Nancy and Eric Kingston from Somerset, South West England recently celebrated their 80th wedding anniversary. If this isn’t enough of a feat, they are also the longest surviving couple in Britain!
The Kingston’s met in 1937 on a blind date arranged by Nancy’s brother. The chemistry was immediate and they soon fell in love. They married on June 1, 1940.
Fast forward 80 years, and the couple now have five children, 11 grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren and 14 great-great grandchildren.
The pair celebrated their momentous wedding anniversary earlier this week. Of course, with the coronavirus pandemic, most of their relatives were unable to visit and share in the moment. However, the couple still enjoyed their day. Locals passed by their home to say their well-wishes, and the Queen even sent them a letter!
Speaking to Somerset Live, the pair said the long-lasting love is down to compromise.
“It must have been a deep love to have lasted this long. It’s been a bit of give and take,” said Nancy. “We don’t do it like they do today – we hung on. It’s been a long time; a wonderful time. We’ve been very lucky.
Some might say that love is a revolutionary act. One North Carolina couple seem to believe so, as they made it official in the midst of the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests happening in the United States.
Across America, images of protestors fighting for their rights have been captured, some as they face terrible brutality as they make a statement for equality.
In between all of the anger, fear, and heartache shown at the protests, one photographer, Charles Crouch, caught a sweet, soft moment between a loving couple who were fighting for change side-by-side.
He posted his images on Instagram alongside the caption: “Went downtown to the protest against police brutality. I was blessed to capture this proposal in the midst of what would become chaos.”
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The man proposing, Xavier Young, spoke to E! News about this special moment. He told them that it had almost not happened as it was pictured.
According to Young, the pair were considering whether they should participate in the protest at all, since his now fiancée, Marjorie Alston, is pregnant and he had obligations elsewhere.
Despite these complications, the couple managed to make their way to the protest, before which Young packed a bag of essentials, including the ring!
They made their way to Raleigh, where the protests were taking place, and when the opportunity struck he requested that Alston and one of their friends stop on a sidewalk so he could have a sip of water.
The next thing Alston knew, Young was down on one knee. Luckily for them, a photographer was nearby!
Crouch told E! News that he had brought his camera along to document the protest for the company he works for. “I just happened to be standing right there when he went down on his knee. I began taking pictures,” he said.
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The loved-up pair hope to wed in 2021. Congrats to the happy couple!
June is Pride Month in the United States. This month has been set to recognsie and uplift the important history and contributions LGBTQI+ individuals have made in American history.
To honour the LGBTQI+ community, we want to highlight the love they have for each other. Same-sex marriage is legal in South Africa, and Wedding ETC is a firm supporter of LGBT rights.
LGBTQI+ love is real and it is valid. To prove it, here are some stunning images that will give you all the feels.
In most cases, DIY is the cheaper and more fun option. Do you really need any other reason to take up a DIY project? If you do, we’re giving you one. A DIY wedding bouquet is not only quick and easy to do, but it also adds an extra special personal touch to your wedding day.
Imagine walking down the aisle, seeing your love await you at the end. You’re already beaming with pride. Now, you get to add to that pride, knowing that the bouquet you’re carrying was hand-made by you!
If you’re considering building your bouquet from scratch, here’s how to do it:
– You have options, use them
While you may have to stick to one vendor for other aspects of your wedding, with flowers you can mix and match. This means you can go to your local market (or several markets) and hand-pick your bouquet flowers, which makes it all the more special. Choose the ones that feel perfect to you.
-Look for inspiration on Pinterest
Before you go shopping, be sure you have an idea of what you’d like. This will make picking the flowers much less overwhelming when you’re there. Also keep seasonality in mind.
– Prepare your flowers
Once you’ve got a hold of the blooms that will make up your bouquet, remove the foliage from the stems using your hands or a stem stripper. If you’ve chosen roses, ensure that you’ve removed the thorns. Next you’ll trim the stems to ensure that they are all the same length.
– Organise the bouquet
Choose about 4 flowers for the base of your bouquet, then wrap their stems together (preferably with floral tape). Ensure that you have left some exposed stem at the bottom.
– Add as you please
To create your dream bouquet, add more flowers around the base flowers. Keep things like texture and colour in mind as you add, and wrap with floral tape at each layer.
– Wrap and Pin
Once you have decided your bouquet is perfect, give it one final wrapping of floral tape and leave some exposed stem at the top and bottom. Next, using ribbon to cover the floral tape, wrap the stems once more and pin it when you’re done.
– Preserve
Once the bouquet is prepped and read, over it in tissue and store it in the refrigerator. This will keep it looking fresh until you’re ready to walk down the aisle.
If you’re planning spring wedding, take note of yellow. It looks like laughter. Not only is it bright and happy, it’s trending right now and we love it.
Gone are the days of boring old chrome, black and white. We say bring in the colour.
Perfect for when summer comes knocking on our door, take a look at these gorgeous yellow decoration ideas:
Home designers Chip and Joanna Gaines, famous for their reality TV series Fixer Upper, recently celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary.
Posting a sweet throwback on his Instagram, Chip Gaines wrote “Juuuust married! Everything about you has made everything about me better. And 17 years later I’m still learning from and loving on the most incredible woman in the world. After all these years Joanna Lea Stevens, you really are the girl of my dreams.. Happy 17th sweet girl. I love you?”
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The two’s love story is adorable. Joanna’s father owned a car repair shop, where Joanna also worked. Chip came in one day to have his car fixed, and saw a picture of the then 23-year-old Joanna hanging on the wall, but Joanna was not there. “I knew I’d marry her one day just by the picture on the wall,” Chip told Popsugar.
The love-struck man kept returning to the shop with excuses about his car, actually just hoping to see Joanna in the flesh. When he finally did get to meet her, he had no doubt about his first instincts, and asked her out. The rest is history! They now have four children together.
While the ongoing pandemic has caused many a cancelled wedding and much disapointment, one thing is for certain: it has also brought out the creativity in many. A Detriot couple made the most of it by posing for a pandemic-themed photoshoot in an abandoned building to keep with the times.
Matthew Engelke and Lilly Ayrapetryan (now Engelke), tied the knot on March 20. Their orginal plan was to marry at a courthouse in April, but their plans fell through as the pandemic intensified.
Instead, they brought their wedding date up and teamed up with their friend, photographer Scott Sprague, to have a pandemic-themed wedding and photoshoot. Not even coronavirus could put a stop to their nuptials, and they even incorporated it into their ceremony.
Sprague did an amazing job of capturing their special day. Photos show the couple wearing real gas masks, looking eerie, but still loved-up, in the creepy building.
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“My favorite photo is one with the gas masks and in between them reads a message that states, ‘What we need in the world is more love,'” said Sprague to the Daily Mail.
“I had this whole idea to pay homage to the American Gothic picture in my head, which has a couple wearing white and black, just like a wedding with a bride and groom.
“So we created this whole story with the wedding photos for art, saying this is where they now live due to the pandemic.”
While lace, silk and tulle often reign when it comes to wedding dresses, we cannot help but love satin.
Satin is a type of weave that produces the smooth, aesthetically pleasing final fabric we know today. This fabric is classy, sophisticated and flattering on many shapes. It’s also incredibly versatile, and looks amazing regardless of the dress style.
South Africa’s favourite sport has ground to a halt, so it seems our rugby players are using this time for the more important things in life.
Springbok and Lions fullback Andries Coetzee recently wed his fiancée, Mart.
The two planned a large, lavish ceremony (as celebs do) for April 25, but the celebrations have been put on hold until 2021. In the meantime, the two got married at the Magistrate’s office.
“Even though it wasn’t the big white wedding as planned (… yet, and believe me that day WILL come somewhere in 2021) the feeling of being married to my best friend and the love of my life exceeds all my expectations,” the new Mrs Coetzee said on Instagram.
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“Introducing Mr and Mrs Coetzee! Congratulations to the newlyweds ❤” the Lions Rugby Union said on their Instagram with the same picture.
Mart could luckily still have her bridal shower at La Vie Lente Bistro Venue in February earlier this year. “My ? is full and overflowing with love and appreciation. I am SO spoilt, grateful and sincerely HAPPY!!! #kitchen_tea ” she said on Instagram.
For most of her career, the iconic, doe-eyed Audrey Hepburn was positioned as the antithesis of Marilyn Monroe. Despite this, the Belgian-born actress had just as tumultuous a love life as the bombshell. Hepburn had tied the knot twice times in her life, and was engaged three times.
Each wedding featured a stunning gown that has inspired many brides, including Megan Markle. We take a look at the Breakfast at Tiffany’s star’s love life that was just as dramatic as the characters she portrayed onscreen.
1952: James Hanson
A pre-fame Hepburn was engaged to British wealthy businessman Lord James Hanson while filming her breakout first major motion picture, Roman Holiday, for which she would later win an Oscar. However, the budding Hollywood star had her reservations, and ended up calling off the wedding. In later years, Hepburn explained that their busy work schedules were to blame.
“My schedule commits me to a movie here, then back to the stage, then back to Hollywood. [James] would be spending most of his time taking care of business in England and Canada. It would be very difficult for us to lead a normal married life,” she said in an interview.
Her mid-length, boatneck silk dress designed by the Rome-based Fontana sisters had already been made at the time the wedding was called off, so Hepburn had the designers donate the gown to a bride in need.
“I want my dress to be worn by another girl for her wedding, perhaps someone who couldn’t ever afford a dress like mine, the most beautiful, poor Italian girl you can find,” she had told them. Amiable Altobella from Borgo Carso in the Province of Latina won a radio contest and became the lucky bride to wear this iconic gown to her own farm wedding.
In 2009, the dress sold at an auction for $23,000.
Credit: Pinterest
1954: Mel Ferrer
Hepburn met her future first husband, actor, stage and film director Mel Ferrer at a party a year after her first engagement ended. Fellow actor and Roman Holiday star Gregory Peck introduced them to one another.
The twice divorced father of four was 12 years Hepburn’s senior, but that did not phase the couple.
For their big day, Hepburn stunned in a Balmain tea-length flared dress with a satin sash, a high neckline and balloon sleeves that she accessorised with elbow-length gloves. The pair married in Burgenstock, Switzerland in an intimate ceremony on September 25, 1954.
Their marriage, however, was not the stuff of fairytales. Hepburn struggled to carry a child and reportedly suffered four miscarriages throughout the marriage. The pair were also plagued by infidelity rumours, as both were said to have had affairs. Hepburn had a much publicised love affair with Sabrina co-star William Holden, who at the time was also married. In later years, Holden called Hepburn the love of his life, and tried to win her back after she married her second husband.
In 1960, Hepburn gave birth to her first son, Sean Ferrer. The couple divorced in 1968 after 14 years of marriage.
Credit: Pinterest
1969: Andrea Dotti
Heburn met and fell in love with Italian psychiatrist Andrea Dotti in 1968 while on a meditteranean cruise. The air married in 1969 at a town hall in Switzerland. Hepburn wore a pink woolen Givenchy minidress featuring long-sleeves and a funnel neck. She accessorised with white tights, white gloves, a woolen headscarf and ballet flats.
At the age of 39, Hepburn gave birth again, this time to second son Luca Dotti. She then took a break from Hollywood to focus on her family. However, she did not have an easy time. she would go on to have another miscarriage after her second son’s birth. Both Hepburn and Dotti reportedly had affairs throughout their marriage. Hepburn is said to have had an affair with Bloodline co-star Ben Gazzara, while Dotti garnered much publicity for his affairs with young women. The couple divorced in 1982 after 14 years of marriage.
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Robert Wolders
Hepburn’s final love was Dutch actor Robert Wolders, who she met at a party in 1980. While she never married Wolders, Hepburn said in an interview with Barbara Walters that her time with him marked the happiest years of her life. Her relationship with Wolders continued until her death in 1993. On why they never married, Wolders explained it never felt necessary.
“I felt she had two unhappy marriages, it was wonderful the way it was,” he said in an interview with People magazine. “When Audrey would be asked, she’d also say, ‘Why mess with a good thing?’ I remember her saying to one interviewer it’s more romantic this way because it’s not another piece of paper, but out of loyalty to each other that binds us together. Had we been younger and wanted to have children, it might have been different, but that’s just not the case.”
