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In Celebs

Faith Hill and Tim McGraw celebrate 24 years of marriage

October 7, 2020 No Comments

Iconic country duo Tim McGraw and Faith Hill have been married for 24 years. Taking to social media, the pair wrote sweet messages of devotion to one another on their special day.

“24 yrs…….These years have rushed by in a series of beautiful, painful and unexpected moments….
We have loved, laughed and cried through exciting, inspiring and heartbreaking events in our lives together,” McGraw gushed on Instagram.

“You have been a role model for 3 remarkable young women who have made me a better man than I ever thought I could be…..The future will surely hold more of all of these things. It only matters if I’m with you. It only works if I’m with you. My oxygen only exists if you’re by my side. Forever and always living and loving our way through anything @faithhill”

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Hill was short and sweet with her message, writing: “To my guy…The one that stole my heart 24 years ago today. Happy Anniversary my love❤️❤️❤️”

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The couple fell in love at first sight when they met at McGraw’s Spontaneous Combustion tour in 1996, which Hill was the opening act for. They tied the knot on October 6, a few months into dating. Soon after, they announced they were expecting their first child.

They are now parents to three daughters: Gracie (23), Maggie (22), and Audrey (18).

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Picture: Instagram / Faith Hill

In Legal & Administration

Gay couple’s struggle to marry in Richards Bay

October 7, 2020 No Comments

Muhammad Buckus and Kyle Pillay have been together for about five years. They live openly as a same-sex couple. A year ago, they exchanged wedding vows at a traditional Hindu ceremony. But they have been unable to formalise their partnership, because Home Affairs officials in Richards Bay kept turning them away.

“We have been given excuse after excuse and it seems to us that the problem is that we are a same-sex couple,” says Buckus.

On the eve of moving from Pietermaritzburg to Richards Bay, they went to the temple with a few close friends and committed themselves to each other.

“We knew we also wanted to get married legally,” says Buckus. “We didn’t for a moment think it would be a problem.”

He and PIllay have been to their local office about five times since September last year. Buckus recounted the excuses he’d been given by various officials and forwarded Whatsapp messages and voice-notes he has sent to various Home Affairs managers in the province.

Initially, they were told there was no marriage officer. Then they were given an email address for one but she responded that there were no dates available until the following year.

“We went there to find out what dates were available and we were then told that officials there were not trained to do same sex marriages.

“We then contacted the manager, who told us that was not so, but they didn’t have a marriage register or certificates,” said Buckus.

He said they were told to “try” other offices in the province but were given no guarantees.

Then came the Covid-19 lockdown and the office closed. But after it reopened they were again given the excuse that it didn’t have the necessary documents.

“On one of our visits, an official tipped us off that they would never perform the marriage there ‘because they are Christians who have staunch beliefs but they will never tell you that to your faces’,” said Buckus.

On Thursday last week, a day after GroundUp sent questions to the department, Buckus said he received a call and was told an appointment was available on 8 October.

While thrilled at this development, he said he and Pillay still felt they had been victimised.

Home Affairs spokesperson Siya Qoza said the Richards Bay office could not assist the couple earlier this year as it did not have the necessary documents to solemnize same sex marriages.

“The couple was advised that the offices in Umgeni, Ethekwini and Ulundi would be able to assist them. The couple advised the officials in Richards Bay that they would wait until that office was able to assist them,” said Qoza.

This article was written by Tania Broughton and originally appeared on GroundUp.

In News

First look at Princess Diana’s wedding dress on ‘The Crown’

October 5, 2020 No Comments

The most iconic wedding dress in history is making its Netflix debut. The highly anticipated fourth season of The Crown will tell the story of when Prince Charles met and married Princess Diana, and fans cannot wait to see the dress brought to life.

Actress Emma Corrin will step into the shoes of the iconic Diana in the new season, and Netflix has just shared the first look of the famous wedding dress.

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The dress was created by award-winning costume designer Amy Roberts, in collaboration with one of the original dresses designers, David Emmanuel.

“Without access to the original patterns, Amy collaborated with David Emmanuel. He was enormously helpful, talking the design team through the detail of many of the original drawings to help them create this gown for Emma Corrin,” Netflix explained.

“Four months and five fittings later, with three people spending a collective 600 hours working, they had a dress. It’s made of 95 metres of fabric and 100 metres of lace, with a train that is approximately 30 metres long.

“The Nottingham based team who made the lace on the Emmanuel’s original dress also made the lace for this one. Sadly the man who worked on the real-life dress passed away, but it’s his son who worked on the one you’ll see in The Crown,” Netflix added.

Netflix’s The Crown will be released on the platform on November 15. Watch the trailer for the new season below.

Picture: Screenshot from video

In News

Groom’s father interrupts wedding, leaves bride in tears

September 30, 2020 No Comments

When the officiant says ‘Speak now or forever hold your piece’, the only appropriate response is silence. Unfortunately for this couple, the groom’s father had quite a bit to say and used this opportunity to express himself.

The father ruined his son’s wedding in Detroit, USA when he let his future daughter-in-law know exactly how he felt. In a video shared to Youtube, the father can be heard saying “I know you’re not serious, man. I know you’re not serious,” as the congregation looks on in shock.

The officiant attempts to ignore him and move on with the vow exchange, but the father persists. The bride, clearly agitated, gets into an argument with the father who refuses to back down.

The bride even asks someone to escort the father out. “If you did not want to come, you can leave. You shouldn’t have come if you did not want us to get married,” she says through tears.

The situation continues to escalate and even becomes physical. Some congregants step in to break the brawl up and the bride walks away in tears. The father eventually exits as well, leaving a pretty awkward wedding ceremony and what we can only imagine was a tense reception.

Picture: screenshot from video

In News

The easiest place to get married in Europe

September 29, 2020 No Comments

Gibraltar became the wedding hot spot of Europe during the pandemic because of its lack of restrictions and its open border.

The British Overseas Territory shares a border with Spain and is famous for being home to the Rock of Gibraltar, a monolithic limestone promontory, which towers over the peninsula.

When the world shut up shop to stop the spread of COVID-19 by imposing travel restrictions and limiting the number of people allowed to gather publicly, many couples that hoped to get married had their plans delayed indefinitely.

Enter Gibraltar, which was exempted from the list of countries the UK advised against non-essential travel to and, and whose government lifted many of the restrictions on personal movement and recreation that were implemented at the start of the pandemic.

Following the easing of these restrictions, the Gibraltar Tourist Board began to actively encourage wedding tourism. Their website, Visit Gibraltar, reads: “Follow in the footsteps of John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and Sir Sean Connery – get married on the Rock. Marriages and civil partnerships in Gibraltar are easy and visitors can choose from a variety of locations for the ceremony.”

It also boasts that hundreds of couples travel to Gibraltar to exchange vows and that local legislation does not require any form of residence from prospective newlyweds, the ‘simple’ procedure merely requires valid identification and one night’s stay in the territory.

One of the facilitators of Gibraltarian weddings, Chairmaine Cruz, the owner of Sweet Gibraltar Weddings, told The New York Times: “We were just expecting people to cancel or postpone, but as soon as the travel restrictions were lifted in July the phones wouldn’t stop ringing.

“It makes sense as it’s easy to get married here. It’s cheap, there are many direct flights and the marriage certificate provided is recognized worldwide.”

Featured image: Pixabay

In News

Will your wedding song lead to an unhappy marriage?

September 29, 2020 No Comments

Who knew the wrong song could make or break you? According to a new survey, the wedding song you choose for your first dance may heavily impact on your marriage.

A recent survey by online marketplace OnBuy.com asked 5500 married couples in Britain what their first dance song was and how they would describe their relationship now.

Elton John’s ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight’ came out tops as the song with the happiest couples post-wedding. A reported 506 couples chose this song to sway to, and 77% of them are still in a happy marriage.

Other songs happy couples danced to on their wedding night include:

– ‘Isn’t She Lovely’ by Stevie Wonder (75%)

– ‘The Way You Look Tonight’ by Frank Sinatra (74%)

– ‘A Whole New World’ from Aladdin by Lea Salonga & Brad Kane (71%)

– ‘At Last’ by Etta James (71%)

– ‘You Are So Beautiful’ by Westlife (70%)

– ‘You’ll Be In My Heart’ by Phil Collins (70%)

– ‘ I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing’ by Aerosmith (69%)

– ‘Your Song’ by Elton John (64%)

– ‘Better Together’ by Jack Johnson (64%)

Of those who danced the night away to One Direction’s ‘Little Things’, 75% were the most likely to be unhappy, separated or divorced. Other songs that future unhappy couples danced to include:

– ‘I’m Yours’ by Jason Mraz (61%)

– ‘Chasing Cars’ by Snow Patrol (56%)

– ‘Skinny Love’ by Birdy (54%)

– ‘You’ve Got a Friend In Me’ by Andy Newman (52%)

– ‘Stay With You’ by John Legend (49%)

– ‘Everything’ by Michael Bublé (49)

– ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ by Elvis Presley (48%)

– ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran (42%)

Feature image: Pexels

In Fashion

Kim Kardashian launches SKIMS bridal shapewear

September 25, 2020 No Comments

Kim Kardashian is entering the wedding world! The mogul just expanded her coveted shapewear brand SKIMS to include something new for brides.

The SKIMS bridal collection features their popular solutionwear styles like bodysuits, briefs, bralettes and more to wear underneath your dress for a seamless finish. All pieces come in soft blue.

“From something silky to something blue: we’ve got you covered with our most loved Solutionwear styles in a new soft blue color and a limited edition, embroidered silk robe,” they explain on their Instagram page.

Sizes range from XXS to 5x, and the line launches Firday, September 25 on the SKIMS website.

Take a look at the collection:

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Feature image: Instagram / SKIMS

In News

Increase in wedding bookings after Level 1 was announced

September 23, 2020 No Comments

South Africa is officially in Level 1 of the nationwide lockdown, bringing a further easing of restrictions. This shift has inspired a greater interest in wedding bookings.

While weddings have been allowed since Level 2, the restrictions on public gatherings meant that only 50 people may attend. Under Level 1, a maximum of 250 people are allowed at an indoor venue, and 500 for an outdoor venue as long as a 1.5metre distance can still be applied.

The wedding industry has experienced a spike in bookings from couples looking to still tie the knot this year. According to EWN, many couples have booked venues to host their weddings in the last few months of the year.

“You finding a lot of last-minute people who are taking advantage of level lockdown regulations,” explained wedding specialist Khali de Villiers.

Many venues and vendors will be offering specials as the industry opens up, enticing more and more couples to place a booking.

All weddings will be under strict health and safety regulations, and guests will be required to wear masks at all times unless eating or drinking.

Picture: Pexels

In Legal & Administration

Same-sex couple seek R2-million in damages from SA wedding venue

September 18, 2020 No Comments

The battle continues for same-sex couple Megan Watling and Sasha-Lee Heekes. The pair are facing off in court against Western Cape wedding venue Beloftebos, who made headlines in January for refusing to host their same-sex wedding ceremony on religious grounds.

The couple are now seeking R2-million in damages, which they plan to donate to charity. Court papers filed in the Equality court reveal that Watling and Heekes are suing Beloftebos owners Andries and Coia de Villiers for the impairment of dignity, pain and suffering due to unfair discrimination against them.

The brides-to-be also want the court to declare the venue’s refusal to host same-sex weddings as unfair discrimination, and thus unlawful and unconstitutional. They are seeking an unconditional apology from the venue, in which they acknowledge the harm they have caused.

The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) launched an application against the owners in March, following several complaints about the venue. The Comissioner, André Gaum, explained that the outcome they hoped to achieve includes that the venue’s policy be declared discriminatory, and that they are forced to host same-sex marriages. He said that the policy is unconstitutional and amounts to unfair discrimination.

Back in May, Beloftebos filed their own papers claiming that they were discriminated against by the SAHRC. The owners of the establishment claimed that they had filed papers with the Equality Court, opposing the fact that they have discriminated against LGBTI+ people. This means they are arguing that their policy which states that they will not host same-sex weddings, is not discriminatory.

Michael Swain, executive director of Freedom of Religion South Africa said that Beloftebos are “asking the Equality Court to find that the SAHRC unfairly discriminated against them on grounds of conscience, religion and belief, and that the commission is biased and prejudiced in its treatment of them and their belief system”.

Feature image: Facebook / Beloftebos

In Emotional

Colombian woman has dream wedding days before she dies

September 18, 2020 No Comments

A 30-year-old woman from Colombia had her dream of being a bride come true when she married her long-term love in the hospital, a few days before her death.

Estefany Torres Vera (30) and Duvan Yefren Pabon met at a mall nine years ago, and have been together ever since. They have a seven-year-old son and always wanted to get married but were unable to do so due to their financial situation.

Estefany was unfortunately diagnosed with cancer, and was hospitalised in 2020 as her health deteriorated. Still wanting to marry the love of her life, Estefany and Duvan planned an impromptu hospital wedding.

#bucaramanga Falleció este Domingo la joven Estefany Torres Vera, quien con apoyo de las autoridades cumplió el sueño de casarse con su pareja Duvan Yefren Pabon en el Hospital Universitario de Santander. pic.twitter.com/jYSnpDBeuK

— Revista MB® (@MBucaramanga) September 14, 2020

The pair married in Estefany’s hospital room on September 11. The bride wore a white dress and tiara for their nuptials. They livestreamed the wedding so that their family at home could still attend virtually. Local police organised a brass band to play outside as the bride was wheeled into the room.

“We did not want a painful goodbye, we wanted a joyful one. This gave Estefany the happiness she deserved,” the bride’s sister Julia Andrea Torres Vega said.

The bride sadly died on September 13, just two days after her dream wedding.

Feature image: Pexels