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    Who knew a wedding could literally be an uphill battle? This unique couple decided that they wanted to say ‘I do’ on a mountain top, so they made their wedding guests hike three hours to the wedding destination.

    Livvy Bruce, 35, and Justin Flitter, 40 from Aukland, New Zealand chose an unusual spot for their December 7 nuptials, settling on the Pinnacles Hut on the Coromandel Peninsula, only a casual three-hour uphill hike away.

    “We’ve always done a lot of hiking adventures together over the last three years and when we were looking for venues and ideas, we wanted to do something different,” Flitter explained to Stuff Online.”Everyone thought we were a little bit nuts when we told them we’re getting married at the Pinnacles Hut – it’s a three-hour hike, most of it’s uphill, you’ve got to carry everything in and out, you can’t helicopter in, there’s no proper toilet and there’s no power.”

    On the day, the bride simply rolled up her wedding dress and kept it safe in her backpack during the hike.

    Credit: Anita Pitu Photography

    Their big day was a collaborative event, where their 60 guests all participated in making the wedding festivities. They brought their own drinks and snacks to create a shared antipasto platter. Luckily, the newlyweds catered the main meal of mexican wraps and salads followed by meringues and fruit.

    “It’s very much an effort where everyone has to contribute, everyone is involved in helping to cook, clean, decorate – everyone gets a job to do. Everybody chipped in and that made it really, really special,” Flitter said.

    Image: Unsplash

    A sign of good fortune, catching the bridal bouquet or garter predicts that the recipient will be the next person to get married. But have you ever wondered where this tradition comes from? Turns out, they have an incredibly odd origin story…

    You know the scene: the emcee calls all the single ladies to the dance floor for the traditional bouquet toss. Bridesmaids and guests jostle each other in preparation of the momentous occasion. The bride turns her back on her guests and hurls the bouquet, causing eager women to leap into a frenzy to catch the floral arrangement. It’s a fun, lighthearted moment during ones big day. However, it wasn’t always that way.

    Back in the day – medieval England to be exact – wedding guests were desperate to have a piece of the bride, literally. Wedding dresses were seen as positive signs of fertility and good luck, so obviously everyone wanted to get their hands on one. After the wedding, guests would clamour around the bride and rip pieces of her gown off her body as a keepsake. Guests in those days were pretty intense and would even follow the newlyweds into their bridal chamber and egg them on as they prepared to consummate the marriage. Yes, really. Understandably, newlyweds weren’t really into this.  To ward them off, the bride would hurl her bouquet into the crowd as a distraction before she made a quick exit with the groom.

    The garter was a popular piece guests aimed to grab from the bride. After the newlyweds consummated the marriage, the groom would toss the garter to the waiting crowd as proof that the deed was done. This piece of lingerie thus came to symbolise fertility and good fortune.

    In the 1919 book, “Wedding Customs Then and Now”, Carl Holliday writes, “The bridesmaids start with the weary bride to the wedding chamber when suddenly the cry arises, ‘Get her garter’… If the woman has been thoughtful, she has fastened it loosely to the bottom of her dress so that it drags in plain view of the scrambling ruffians; if she has not been a wise virgin, she may find her clothes in rags after the struggle.”

    Luckily, times have changed. Although I don’t know if a groom lunging underneath a skirt to retrieve the garter with his teeth makes this tradition any better. Think of the children…

    Image: Pexels

    Weddings in 2020 will definitely be featuring something blue. Pantone has just announced their 2020 colour of year, and it’s a brilliant blue loaded with beautiful meaning.

    For 2020, Pantone has selected PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue as their Colour of the year.

    “A timeless and enduring blue hue, PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue is elegant in its simplicity,” explains the company. “Suggestive of the sky at dusk, the reassuring qualities of the thought-provoking PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue highlight our desire for a dependable and stable foundation on which to build as we cross the threshold into a new era.”

    “Imprinted in our psyches as a restful colour, PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue brings a sense of peace and tranquility to the human spirit, offering refuge. Aiding concentration and bringing laser like clarity, PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue re-centres our thoughts. A reflective blue tone, Classic Blue fosters resilience.”

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    With such beautiful symbolism, this hue works perfectly for weddings. Here’s how to bring on the blue on your big day.

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    Image: Unsplash

    Celebrities have been feeling the love this year, and we can’t get enough. From a romantic star-studded event in the South of France to a three-day extravaganza in Marrakesh, these famous couples went big for their 2019 nuptials.

    Justin and Hailey Bieber

    The most exciting, star studded wedding of the year goes to the Biebers, who wed in Montage Palmetto Bluff, Bluffton, South Carolina on September 30. With a stunning off-white gown designed by Virgil Abloh and a statement veil with the words ’till death do us part” stitched onto it in white block lettering, Hailey’s look was absolutely iconic. But she didn’t stop there. She had two reception looks: a Ralph & Russo halterneck and a Vera Wang slip dress that she paired with sneakers.

    Their second nuptials (they had a small courthouse wedding in 2018) were attended by their many famous friends, including Kendall and Kylie Jenner, Justine Sky, Jaden Smith, Joan Smalls, and Justin’s manager Scooter Braun.

    Joe Jonas & Sophie Turner

    Following a host of pre-wedding activities, this loved up-couple said ‘I do’  at the Château de Tourreau in the South of France with their closest family and friends around them. Of course, Kevin and Nick Jonas were there, as well as sister-in-law Priyanka Chopra, Maisie Williams and Ashley Graham.  Turner wore a stunning long-sleeve gown designed by Louis Vuitton’s creative director Nicolas Ghesquière.

    This is their second wedding. The couple famously wed at a Las Vegas chapel after the Billboard Music Awards, and their nuptials were broadcast to the world via Diplo’s Instagram Live.

    Zoe Kravitz & Karl Glusman

    The last weekend in June was a pretty eventful week in France. Joining Joe and Sophie, Big Little Lies star Zoe Kravitz also said ‘I do’ to actor Karl Glusman in the city of love. The location was particularly special to them as it is where they met back in 2016.

    The couple is very private, and haven’t shared any official images from their nuptials. However, we do know it was a fun-filled affair. According to W Magazine, dad Lenny Kravitz’s 18th-century mansion acted as wedding venue. In an interesting fashion statement, the bride-to-be wore bridal biker shorts and an embellished fishnet cover for their rehearsal dinner.

    Their wedding had an A-list attendance, including Zoe’s parents Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet, step-father Jason Mamoa, Cara Delevigne and the cast of Big Little Lies.

    Idris Elba and Sabrina Dhowre had a stunning three-day extravaganza in Marrakesh back in April. The location was chosen as Sabrina’s family is originally from East Africa and Idris’s is from West Africa, so they wanted to meet somewhere in between.  In a tribute to their cultures, they wove Ghanaian and Somalian traditions into their big day.

    Sabrina wore an A-line crêpe dress with delicate Chantilly lace train for the ceremony, and a figure-hugging shimmery number for the reception. Both were designed by Vera Wang.

    Ellie Goulding and Caspar Jopling

    The ‘Lights’ musician said ‘I do’ to her art-dealer boyfriend, Caspar Jopling, at the York Minster Cathedral in England back in August. Goulding stunned with five beautiful bridal looks for their festivities. For the ceremony, she donned a bespoke Chloé gown and a delicate silk tulle veil with an organza collar featuring her and Caspar’s initials. Her other gowns include a sleek off-the-shoulder silk Stella McCartney creation, a beaded Ralph & Russo number, a short Balmain number featuring semi-sheer puffed sleeves and she ended the evening in a simple strapless black gown with a full skirt.

    The wedding was a royal affair, with Sarah, Duchess of York and her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie in attendance. Other notable guests include Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom and Ed Sheeran.

    Heidi Klum and Tom Kaulitz

    The German model and her Tokio Hotel singer beau had a romantic ceremony off the coast of Capri in August. They tied the knot onboard the famous Christina O,  following in the footsteps of Princess Grace Kelly and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis who also chose this yacht for their respective receptions.

    The pair legally married back in February, using this extravagant affair as an opportunity to celebrate with family and friends.

    Image: Instagram / Hailey Bieber

    You won’t be seeing any images from Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ 2012 nuptials on Pinterest and The Knot anymore. The prominent websites joined other platforms taking a stand by placing a shadow ban on all images relating to plantation weddings.

    Pinterest, The Knot Worldwide, Brides and Zola recently announced that they would be making changes to their platform that would restrict all references to plantations, as well as any language attempting to romanticise these locations as wedding venues.

    Those searching for such content will receive a notification that the images may violate Pinterest’s policies. The sites will no longer work with vendors that are plantations or attempt to romantacise such locations.

    This means that images from Ryan Reynold’s and Blake Lively’s 2012 wedding held at Boone Hall Plantation in South Carolina, have now been shadow banned from these popular sites.

    This move is in response to a campaign led by racial justice organization, Color of Change, who argued that the weddng industry was glamorising and capatalising sites of human rights atrocities.

    “The decision to glorify plantations as nostalgic sites of celebration is not an empowering one for the Black women and justice-minded people who use your site,” Color of Change wrote to the Knot Worldwide executives. “Plantations are physical reminders of one of the most horrific human rights abuses the world has ever seen. The wedding industry routinely denies the violent conditions Black people faced under chattel slavery by promoting plantations as romantic places to marry.”

    Many plantations in America thrived off slave labour and became places of human rights abuse for the people forced into these demeaning positions. As such, they’ve become painful reminders of a dark and sordid history for many African Americans who descended from such slaves.

    “Weddings should be a symbol of love and unity. Plantations represent none of those things,” said a Pinterest spokesperson. “We are working to limit the distribution of this content and accounts across our platform, and continue to not accept advertisements for them.”

    “We want to make sure we’re serving all our couples and that they don’t feel in any way discriminated against,” The Knot’s chief marketing officer Dhanusha Sivajee told Buzzfeed News.

    Image: Instagram / Ryan Reynolds

    It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a…groom? This groom’s head was in the clouds, literally, on his wedding day. Instead of walking down the aisle, he decided to make a grand entrance by skydiving to his wedding venue.

    Akaash Yadav married his bride Gaganpreet in spectacular fashion at their Los Cabos, Mexico wedding. A video of the groom skydiving into his wedding was posted to Instagram page ‘wedmegood’, and quickly went viral. It currently has over 11 000 likes.

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    Talk about taking a leap of faith! Yadav shared a video on his personal account, writing, “It’s a bird, it’s a plane…it’s me. On 11/25/19, I skydived into my baraat and into hundreds of screaming people. It ended up going viral and getting shared all over the world, which is insane in itself. But more importantly, it ended up being one of the craziest, most amazing experiences in my life.⁣”

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    Image: Instagram / Akaash Yadav

    King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium married on December 4, 1999 and are now celebrating the huge milestone of 20 married years.

    Before meeting Prince Philippe, Mathilde was a countess but led a more civilian life as a qualified speech therapist with her own practice in Brussels. When she first met Philippe, he was still only heir to the Belgian throne, with a lot of pressure and eyes on him. Being a very private couple, they managed to keep their relationship a secret right until they announced their engagement and surprised everyone.

    Things were not easy for them, but true love conquers all and made them stronger than ever. We look back on their marriage over the past years, and congratulate them on how far they’ve come.

    The wedding day (note the veil!):

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    Embed from Getty Images

    Modern day:

     

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    ⁣ ⁣ Retour sur les fiançailles et le mariage du Roi et de la Reine à l’occasion de leur 20e anniversaire de mariage le 4 décembre. Regardez leur témoignage sur La Une (RTBF) ce soir à partir de 20h20.⁣ —————⁣ Terugblik op de bekendmaking en verloving van de Koning en Koningin naar aanleiding van hun twintigste huwelijksverjaardag op 4 december. Vanavond in gesprek met La Une (RTBF) om 20u20.⁣ —————⁣ Looking back on the announcement and engagement of the King and Queen on the occasion of their 20th wedding anniversary on December 4th. Tonight in conversation with La Une (RTBF) at 8:20 pm.⁣ ⁣ @rtbf #anniversaire #mariage #huwelijk #verjaardag #wedding #anniversary #verloving #fiançailles #engagement #porcelaine #porselein #porcelain #KoningFilip #RoiPhilippe #Koning #Roi #König #King #KoninginMathilde #ReineMathilde #Koningin #Reine #Königin #Queen #royalty #België #Belgique #Belgium #BelgianRoyalPalace #MonarchieBe

    A post shared by Belgian Royal Palace (@belgianroyalpalace) on

    The royal couple have four children and are known to be very fond of their two dogs living with them at the Belgian Royal Palace. We wish them another happy 20 years!

     

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    Weddings are expensive, and saving money where you can is crucial. But have you ever considered saving the earth to save money? This couple did, and they were rewarded in more than just monetary value.

    Ellie Toohill and Darren Auth Duke from Western Sydney decided to save money in an inventive way by recycling bottles to pay for their wedding. They travelled across Sydney collecting rubbish to deposit into a bottle vending machine. For every bottle they collect, they earn 10cents. While it doesn’t sound like much, it can add up very quickly.

    Ellie Toohill and Darren Auth Duke Credit: Daily Mail
    The couple collected bottles to fund their wedding. Credit: Daily Mail

    They turned their backyard into a storage space where they separated their rubbish into special compartments for recycling. They also got their neighbors involved too, having them donate bottles to add.

    Ellie and Darren even used social media to spread their cause. They created a Facebook page, called A recycling wedding Sydney, and used it to document their process.

    They used an app to track their progress, through which they earned $7581, and another $3000 in printed receipts. With the money they were able to fund their wedding reception (planned for April 2020) and purchase their rings. They plan to do it all again to fund their honeymoon. Talk about something old, something new…

    Image: Unsplash

    Would you marry someone for a day? Apparently, many tourists and locals in Amsterdam would!

    As part of an initiative to create meaningful tourism, Untourist Guide Amsterdam launched a project that allows tourists to ‘marry’ a local, but just for a day. You provide the company with a few details about yourself, pay a hefty sum of 100 Euros (R1 620) and off you go. This includes the ceremony, outfits, a wedding set, speech, picture and rings to keep.

    Some may think it strange, others might like the idea of getting to know someone in a foreign place and make new friends. After the ‘wedding’ (which, of course, is not legally binding),  the new couple explore the city and you get shown around by a true Amsterdammer.

    Untourist Guide Amsterdam also make it very clear that they are not a matchmaking site, nor will they allow any inappropriate requests. This is purely for sincere adventure-seekers!

    Picture: Facebook/Untourist Guide Amsterdam

    One of Hollywood’s favourite couples, Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra, have just celebrated their one-year anniversary. Their touching tributes to each other prove that their love has only grown stronger.

    Nick and Priyanka wed in spectacular fashion last year in a three-day wedding blending Hindu and Christian traditions. Fast forward one year, and the couple are still feeling the love. On Sunday December 2, both took to social media to proclaim their love for each other.

    “One year ago today we said forever… well forever isn’t nearly long enough. I love you with all of my heart @priyankachopra happy anniversary,” wrote Nick.

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    In her own post, Priyanka wrote, “My promise. Then..today.. forever. You bring me joy, grace, balance, excitement, passion.. all in the same moment…thank you for finding me..Happy First wedding anniversary Husband.. @nickjonas ❤️? And Thank you to everyone for the love and good wishes. We feel blessed.”

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    Image: Instagram / Priyanka Chopra