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This unique couple is blazing a new path with their personalised wedding photoshoot. Right after these best buds married, they posed for a photoshoot while smoking a bong.

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Marijuana is legal in California, where bride and groom Coral and Mio live. As cannabis activists, Coral and Mio knew it had to feature in their big day. At their October wedding in Santa Cruz, California, the bridal couple decided to ditch the traditional wedding photoshoot in favour of sparking up a bong and blowing the smoke at the camera. The resulting images were pretty dope.

Their bongs were custom designed to read ‘Mr’ and ‘Mrs’. Corals bouquet also featured hemp in it.

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Photographer Rachel Artime was on hand to capture this moment. About the images, Rachel told Metro UK, “I’m really happy with the pictures. I love the smoke. It makes them look haunting and romantic in a weird way.”

“I’ve never had to photograph anything like this before. This is the most unconventional and non-traditional thing to happen at a wedding,” she continues. “Every wedding I’ve done is the most normal thing ever, so this is quite the experience to be photographing people literally smoking a blunt at their wedding. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before.”

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Image: Instagram / Coral Reefer

 

When we marry, its with the intention of being with someone forever. But for some, that forever is cut short at the blink of an eye. Such is the story of Vanessa Lanktree and her late husband and best friend, high school sweetheart Eric. Years after his passing, Vanessa honours her late husband in a touching annual photoshoot.

Canadians Vanessa and Eric met back in 2006 when they were still in high school. They fell in love, and in 2011,  firefighter Eric proposed to Vanessa on Christmas Eve.

“He was my first boyfriend, my first love,” Vanessa told SWNS. “Our relationship through the years was so strong because it started so young. I had no doubt about our lives together.”

They married on September 8, 2012 in a beautiful church ceremony.

“As I walked down the aisle with my dad, Eric was bawling his eyes out,” she said. “I already knew I wanted to marry him but when I saw him crying, I thought how lucky I was.”

Credit: Vanessa Lanktree

Two years after their wedding, however, tragedy struck. Eric was killed in a head-on collision with a truck in November 2014  while he was making his way home from a vacation in Vegas. He passed away soon after the impact, before Vanessa could even make it to the hospital.

“I felt like I was the only one at that age that had lost somebody that young like their husband,” she told CBC News. “Our lives had just started — it takes time to finally feel like you’re not in a cloud anymore.”

Years later, on the day after what would have been the couple’s four year anniversary, Vanessa suddenly decided to don her wedding dress again. In her dress, she danced around her kitchen to their wedding song, Keith Urban’s “Making Memories Of Us”. Putting her dress on again was a cathartic experience, one that soon became an annual tradition.

“It has felt so good to put my dress on,” Lanktree told CBC News. “I love putting it on and just felt good and I felt good in it that day and I still feel good.”

“Grief doesn’t go away but somehow you find little things to help you cope, like putting on your dress,” she said to SWNS. “Most people get to go out with their husband for supper or a date night on their anniversary, and this is my thing that I get to do without him.”

Putting her dress on became a symbol of an incredible relationship and marriage, and a way to honour their time together. Vanessa says that she will most likely do this yearly for the rest of her life.

She has since found love again and her boyfriend, Kurtis Isbister, is very supportive. This year, he took pictures of her in her wedding dress whilst in a sunflower field.

Credit: Vanessa Linktree

Vanessa hopes that this tradition inspires others to deal with their grief and live their life to the fullest.

“Eric would have wanted me to continue on with life and find some happiness somewhere,” Lanktree said. “The thing is to somehow find a way that you can honour that person. You can still find a little bit of happiness.”

 

Image: Vanessa Lanktree

The Rugby World Cup fever overtook us all these past few weeks. One South African in particular was feeling the spirit, and made a big promise. A single Facebook post gripped the nation for days to find out how this fairytale would end.

Last week, Brian Royalson Mdunge took to Facebook and posted on the group #ImStaying to announce that he would propose if the Springboks won the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

As we know by now, the Boks won the sports competition, bringing pride to the South African nation. This also meant that Brian had to hold up his end of the bargain.

Following the win, many waited in anticipation to hear the happy news of another engaged couple. However, no news came. For days, we were left with no updates, leading to the trending of #FindBrian.

“BRIAN!!!!!!!!! HALLOOOOO!!!!!! THE NATION IS WAITING IN ANTICIPATION!!!!! You had 24 hours to man up,” one comment read.

Brian has just broken his silence, although unfortunately it was not with good news.

“Hello Mzansi sorry to keep you waiting so long, but the lady rejected my proposal in front of my friends she said she’s not ready. I’m too embarrassed,” Brian wrote in his post.

Group members have rallied to support Brian through this tough time, sending him many words of encouragement.

“I’m so sad to read this news, ” reads one comment. “But she did not altogether say No. So hang in there, should your spirit tell you she’s worth waiting for. Amen. You stay blessed. Mwaj”

“Sorry Brian … She’s not ready now, if her unreadiness has to do with you, work on that… If not, give her time… She rejected the proposal, Not you! All the best bro..” another advised.

 

Image: Unsplash

Former SA cricket captain Graeme Smith got married on Saturday to lawyer Romy Lanfranchi, the same day the Springboks beat England in the Rugby World Cup final.  Early on Saturday, though, Graeme apparently made it clear that the Bokke formed a big part of the couple’s excitement on their magic big day.

According to YOU, the couple had a little boy together in 2016 and got engaged in 2018. They each have two children from previous marriages as well.

The two got hitched at the luxurious Beloftebos Wedding Venue outside of Cape Town. Both looked glorious, with Romy wearing a strapless mermaid dress and Graeme a black suit and faded pink tie. In all their pictures, the family of 7 are smiling and laughing lovingly.

 

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2 November was an incredible day! ❤️ #wedding #love #family #beloftebos #friends #blendedfamily #daytoremember? ?

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Congrats to the newlyweds!

Image: Instagram/Stansfield

Theirs was a classic tale. Two people from different sides of the track met and fell in love. Fast forward a few years, and they have become a power couple. Siya and Rachel Kolisi share a truly South African love story, one of love with trials and tribulations. This is how it all began.

When Siya met Rachel:

Siya and Rachel met at a dinner party in Stellenbosch back in 2012. They soon became friends, but Siya always liked Rachel. He eventually plucked up the nerve to ask her out, an experience he has described as scary. “I knew I liked her and had to tell her,” he wrote on their wedding website. “It was scary. I asked her to lunch and that’s when I told her. She played hard to get in the beginning, but eventually admitted it as well. The rest is history. We have a beautiful family and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with her.”

Family first:

Siya and Rachel have a big, blended family. Their first son, Nicholas Siyamthanda, was born in 2015. Their second child, daughter Keziah, was born in 2017.

Siya’s young half-siblings Liyema and Liphelo also live with the family. Siya and his siblings share a mother who unfortunately passed away in 2009, causing both Liyema and Liphelo to bounce from orphanages and foster homes for years until Siya and Rachel were financially able to adopt them in 2014.

Because of Siya’s busy schedule, Rachel left behind her career as an event manager and marketing executive to become a full-time mother to their four kids.

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Will you marry me?

The couple became engaged whilst sky high. Siya popped the question during a helicopter ride over Cape Town.

They married on August 13, 2016 with a beautiful ceremony in Franschhoek that had many South African athletes and other notable attendees present, such as Aisha Baker. Top Billing was on hand to capture their journey to the aisle. Watch their wedding insert below:

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Highs and lows:

Their relationship has not been without difficulties. Throughout their longterm relationship, the couple have been subject to much racial abuse from members of the public.

Rachel has also taken to social media after women have reportedly tried to interfere in her marriage. In response to a woman saying Siya was her type, Rachel tweeted,”Siya is not ‘a type’. He’s a married man responsible for four children. Just a side note. I’ve been there for all the good times. But I’ve also been there for ALL the bad times. Honestly, this should go without saying. Respect my relationship and woman to woman. Respect me.”

She has also publicly spoken out about women trying to reach out to her husband via social media, including a fitness model that sent Siya provocative photos via Instagram.

A national hero:

From his humble beginnings in Zwide township outside Port Elizabeth to representing the nation at the Rugby World Cup, Siya’s rugby journey has taken him to heights he never imagined.  In 2018, Siya became South Africa’s 61st skipper and the first black African to assume the role. Most recently he led the Springboks to victory at the 2019 Rugby World Cup and brought the trophy back home, a third time for SA. His success will certainly inspire a new generation of South African athletes.

Of course, his family was there every step of the way to cheer him on.

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Image: Instagram / Siya Kolisi

One thrifty bride-to-be took all her would-be wedding guests for a ride.

Apparently, she and her husband opted for a crowd-funded wedding, then cancelled the wedding after receiving over USD 30 000 (over R440 000!) and pocketed the money. Friends and family alike were outraged, and understandably so.

According to Digg, the would-be bride posted a message to a Facebook group to say that the wedding has been canelled for now, but did not provide concrete reasons why. Screenshots from her Facebook message were posted to Reddit. In the meantime, the couple plan to use the money for a “honeymoon”, after which they will supposedly reschedule the wedding. Here’s the best part: They said they will re-open the fund once the wedding had been rescheduled to welcome any further donations.

Credit: Reddit

Some guests, who have already gotten leave for the supposed wedding, were very upset and called the bride “greedy”. She responded by saying she felt attacked, and that since they donated the money as a gift, it doesn’t matter how she spends it.

This after loved ones selflessly donated hard earned money for what they believed was a worthy cause. Beware ladies and gents. No good deed goes unpunished.

Image: Unsplash

Tim and Bekah Blakely-Savage of Texas were ready. Their wedding day was beautiful and all was in place. Next thing you know, Mother Nature crashes in full force during their wedding photoshoot, sweeping them off their feet and leaving them soaked! The couple took it in their stride, laughing and yelling as it turned into a fun spectacle. Here’s how it unfolded:

 

“We didn’t necessarily intend on trashing the dress, but the ocean had other plans,” Bekah captioned the photos. Luckily, she even managed to salvage the gorgeous dress. “Shoutout to the world’s best dry cleaner who still managed to get all the spots and stains out,” she wrote in the comments section.

The photoshoot has since gone viral on Reddit, collecting more than a 1,000 ‘upvotes’ since being posted. It has also received a lot of love from other social media users.
“This looks like a photo from an epic romance movie!!! So beautiful!!!” wrote one commenter. “Your union has been blessed by the Earth! How wonderful,” said another.

This might just have turned out even more perfect than intended.

Picture: Reddit

Talk about raising the bar. This bridal couple opted for something different on their wedding day, and made a strong statement by doing a tandem deadlift at the aisle mid-ceremony.

Lisa Yang and Wek Hernandez, who met online and have been together for five years, are both fitness fanatics. Their love for weightlifting grew out of a desire to be stronger.

“We were runners actually, and we wanted to get stronger,” Hernandez told NBC News. “Initially, I got her into CrossFit, and then she found her way into the weightlifting team.”

“Weightlifting to us is very special,” Hernandez told Womens Health US. “We lift with our local team in Brooklyn. They’re family to us, and the whole weightlifting team was at our wedding.”

When thinking of a unique thing to do mid-ceremony, none of the traditional occurrences worked for them as a couple.

“We thought about the usual candle lighting, tree planting, sand pouring, and none of those things represented Wek and I,” Yang explained. “We were joking about doing a tandem deadlift. At the time, it seemed ridiculous because we’re Olympic weightlifters, deadlift isn’t even our main sport. But a snatch or clean-and-jerk in dresses might be a bit dangerous, so we settled on three deadlifts.”

The tandem deadlift came to mean more than just a personal touch for their wedding.

“It was meant to not only be a symbol of unity but also a statement, ” says Hernandez. “Individually, we are strong, capable women, but together we are stronger.”

So soon after they exchanged their wedding vows in Brookyn’s Prospect Park, Yang and Hernandez ditched their shoes, stood firm and lifted a 253 pound (114.8 kg) barbell together for three reps. Poofy dresses and all. They then casually went right back to the ceremony.

“I was just so happy and in the moment!” Hernandez exclaims. “I mean, we were deadlifting in Prospect Park in wedding gowns professing our love. It was awesome!”

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Their photographer, Eileen Meny, was able to capture the moment in all its glory. The image went viral soon after it was posted to social media.

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Yang hopes their unique wedding moment will inspire others to challenge themselves when it comes to fitness.

“People get really intimidated by barbells, but if they see tiny Asians in wedding dresses lifting weights, maybe they can start to believe that anything is possible.”

Picture: Instagram / eileenmenyphoto

California is currently reeling from an ongoing wildfire.  One couple, however, wanted to get married in the beautiful winelands, and didn’t want to cancel it. One of their wedding photos went viral when they posed wearing protective masks.

This past weekend, Katie and Curtis Ferland, from Chicago, Illinois, said their I do’s at the Chateau St Jean Winery in Sonoma County, California. The Kincade Fire has affected over 31 hectares and is only 45% contained as it continues its destructive path across the state, according to ABC7news.

At first, the couple was unsure about whether the wedding could go ahead as planned. However, after numerous setbacks -including having to change location- they decided to go ahead.

All the guests received masks they could wear to keep from inhaling smoke in the air, and the photographer, Karna Roa, suggested the couple incorporate it in the photos. The photo went viral since.

“I was thinking of ‘American Gothic,’ the 1930s painting that was the regular, normal of American life at the time,” Roa told ABC7 of the inspiration behind the photo. “And all of a sudden, in a very strange way, this has become our new normal of the wine country.”

“The joy won out, it was a happy wedding … But all of us were caught in that dichotomy of joy and sorrow. As a photographer, it’s easy for me to get lost in the moment and feel the joy of the couple.”

The morning after the wedding, the couple and their guests were forced to evacuate to San Francisco.

Roa hopes the image will help bring light to the escalating wildfire tragedy.

“It’s helping to bring light to the crisis and destruction going on here,” she told The Guardian US. “There are people who are still having major life events, and it’s happening right in the middle of a firestorm.”

Picture: Facebook / Karna Roa

Celebrities are fickle creatures. We’ve seen Kim Kardashian get divorced after a 72-day marriage, and Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson marry not once, not twice, but three times. Clearly, most celebrity marriages have a shelf life.

However, these lucky few famed families have managed to make their marriages last. Here are some of the longest celebrity marriages.

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne: 37 years

This eccentric couple wed in Maui in 1982, and have been rocking together ever since. We came to know them on a more personal level with their popular MTV reality show, The Osbournes. Their children, Aimee, Jack and Kelly, also starred in the show that detailed their wild and crazy lives.

Their marriage has not been easy, as the Black Sabbath star has battled with drug-related issues for years. They briefly separated in 2016 after it was discovered that Ozzy had an affair, but the couple ultimately decided to stay together.

“There’s no other woman I really want to spend the rest of my life with,” said Ozzy in an interview. “You make a mistake and you learn by it.”

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Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn: 36 years

This couple’s long-term relationship has spawned three decades and a big, blended family. They first met in 1966 whilst filming The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band. However, they were very young at the time and only began dating in 1983 whilst filming Swing Shift. Their first date was a memorable one, as they almost got arrested after breaking into a home Hawn had recently purchased because she didn’t have the key. Luckily, it all seemed to have worked out in their favour.

The couple have been together ever since, and have one child, Wyatt, together. Both have children from previous marriages. Hawn is mother to Kate and Oliver Hudson, both accomplished actors, and Russell has another son called Boston.

On their decision not to marry, Hawn explains that she doesn’t see a need. “We have done just perfectly without marrying,” Hawn said in an interview. “I already feel devoted and isn’t that what marriage is supposed to do? So as long as my emotional state is in a state of devotion, honesty, caring, and loving, then we’re fine. We have raised our children brilliantly; they are beautiful people. We did a great job there and we didn’t have to get married to do that. I like waking up every day and seeing that he is there and knowing that I have a choice. There is really no reason to marry.”

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Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson: 31 years

This loved-up pair are one of Hollywood’s favourite couples, and for good reason. They met on set of the ABC TV series, Bosom Buddies, back in the ’80s, but Hanks had been pining after his future bride long before then. Her guest appearance in The Brady Bunch caught Hank’s eye, but he didn’t act on his feeling for years.

After being friends for a while, they went public with their relationship in 1986 and tied the knot in 1988. They have two sons together, Chester and Truman. Hanks has children Colin and Elizabeth from his previous marriage.

“The success of our relationship was a matter of timing, maturity, and our willingness to have an intimate connection,” Hanks told Oprah. “I won’t deny that providence was part of us finding each other, but our relationship isn’t magic—the way it’s shown in movies. In real life, our connection is as concrete as me sitting here. Not that marriage doesn’t come close to being hell in a handbasket sometimes. But we both know that no matter what, we’ll be with each other—and we’ll get through it.”

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Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick: 31 years

This couple has been working together just as long as they’ve been married. Technically, they first met when Sedgwick, 12, approached Bacon, 19, to tell him she enjoyed his performance in a show she had recently seen him in. By 1997, when they had their second introduction on the set of their TV movie Lemon Sky, Sedgewick had begun an acting career of her own and Bacon was living in post-Footloose stardom. Whilst she thought of him as a jerk, Bacon was instantly besotted.

They began dating later that year, and married in 1998. They quickly welcomed children Travis and Sosie Bacon into the world. Sedgewick advises that couples make their relationship a priority.

“I feel the primary relationship has to be the mother and the father, and then it can be the kids,” Sedgwick explained to Redbook. “Of course the kids come first in planning your life, but it’s incredibly important to keep your relationship as a couple strong and make time for it. It’s the foundation on which everything is built. Kids should know that your needs are important, because if they think your happiness lies only in them, that’s a lot of pressure on them.”

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John Travolta & Kelly Preston: 28 years

Travolta and Preston met in 1989, but only began dating a year later. They married in 1991 while Preston was pregnant with their first child, Jett. They welcomed their second child, Ella, in 2000. However, tragedy struck in 2009 when the couple lost their first born who died from a seizure whilst on a family holiday in the Bahamas. The family tried to find joy again, and welcomed son Benjamin to the world in 2011.

The couple celebrated their 28 year anniversary this year, and took to Twitter to express their love for each other.

 “You have given me hope when I have felt lost, loved me patiently and unconditionally… made me laugh harder than any other human being possible… shared the most beautiful highs and at times lows.” Preston wrote in an Instagram post.”You’re a dream Daddio and make life so much fun!! I trust my love with you implicitly… with you I know I will always be okay no matter what happens… I love you forever and completely. Happy 28th Anniversary.”

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Annette Bening & Warren Beatty: 27 years

Once one of Hollywood’s most legendary bachelors, Warren Beatty changed his ways after meeting Annette Bening. The pair met after Beatty cast Bening in his 1991 film Bugsy. There was an instant attraction, and soon after filming, the couple began dating. They married in 1992, and share four children: Stephen Ira, Benjamin, Isabel and Ella.

Of their relationship, Beatty has said, “It didn’t really surprise me, I always felt I wasn’t trying to avoid marriage, I was trying to avoid divorce. I had no doubt when I met Annette that it was time to get married.”

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Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick: 22 years

The famed actors met in 1991, following SJP’s highly public relationship with Robert Downey Jr came to an end. But it was months later that Broderick would have the courage to ask her out. They began dating in 1992 and married five years later in 1997 in a surprise wedding. Their 100 guests didn’t even know they were attending a wedding until it started. Of course, everyone remembers SJP’s iconic black wedding dress.

They have had three children over the course of their marriage: 17-year old James Wilkie and 10-year-old twins Marion and Tabitha, whom they welcomed via surrogate.

“Relationships are hard,” SJP said in an interview. “I always felt that I wanted to invest more. I love him, and I think he’s brilliant. I’m sure I annoy him. He annoys me sometimes. I’m enormously proud of the person he is. I think the longer you can last, the more invested you just are.”

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Felicity Huffman & William H. Macy: 22 years

The Desperate Housewives star met Shameless actor William H. Macy in the early 1980s and they dated on and off for 15 years. Throughout their relationship, Macy proposed to Huffman but she always rejected him. In 1997, however, she had a change of mind, and said yes to the big question. They tied the knot later that year. Together they have daughters Sophie, 19, and Georgia, 17.

“What’s the secret? I don’t think there is a secret,” Macy told Us Weekly. “But mostly, I’m lucky. I met her, she said yes, we grew up in the theater together, we have shared interests, and she’s a good woman to her core and evolving always. And no one has ever seen me the way she sees me.”

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Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith: 22 years

This power couple will celebrate their 22-year wedding anniversary in December this year. They first met in 1994 when a then 19-year-old Jada auditioned to play Smith’s girlfriend in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. While she din’t get the role, she ended up getting the guy. However, at the time Smith was in the process of a divorce, so the couple only officially began dating in 1995.

They married in December 1997, and quickly had their first child together, Jaden in 1998. Soon after that, they welcomed second child Willow in 2000. Smith has another son, Trey, from his first marriage.

Despite constant rumours on the state of their marriage, the Smith’s maintain that they are still together and happy.

“We refer to ourselves as life partners, where you get into that space where you realise you are literally with somebody for the rest of your life. There’s no deal breakers,” Will said in an interview. “There’s nothing she could do — ever. Nothing that would break our relationship. She has my support till death and it feels so good to get to that space.”

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David and Victoria Beckham: 20 years

The world of pop music and sports collided when the Spice Girl began dating the sports star in 1997. According to David, it was love at first sight when he saw the pop sensation in a music video for her band’s song, Say You’ll Be There. They met months later in the United players’ lounge and they quickly fell in love. They wed in 1999 in an elaborate Irish ceremony that featured a massively poofy wedding dress and matching haircuts.

Since getting married, the loved-up pair have become parents to four children: Brooklyn, Romeo; Cruz; and Harper. Their relationship has been rocked from cheating allegations over the years, but they have remained steadfast in their commitment to each other.

“Of course you make mistakes over the years, and we all know marriage is difficult at times. It’s about working through it,” David said. “We stay together because we love each other, because we have four amazing children. Do you go through tough times? Of course. That’s part of relationships. It’s part of marriages. It’s part of having children. It’s part of having responsibilities.”

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Picture: Instagram / David Beckham