Lauren said her vows from her second floor bedroom window. Their 10 guests, who had all tested negative, wore face masks and stood socially distanced outside Lauren’s window or watched from their parked cars to enjoy the 45-minute ceremony.
In place of holding hands, the pair held each end of a flower-decorated ribbon as they exchanged their vows.
What do you do if you test positive three days before your wedding, but everyone else around you is negative? Let’s up…
“It was the most 2020 wedding I have ever shot during Covid-19,” said Jessica Jackson, the wedding photographer.
“I was just so happy and excited to be surrounded by my closest loved ones there,” Lauren added. “It wasn’t about a big wedding, it was just about celebrating our love and life together.”
After the ceremony, Patrick went to his home while Lauren stayed at her mother’s house to continue her quarantine. They ended their evening by watching the Netflix movie ‘Holidate’ and eating dinner separately over FaceTime
“It’s almost like a funny story we’ll one day tell our children,” Delgado said. “Like, we couldn’t sleep in the same bed the same day we got married.”
Lauren hopes to have a bigger ceremony with their extended families and friends some day in the future, when it is completely safe to do so.
Marriage has been a time-honoured tradition for centuries. While normally considered to be between two consenting adults, it seems marriage has a loose definition in today’s world.
It’s not only humans tying the knot with each other. Over the years, people have fallen in love with inanimate objects and decided to take the next step in their relationship by getting married. Here are a few of the unexpected things people have tied the knot with.
The Eiffel Tower
Erika La Tour Eiffel must have a thing for the tall, strong and silent type because she said ‘I do’ to the iconic Eiffel Tower. The bride is known as an “objectum sexual”, a person who falls in love with inanimate objects. Before the Eiffel Tower, she was in love with Lance, a bow that lead her to become a world champion in archery.
If you’d like to know more about Erika, there is a whole documentary called “The Woman Who Married the Eiffel Tower,” that tracks her life and her love story with this iconic landmark.
A ghost
Amanda Large Teague from Ireland claimed to have tied the knot with the ghost of a 300-year-old Haitian pirate she met while meditating for the first time. She is convinced the pirate was that of Jack Teague, who some believe to be the pirate who inspired the character of Captain Jack Sparrow in the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ franchise.
After months of communicating, the pair married aboard a boat on the Atlantic Ocean in 2016. Unfortunately, the pair did not last, and went their separate ways in 2018.
A smartphone
It seems this guy saw the movie “Her” one too many times. Back in 2016, Aaron Chervenak from Los Angeles travelled to The Little Vegas Chapel in Nevada to say ‘I do’ to his cellphone.
His marriage, while not legally recognised, was done to make a point about society’s growing obsession and reliance on smartphones.
A sex-doll
Kazakhstani Bodybuilder Yuri Tolochko recently married his sex-doll girlfriend Margo after proposing back in December 2019. The pair were meant to marry sooner, but were forced to postpone due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an interview, Tolochko claimed to have paid for Margo to have plastic surgery, as she “began to develop a complex” after receiving criticism over her looks following their engagement announcement.
“She has changed a lot. At first it was hard to accept, but I got used to it later on. It was at a real clinic with real doctors,” he said.
Back in 2018, mother of two Kate Cunningham said ‘I do’ to an elder tree at Rimsose Valley Country Park in order to bring attention to how green spaces in the area were being destroyed.
The marriage idea began as a way to prevent the local government from building a bypass road that would run through the Valley.
A hologram
Akihiko Kondo from Japan married a hologram of cyber celebrity Hatsune Miku back in 2018. He fell in love with her a decade before when he first heard her music.
After falling into a deep depression, Kondo explains that the hologram, which is programmed to speak and respond, helped bring colour to his life. His bride lives in his Gatebox device, which creates the flickering hologram of Miku.
South Africa will be getting more regional courts to adjudicate civil disputes in December. This increase will make it easier for people to get divorced.
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola announced that changes to the Magistrates Court Act will take effect from December 1, 2020. Every regional court has been appointed as a place for the holding of a civil court.
Until recently, regional courts were reserved for more serious criminal offenses and civil disputes, like divorce matters. This change will make it easier for people to access civil law services closer to where they live.
“Up until the end of November only a few of the regional courts could hear civil matters,” said the Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services on Tuesday, December 1. “Prior to this change being made, people often had to travel long distances, and at great expense, to litigate and be able to access civil law services offered by the regional courts, including having their applications for divorce heard.”
More seats have been appointed, making it easier for people to take divorce matters and civil disputes to court nearer to their homes.
“Many of the seats are in the historically Black areas and rural villages. As an example, in the former Transkei area of the Eastern Cape, persons would have had to travel to Mthatha for their divorces to be heard. With the new changes, they can now go to any of the 25 Regional Courts spread around the region. There are, in total, 72 proclaimed civil regional court seats across the Eastern Cape province,” added the Ministry.
In the Southern Cape, people previously had to travel to George to get divorced. Now, they can travel to Heidelberg, Mossel Bay, Oudtshoorn, Plettenberg Bay, Riversdale, Swellendam, Thembalethu or Uniondale to access civil law services.
The Western Cape has 32 seats to serve the population.
“Regional courts are vital to ensure access to justice. Enhancing access to justice means taking the courts closer to the people which, in turn, minimizes costs and inconvenience when matters are to be heard. By establishing these civil seats, we are taking justice to the doorsteps of peoples’ homesteads,” said the Minister.
Despite Daft Punk’s famous lyric, it seems that many newlyweds aren’t ‘up all night to get lucky’.
A recent campaign by Compare.bet/en-au/ surveyed 980 couples across 44 countries with the highest populations to find out if they consummated their marriage on the night they tied the knot. They then created a map showing the top 10 countries most likely to consummate their marriage on their wedding night, and the bottom 10 countries who didn’t find the time to make it ‘official’.
The results are in:
The newlyweds most interested in getting jiggy straight after they tied the knot were from Finland, with a whopping 89% saying they consummated their marriage on their wedding night.
Following closely behind was Egypt, with 88% of couples saying they had sex on their first night being married, whilst 12% didn’t.
In third place was unsurprisingly the hot-blooded Brazilians, with 87% doing the deed on their first night as man and wife. South Africans ranked pretty high, with 82% consummating the marriage on wedding night.
Japan and Russia had the second and third lowest percentage of consummating couples. And it was bad news for the Australians, who came trailing in last place, with only 36% getting laid on their wedding night, compared to 64% of couples who didn’t mark the occasion.
