It’s a storybook romance for the ages. A commoner caught a Prince’s eye, they fell in love and married in an elaborate fairytale wedding. Prince William and Duchess Kate’s relationship has had its ups and downs over the years. However, this story of their pre-wedding marriage pact might just restore your faith in love.
In her 2013 royal biography, Kate: The Future Queen, royal expert Katie Nicholl details a touching story in which the royals made a promise to each other years before their wedding.
According to Nicholl, the pair made the pact back in 2007, four years before their April 29, 2011 wedding date. Following their short-lived breakup, the couple flew to the island of Desroches in the Seychelles for some alone time. Nicholl writes that Kate was feeling insecure about their relationship, and William wanted to prove his commitment to her.
“There on the paradise island, William promised Kate that he was in the relationship for the long term,” Nicholls wrote in her book. “For the very first time, they talked seriously about marriage, and with the ocean before them and beneath the night sky, they made a pact to marry.”
And the pact held true. In 2010, the couple announced their engagement to the world after Prince William proposed to Kate in Kenya. Who can forget that iconic 12-carat sapphire engagement ring that once belonged to Princess Diana? They then married in 2011 in a grand ceremony broadcast all over the world. In the years after their wedding, they became parents to Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Creativity is always encouraged and being inventive is cool. But this guy might have just taken it too far. A Japanese man collected his fingernail clippings for a year, then ground it to a powder and baked it to create a “stone” for an engagement ring. The end result is a pitch black, rock hard stone. If you didn’t know, you would probably never guess that’s it’s made from human nails.
He created the silver band himself too, baking and filing everything from scratch, and filming the whole painstaking process. The video went viral and has over 5,593,473 views. The internet is not quite sure how to respond, ranging from disgusted to amazed!
We’re not sure if he actually proposed to someone with it yet, but we do think he would be a very hands-on husband.
Bindi Irwin, daughter of the late Steve Irwin, will marry her longtime boyfriend Chandler Powell this November. They both want this special day to honour Steve, as he was much loved by all and had a very good relationship with his daughter. Steve, a wildlife conservationist, passed away in 2006 after being stung by a sting-ray.
Her younger brother, Robert, will walk her down the aisle. In a touching post on social media, Bindi said: “Dad, You would be so incredibly proud of Robert. He has been such an amazing support during this beautiful new life chapter.” If that hasn’t made you tear up yet, Bindi’s mum Terri will dance with her in Steve’s place for the traditional father-daughter dance.
The Irwin family portray a wholesome picture and seem to be really close to each other. Speaking to the Sunshine Coast Daily, she said: “I do really wish that dad was here to be able to celebrate with us as a family. I think in some ways he is and his spirit lives on in everything that we do, and I always feel closest to dad here at Australia Zoo.”
True to the family’s love for nature and wildlife, the wedding will be held at Australia Zoo, which was set up years ago by Bindi’s grandparents. Steve Irwin grew up working in the zoo. That’s also where she met Chandler and where they got engaged on her 21st birthday. And, not all too surprisingly, Bindi will carry a koala down the aisle (one of her favourite animals) instead of a bouquet.
“I’m not sure how many people have walked down the aisle with a koala, but we may be setting some new trends for weddings from here on out,” she said laughingly on Good Morning America.
The sustainability-focused couple might send out their invitations made from elephant waste, according to hints from the wedding planner, Trudy Croad. “Both Bindi and Chandler are the ultimate in everything being sustainable and recyclable, so from every element of their day, they’re going to really want that to come true. Elephant poo makes the most beautiful recycled wedding invitation paper. So they could use the elephant poo they have on site to make their invitations,” she told The Mirror.
As for what she would wear, Bindi playfully posted a teaser of the dress, showing only the sleeve (and her gorgeous ring):
Church weddings are so last year. This couple decided to be different, and prove that they were in it to win it by getting married whilst running in one the biggest off-road marathons in the UK this past weekend.
Luretta Spearing and Jon Sharkey from Dorset, UK, met through their shared love of long distance running. They have been together for six years, and have a child together. When they initially got engaged, getting married whilst running a marathon was not a thought in their mind.
“We were engaged for over a year before a conversation one evening led us to question if it would be possible to get married mid-marathon.” Luretta told The Argus UK ahead of the wedding. “I had already entered the Beachy Head Marathon as it is one of my favourite marathons, so we thought it would be a good choice.”
“We wanted our wedding to be about us, and what better way than doing the thing we both love.”
Within three days, all enquiries were made and everything was arranged.
The Eastbourne Beachy Head Marathon is one the biggest off-road marathons in the UK. Formerly known as the Seven Sisters Marathon, it is popular for its scenic and challenging route through the South Downs National Park countryside.
The marathon covers a 26.2 mile (42.16 metre) course that includes over 300 steps and 14 gates, passing through Jevington, Alfriston, Litlington, Friston Forest, the Cuckmere Valley and Seven Sisters, including Birling Gap and Beachy Head.
The marathon saw 3000 entries, some of which included friends of the engaged couple.
“We thought we’d have a quiet wedding but many friends decided it would be fun to join us so we’re really excited to be celebrating with our closest family and friends,” said Luretta.
On marathon day, the couple paused at the 9.5 mile point to hold the ceremony. Once the ceremony was over, they continued the race as man and wife. They celebrated their nuptials and relaxed their legs at their wedding reception the same evening.
Every couple has a love story. All the moments in life come together to create the now. When a couple decides to get married, they bring with them all their histories. That is exactly what this British couple did.
Becky Brotherhood, 43, and Lee Markham, 45, have not had the easiest path in life and in love. To honour their journey and the past that made them who they are, Becky decided to don a wedding dress with patches made by her friends and family.
Becky and Lee met five years ago. At the time, Becky had just completed her battle with breast cancer that made her leave her past career of nursing behind to focus on her health. She began training to become a massage therapist to help people who felt that their body was turning against them.
Both Becky and Lee had children from previous relationships and had gone through difficult experiences.
They quickly fell in love and brought their families together, however, Becky never thought she would remarry. It was after Prince Harry and Meghan’s wedding that she had a sudden change of heart.
“I’m not an avid follower of the royals, but something about their story – how sections of the establishment were sniffy or judgemental about Meghan, or the fact that she’d been divorced made her somehow less worthy – just really hit home on that day,” she explained to Metro UK.
“I felt that perhaps my decision to not marry was actually more about what people might think, and less about what I actually wanted, or how I felt about him.”
She then took the initiative and asked Lee to marry her over Facebook Messenger.
“So I asked him – and that fact that I asked means so much to me now: to hell with rules and tradition and what people think.”
When it came to planning the big day, Becky knew she wanted her wedding dress to tell a story, one where her closest friends and family could be a part of the creation.
“Standing in front of my soul mate at the age of 43, knowing that we both have rich histories and six children between us, it felt wrong to buy something new and off the shelf,” she explains. “It didn’t feel right and didn’t fit us as a couple.”
“One of the most special things about our love is that we love each other because of our pasts. They’re not something we have to look beyond or gloss over, and the family home we are both building right now is open and welcoming to everyone. We both have scars and losses – physically and metaphorically, and I wanted that to be reflected and held in every part of my dress, bravely, unashamedly, and with love.”
Becky, a skilled sewer, began designing and sewing her own wedding dress from an old sheet she found in her attic. Some of Becky’s clients gave her scraps of fabric and buttons that were sentimental to them for her to use on her wedding dress. This inspired Becky to ask her bridal party to make their own patches that she could then sew on to her wedding dress.
Friends and family came together to create patches. Credit: Becky Brotherhood/ Lee MarkhamThe patches all told a story. Credit: Becky Brotherhood/ Lee Markham
“I wanted it to feel like a tapestry of our lives… our children, our friends, and our families, and everyone who had made us into the people that we were – standing face to face vowing to spend the rest of their lives together,” she told HenHeaven. ” I wanted it to feel new and different … almost tribal, a coming together of everyone’s love and blessings for us, to hold me with every stitch.”
She hosted sewing lessons to show those less-confident how to do it. This recurring sewing session quickly became special bonding moments for those involved.
“It ended up being almost like a month-long hen do, where friends would come up, and we’d catch up, and spend quality time together too and with such busy lives, when does that ever happen? And it really felt like the dress captured that energy of reconnection too.”
She sewed the patches onto an old piece of welsh slate from the quarry next to where she had grown up. Also attached to the wedding dress were Lee’s father’s wedding ring, Becky’s mother’s wedding ring, the buttons from Becky’s sister’s gown, and from her mother’s jewellery box.
In the end, they created a unique dress with immense sentimental value.
On the wedding day on September 28, all her loved ones were around to see their creation and to celebrate the union of Lee and Becky.
“Seeing everyone that loves us, and supports us, and who have been there for us through tough times, and good times – seeing all those people rally round and just love getting involved, and creating such wonderful, heartfelt pieces of art, essentially, it’s like I felt lifted up on their shoulders and carried to the day.”
Many a boyfriend has had to comply with his girlfriend’s latest photo recreation attempt of some amazing couple photo she saw online. The universal sigh followed by the eye roll, usually ending in a blunt refusal to pose any longer (four hours later). One newly engaged man was a darling, and completely down for it.
Despite his best efforts, though, Collin Hewett messed it up completely. As in, horrendously. He practically drowned his fiance, Alyssa Snodsmith, in champagne. Luckily, she was a good sport and laughed all the way through!
The photo Alyssa found on Pinterest by photographer Brianna Bender Martin looks simple enough. So couple Collin and Alyssa decided it’s the one to recreate. Here’s where the fun starts.
Apparently, at first, all went well but the angle was not exactly right and the flow of champagne too little. So Collin kicked it up a notch. Next thing you know, champagne is streaming uncontrollably all over Alyssa’s face, with her gasping for air. Here’s the tweet that has since gone viral:
So me and Alyssa took our engagements pictures yesterday. She found a Pinterest picture that she wanted to try and recreate
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I botched it pic.twitter.com/oSSUCB4o6A
“I was trying so hard to pour it slowly that when it started to kind of trickle out at the end, I over-adjusted and it came pouring out all over her,” he told TIME, laughing.
“I’m fine by the way,” Alyssa responded to the original tweet. Seems it was all taken in good spirit and she decided to roll with it.
Their photographer, Chandler Lefever, laughed just as hard.
Apparently, the rest of their photoshoot were shots of them walking far off, taken from behind, so they wouldn’t look soaked on their engagement photos for the rest of their lives. Not nearly as much fun, we think.
Austrian countess Olympia von und zu Arco-Zinneberg married Prince Jean-Christophe Napoleon Bonaparte on 19 October 2019 in a magical ceremony in Paris.
Prince Jean-Christophe is the great-great-great nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte and Countess Olympia is the great-great-great niece of his second wife, Archduchess Marie-Louise.
In a symbolic union, one can say that history has repeated itself as the (former) Imperial House of France and the Austrian House of Habsburg wed once more. Minus the political motivation.
In 1810, the wedding of Napoleon Bonaparte I and the Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria that took place was a strategic move by the Archduchess to end the conflict between Austria and France.
The bride looked elegant and beautiful in her satin-and-lace Oscar de la Renta gown. The dress had a cut-out fern monogram that fit her perfectly. To match, she sported a caplet for the ceremony which was taken off for the reception, held at the historic Palace of Fontainebleau.
Traipsing behind the gown was a gorgeous veil, trimmed with matching lace. Atop her head sat a bejewelled tiara.
Sarah Hyland’s wedding to Bachelor star Wells Adams is inching closer and closer and the actress is getting her entourage ready for her wedding. Sarah recently invited a few of her gal pals over for brunch, and it’s here where she asked them to be her bridesmaids.
Sarah chose a cute gift box to ask her friends. On the inside of the lid to the boxes, it read, ‘Will you be my bridesmaid? Love, Sarah’, which included her maid of honour as well.
Earlier in October, Hyland asked her longtime friend and fellow actress, Vanessa Hudgens, to be one of her bridesmaids by sending Hudgens a sweet gift box. Hudgens shared the surprise with her followers on her Instagram stories. It consisted of a beautiful wooden box engraved with Hudgens’s first name and adorned with a white ribbon and decorative green and gold leaves.
If you are preparing to ask your chosen friends/family to be your bridesmaids, but are feeling a bit uninspired, take a look at how actress Sarah Hyland popped the question:
You might think that a wedding planner wouldn’t want to do the work of planning his/her own wedding, since that’s what they do for a living. But actually, that’s the perfect reason for them to do it. They know all the ins and outs, the tricks and tips and most importantly, they have contacts in the industry.
One such lucky lady, California-based Erica España, recently threw her own wedding when she got hitched to her long-time best friend and high school sweetheart Dustin Lakin. They said their vows in the lovely English Gardens of Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills. And here’s the best part: There was no one at the ceremony.
Credit: Mike Radford
Afterward the ceremony, they invited 30 family members for an intimate dinner at a hotel in Downton LA.
Erica told Brides that she called in some favours for her big day. The couple’s custom invitation suite featured calligraphy and bright, cheerful botanicals. It also included elements that hinted at reception elements to come. She asked bakers she often worked with to make cookies and macaroons that matched the invitation suite. The treats were packaged in mini velvet bags, the same material used to line the envelopes.
Credit: Mike Radford
After the stately dinner, they threw a dance party for 90 guests. “I didn’t stop dancing until the wedding was over!” said Erica.
As a wedding planner AND a married woman, we are eager to get some wedding advice from her. Her mantra is easy enough: “Go with your gut and do what makes you feel comfortable. When guests see that you’re relaxed and having fun, they’ll follow suit.”
The entertainment world is shocked after an Instagram post by famous rap artist Nicki Minaj hinted at a secret wedding. Minaj has been dating rapper Kenneth Petty for almost a year now and fans are going crazy over this surprising post showing hats which read “bride” and “groom” and mugs that read “Mr.” and “Mrs.”
The caption, dated yesterday, read “Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty 10.21.19”, and led viewers to assume that the two recently got legally married. Several celebrities commented on the Minaj’s post, offering their congratulations.
However, some are wary about the post, not wanting to get excited too soon. The singer never actually officially confirmed the marriage, and some might argue that Minaj, who is known for flamboyant fashion statements, would never get married without a huge ceremony and an outfit to match.
Nicki reportedly told Queen Radio in August that they will be married, but that “I have to work on my album and I have a lot to focus on that I don’t want to do the big wedding now. We’ll do the big wedding later.”
Well, we are keeping our eyes on the media, and time will tell.
