As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, some wedding plans have been put on hold and others happened sooner than expected. If you tied the knot before your planned wedding date, this means you likely missed out on some of the traditional pre-wedding celebrations.
Typically, a bachelorette party is a celebration of the bride’s last night of singledom. But what if you’re already married?
In comes the wifelorette. A wifelorette is a party given in honour of a woman who is already married. Generally, this kind of party happens if the bride could not have a bachelorette party before her wedding.
View this post on Instagram
Wifelorettes are no different than the usual bachelorette, so let your creative juices flow and plan something that is perfect for you and your best friends. From a night out on the town to a weekend away, or even a fun scavenger hunt, anything goes.
View this post on Instagram
Picture: Unsplash
We know that a honeymoon is not about where you are, but who you are with. That being said, spending it in a beautiful location wouldn’t hurt. There…
Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi suspended a number of services, including the solemnisation and registration of marriages until further notice. This comes as South Africa continues its second round of lockdown Level 3, as well as a second wave of COVID-19 infections worse than the first.
In a statement on Tuesday [January 12], the Minister explained that Home Affairs will now only offer priority services, as the crowds that gather daily outside the offices are a massive concern.
“At the beginning of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, certain Home Affairs services were suspended in order to reduce the number of people who visited our offices. This was to limit the risk of their infecting each other and the staff because social distancing is difficult when you have a large crowd,” he said.
“As the lockdown levels were relaxed, we incrementally reinstated services until 01 October 2020 when we went into lockdown Alert Level 1. This is when almost all services were reinstated. Unfortunately, the impact of what we did on 01 October had the effect of taking us back to pre-COVID-19 days where huge crowds gathered at our offices while not observing any of the protocols, especially social distancing.”
Out of their 412 offices, 266 had to close at some point since the beginning of the lockdown in March 2020 because of staff members testing positive for COVID-19. Hundreds of employees have tested positive for the virus and in the first 10 days of this year alone, they have already lost seven front office employees.
“These trends and numbers are going upwards, suggesting there’s going to be an even greater demand for death certificates. Taking all these factors into consideration, the Department of Home Affairs has decided to temporarily suspend certain activities and services until further notice. This is unfortunate but we are forced by circumstances,” added the Minister.
The following services have been suspended until further notice:
– Applications of Smart ID Cards, except for matriculants
– Applications for passports, except for people who fall in the categories permitted to travel in the amended Disaster Management Act Regulations
– Marriage services such as solemnisation and registration.
Picture: Pexels
Is a conventional diamond too boring for you? If you enjoy the darker things in life, a gothic-inspired engagement ring may be perfect for you. You don’t have…
For over a decade, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi have been one of the most prominent and powerful couples in Hollywood. Here’s how the pair fell in love.
DeGeneres and De Rossi met at a party back in 2000, and De Rossi told Oprah she fell in love instantaneously. However, at the time she had not come out as gay, so she could not express her feelings.
Three years later in 2004, they reconnected at VH1’s Big in ’04 Awards. At the time, DeGeneres was in a long-term relationship with photographer Alexandra Hedison and De Rossi was dating director Francesca Gregorini. However, their connection was undeniable and the pair ended their individual relationships to be together.
“She had a girlfriend and I had a girlfriend, but it wasn’t like, ‘Oh, we’re going to have an affair,’” DeGeneres explained to People Magazine. “We were just supposed to be together. It was a tough decision. I was physically getting sick because I was trying not to say anything. So I told Alex and she told Francesca. It was really hard to uproot everything.”
They went public as a couple in 2005 at the HBO Golden Globe Awards After Party. They soon moved in together.
Speaking to People Magazine, De Rossi said: “It’s the first time that I’ve known in every cell of my being that I’m with somebody for the rest of my life.”
DeGeneres and De Rossi married on August 16, 2008, soon after same-sex marriage was legalised in California. They said ‘I do’ at their Los Angeles home with only 19 guests present. Both brides wore Zac Posen outfits for the big day. Late philosopher and self-help guru Wayne Dyer officiated the ceremony.
“Today we have taken a giant step forward toward the ideal that all of us, with no exceptions, are not only created equal, but we each have the unalienable right to pursue our own happiness,” he said during the ceremony.
“I have often said that true nobility is not about being better than anyone else, it’s about being better than you used to be. With your exchange of vows today, you symbolize for many who have gone before you, who were forced to live their lives in quiet desperation, lurking in the shadows, that we as a people, are truly becoming better than we used to be.”
Picture: Instagram / Portia de Rossi
Fred Paul and Florence Harvey’s love story ignited 68 years ago when they were just teenagers in Wandsworth, a small town in Canada. They were inseparable, spending every…
After the stress of wedding planning, a honeymoon away with your loved one sounds like the perfect remedy. Unfortunately, that requires even more planning.
Travel agents are experts in their field and can turn a getaway into a trip of a lifetime. If you’re still on the fence of deciding on doing it yourself or relinquishing control, here are some pros and cons to help you make your decision:
The Pros:
It’s literally their job to create perfect trips
Travel agents are seasoned professionals at planning trips, and consider every aspect. If you’re a newbie to travelling, there may be some things you don’t even think about that could have a huge impact on your getaway.
They also tend to know a lot more about certain destinations and properties and can recommend restaurants, clubs and sightseeing spots off the beaten track.
They can get deals and discounts not available to the public:
With all their connections in the industry, travel agents are more likely to get discounted rates for hotel stays and experiences. It can sometimes even be slightly more affordable to book a package through them than to book it all separately by yourself.
It saves you time, effort and stress:
Outsourcing a responsibility allows you to focus your energy on something else, which is especially helpful for couples planning a wedding at the same time. All you need to do is pack your bags and hop on your flight to your dream destination.
The cons:
It’s another expense
While travel agents are typically not costly, planning a wedding is already expensive enough and adding another vendor to your list might not be in your budget. If you don’t have the wiggle room or would rather save your money to use on your honeymoon itself, then hiring a travel agent may not be the best idea.
It can be hard to find the right one:
Like with anything in life, you want the right person to handle your business. Travel agents are not all made equal, and some may push you into more costly experiences or not tailor your trip to your personality but instead on what they enjoy.
Picture: Unsplash