7 memorable celebrity wedding proposals in 2014

It seems that 2014 is the year of celebrity proposals, with several local stars popping the question to their girlfriends in extravagant showbiz fashion.
Before the year ends, let us take a look back at some of the most memorable celebrity wedding proposals of 2014, in chronological order:
1. Aiza Seguerra’s theater proposal to Liza Diño
Singer Aiza Seguerra proposed to girlfriend, actress Liza Diño, at the Teatro Hermogenes Ylagan of University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City last February.
Seguerra made Diño believe that they were acting for a fundraising performance of a play titled “Kung Paano Maghiwalay,” which was attended by the couple’s parents.
A short clip posted on Instagram showed Seguerra down on one knee on stage, holding an engagement ring. A tearful Diño was seen saying “yes” in front of a cheering crowd.
Seguerra and Diño tied the knot in a simple and private ceremony in California in early December.
2. JC Intal’s airport proposal to Bianca Gonzalez
Basketball player JC Intal popped the question to TV host Bianca Gonzalez at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport last March.
Gonzalez, who was going on a trip to Europe, was surprised as airline officials welcomed her at the check-in counter with red roses and a banner that read: “Bianca, please say yes.”
Intal then knelt on one knee and proposed to Gonzalez, who was moved to tears.
Gonzalez and Intal exchanged wedding vows in an intimate ceremony in Palawan in early December.
A week later, the two held a grand wedding reception at the Araneta Coliseum.
3. Chito Miranda’s music video shoot proposal to Neri Naig
Last May, Parokya Ni Edgar vocalist Chito Miranda set up a fake music video shoot at a private resort to propose to his girlfriend, actress Neri Naig.
In the middle of the shoot for the video, which supposedly starred Naig, a crying Miranda came out and fell on his knees before asking the actress to marry him.
Miranda and Naig got married twice in early December – in a civil ceremony and in a garden wedding in Tagaytay City.
4. Patrick Garcia’s church proposal to his non-showbiz girlfriend
Actor Patrick Garcia proposed to his non-showbiz girlfriend, Nikka Martinez, last July, before the start of their church service.

Garcia knelt on one knee and popped the question to Martinez, the mother of their daughter Chelsea, in front of their fellow Church members.

Meythaler ~ Baker

Elizabeth Lenox Baker and Bradford Scott Meythaler were united in marriage on December 20, 2014 at six o’clock in the evening at Duke Chapel in Durham, North Carolina. The Reverend Blake Jordan Daniel officiated the ceremony. A reception followed, hosted by the parents of the bride, at the Pavilions at the Angus Barn. On the eve of the wedding, a rehearsal dinner was hosted by the groom’s parents at Raleigh Country Club.
The bride is the daughter of Mr. William Lenox Baker and Mrs. Leigh Hines Baker of Raleigh, NC. She is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Morris Hines of Raleigh, NC and Mr. Robert Flowers Baker and the late Mrs. Baker of Durham, NC.
The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Virgil Meythaler of Owensboro, KY. He is the grandson of Mr. Darrel Rex Austin and the late Mrs. Austin and the late Mr. and Mrs. Virgil Weir Meythaler of Owensboro, Kentucky.
The bride was escorted by her father. The bride’s sister, Allison Flowers Baker of Charleston, SC, served as the maid of honor. Bridesmaids were Claire Tayloe Duff, Hannah Gardner Littlewood and Katherine Adams Rogers of Raleigh, NC; Bailey Elizabeth Crenshaw of Jacksonville, FL; Hastings Faulkner Crockard and Hallie Pryor Mosby of Washington, DC; Margaret Shields Edge of Jackson, MS; Mary Brook Traxler Ewing of Charlotte, NC; Marion Hickman Meythaler of Charlottesville, VA; Olivia Frascogna Persia of Houston TX; and Joyce Callahan Ratliff of Birmingham, AL.
The groom’s brother, Nicholas Velde Meythaler of Charlottesville, VA, served as the best man. Groomsmen were Christopher Warren Austin of Bowling Green, KY; Pierce Walker Hamblin and John Mills Testerman of Washington, DC; David Talmage Hocker of Louisville, KY; Donald Anthony Malmo, III and William Trewhitt McGhee, IV of Memphis, TN; Joseph Henry McKinley of Owensboro, KY; Ben Barnett Parker, Perry Provosty Taylor and Thomas McKellar Walker of Jackson, MS; and Mr. Barrett Thomas Smith of Houston, TX.
Scripture was read by the bride’s cousin, Robert Norman Love of Richmond, VA. Greeters were Brayden Alexander Chiles of Houston, TX and Mary Louise Stephenson of Washington, DC. Ushers were Trent Wright Dixon of Memphis, TN; John Travis Lomenick of Denver, CO; and Winn Stillions Walcott of Oxford, MS. Rosemary Mathews Thompson of Louisville, KY served as flower girl.
The bride graduated from Needham Broughton High School in Raleigh and the University of Mississippi with a degree in Broadcast Journalism. She is employed by Quintiles. The groom graduated from Owensboro High School in Owensboro, KY and the University of Mississippi with a degree in Managerial Finance. He is now the President of Right at Home in Huntsville, Alabama.

Following a honeymoon to Antigua, the couple will reside in Huntsville.

What Would Jesus Drink? A Class Exploring Ancient Wines Asks

Inside the Boston Wine School, Jonathon Alsop places empty glasses and plate of figs and cheese before a small group of students. Alsop, who founded the school in 2000, is doing a test run of a new class that poses the question: What would Jesus drink?
"This is ... a cheese that Jesus might have eaten," he tells students. "It's called Egyptian Roumy — it was a cheese that was introduced to the Egyptians by the Romans. It's a sheep's milk cheese."
He opens a red blend from Lebanon. "This is something that citizens in biblical times would not have been acquainted with – the screw cap," he jokes.
Alsop founded the school 14 years ago and has taught food and wine classes on everything from pairing wine with meat to tasting the wines of Tuscany. Alsop came up with this latest idea after reading the Gospels.
"This picture of Jesus as a foodie and a wine lover, slowly but surely, starts to emerge. I mean, his first miracle was turning water into wine," he says.
As Alsop opens a bottle of Italian wine, he explains to his students that the wine they are sampling bears little, if any, resemblance to wine during Christ's time.
"It's clean. It's clear. It's in a bottle," says Alsop, holding up the wine glass and examining it. "These wines were shipped around the Mediterranean in ceramic or wood casks; they would have taken on that flavor. This is almost certainly different."
The details of wine and winemaking practices from the Holy Land are debated among experts. There isn't a lot of archaeological evidence or written records.
But we do know that in Jesus' day, wine was being produced in Galilee and modern-day Jordan, says archaeologist Patrick McGovern of the University of Pennsylvania Museum. And vino of that era came laced with additives like tree resins, peppers and capers, says McGovern, who is known as the "Indiana Jones" of ancient fermented beverages for his scholarship on the topic.
"The idea was not just to cover up the signs of a deteriorating wine, although that was an added incentive, but to keep the wines for a longer time and produce new, exciting tastes for jaded palates," says McGovern.
Students in Alsop's class inquire about taste and texture, but they also raise two frequently debated questions surrounding ancient wine: Was it safer to drink than water, and was it alcoholic?
We asked McGovern, who is not involved in Alsop's class. McGovern says the antioxidants found in the additives and alcohol killed harmful microorganisms, so wine was much safer than raw, unfiltered water. And it certainly had a boozy kick: Fermentation is a process that occurs naturally when yeasts residing on the skin of the grapes consume the sugar in the fruit and create alcohol.
Erica Frye came to the class from nearby Wayland, Mass. She was raised in a family of Methodist ministers that abstained from alcohol, but she was curious about biblical wine in a historical context.
"If you really dig down into history, and into the history of wine, it's coming from those areas of the world," she notes.
Jenna Nejame attended Catholic Catechism classes as a kid, but references to wine were typically avoided. "They don't really dwell on ... the drinking alcohol part," she says with a laugh.
Alsop stresses that his interpretation is subjective. As an example, he cites Christ's offering of bread and wine as his body and blood during the Last Supper.
"He's saying, spiritually, take me inside you and let me spirit suffuse your spirit, but naturally he does that through these wine and food metaphors," Alsop says.
When asked if he thinks Jesus would have preferred red or white wine, Alsop doesn't hesitate.
"I'd like to think that Jesus was a red guy," Alsop says. "I don't know why. I guess it's just my own personal desire to see it that way."

We'll never know, of course. McGovern says the Romans preferred white wine, but according to inscriptions found on ancient bottles and casks, most wine from the Holy Land was, indeed, red.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt forgot WEDDING CAKE so their son had to bake one

Angelina Jolie says marriage and kids are hard work – and her recent wedding to Brad Pitt was shambolic.
The 39-year-old Oscar-winning actress, who is mum to six kids between the ages of 6 and 13, was speaking in the same week she and her third husband were pictured rowing on a balcony in Sydney.
Asked if they have to work at their relationship, Angelina said: “Marriage and raising kids can be hard work. Brad and I work really hard nurturing our family.”
The star also shared some details from her rushed wedding in August at the couple’s French estate which was organised in just “two or three weeks”.
She said her 10-year-old son Pax baked a cake on the day because they forgot one. They also forgot to provide any music.
She said: “We made a plan that everybody had to hum Here Comes The Bride, but they forgot and did it late, so it ended up being comical. And then our kids wrote our vows, which were so funny.
But despite the lack of organisation, the wedding was “really lovely”, she said.
Promoting her new movie Unbroken in Australia at the end of last month, she added that her relationship with Brad had changed her as a person.
She said: “We’ve been together for 10 years and have been through so many things together, to get to this point and not in any way needing to get married because we’re just that sure, it was lovely. It’s nice. I’m very happy to married.”
She also insisted she and Brad, 51, would be just as happy if they were penniless, adding: “All of it could fall away and I wouldn’t care...
"If I was at home with my children that would be enough. I’m fulfilled because I have love in my life.”

It comes after the pair reportedly hired a security team to protect their children on the internet.

Kris Jenner dates 33-year-old: May-December duo sport matching jewels at wedding

No grass grows under Kris Jenner’s feet as she is moving right along in the romance department with a man a year younger than her famous daughter Kim Kardashian. On Thursday Kris and Bruce Jenner's divorce was finalized and then on Saturday she was off to a wedding with her new boyfriend Corey Gamble, who is only 33.
According to Just Jared on Dec. 21, Kris, who is 59, and her young date went to the wedding of Lance Bass. The singer married his partner of four years Michael Turchin. To put the age gap between Kris and her new beau into prospective, Corey was only 10 when she married Bruce Jenner 23 years ago.
Kim Kardashian is 34, so Kris was changing her daughter’s diapers at the same time that Corey’s mom was changing his! You have to admit if anyone is going to make the word cougar appear glamorous, it is Kris Jenner!
According to the Mail Online, Along with her little black dress, Kris also wore large diamond-stud earrings that matched Corey’s jewelry, for her wedding attire. From all reports Kris’s new love interest was very attentive to his mature date and he stayed by her side as she mingled with the wedding guests, many with famous famous. The guest list numbered around 300, according to reports.
Kris was rumored to be taking back the Kardashian name after her divorce from Bruce, but that is not going to happen, says the matriarch of the family. She still has two children with the Jenner last name so to change her surname would be “weird” she said during a recent interview.
There is no word on how all her kids feel about Kris dating a man who could be their brother, age wise, but Khloe is fine with her mom dating Corey. She said that she’s happy for her mom because “he is such a nice guy,” according to Hollywood Life last month. The Kardashian girls have had their fair share of controversial romances. Why throw stones when you too live in a glass house?

According to the International Business Times, divorce or no divorce, Kris will be spending Christmas with the entire family, including Bruce. She said “we’re family” and things are good between the divorced couple.

5 top tips to ensure that planning your wedding is a breeze

So you’ve saved the date, but now the hard work begins. Here’s how to ensure your planning goes off without a hitch.
If you’ve ever seen someone plan a wedding you’ll have seen how it can be all too easy to lose your cool and go completely insane.
After all, a lot of ladies have a good idea of what they want from their wedding and will do everything in their power to get it.
There are several ways you can make the planning process easier for yourself; here we list five.
Never plan alone
Most women are born with that one flaw that gets us that tiny bit stressed when planning certain things, and that is the inability to not take control.
We can’t escape that fact, we hate getting help for the most part and we want everything done by our own hand. This is something you seriously need to shake off because even just a little bit of help can mean the difference between a wonderful wedding or a ceremony catastrophe.
You can confide in your friends, after all you should be getting the help of your maid of honour for the most part. Just stop every now and then and think to yourself “am I being reasonable?”, even better would be to ask a friendly face what they think.
Keep everything on record
The smallest of ideas and details need to be written down. You’ll have a thousand ideas, as we all do, for your wedding so make sure it’s all documented.
Anytime you have a brainwave, write it down. Anytime you see something in a shop window you think would be perfect for the big day, write down the price and shop name. Even if they don’t sell it when your big day comes, they’ll be able to tell you where you can get them.
If you have receipts, keep those too. It might seem like a lot of effort, but you’ll thank yourself in the long run when it comes to actually paying for everything.
Give yourself plenty of time
Seems like a very simple thing to say, but many brides will become so excited by the thought of getting married that they forget to plan at all and have to sacrifice parts of their ceremony.
Giving yourself a lot of time to plan also means that you can get items for the wedding for cheaper, why? Because everything goes on offer at some point in its life, waiting around means you get the exact things you want at a fraction of the original price.
It’s a smart and savvy way to plan the day, especially when you’re working to a tight budget.
Expect a few plan b's
It might seem like a cynical way to look at life, but if there is anything to be learned over the years it’s that not everything goes to plan.
When planning your wedding, even really far in advance, you need to be prepared for a few items to no longer be made or very hard to get hold of. The venue, for example, needs to have a backup plan as they can themselves cancel your ceremony last minute.
When it comes to things out of your control, you need to make a plan B. Even the wedding dress needs a plan B, regardless of if it’s being made for you or not. You plan B needs to be something you are happy with and that is easy to get hold of.
Relax... I mean it!
With all that is going on, you need to remember that you are only human. Spending hours upon hours trying to plan for anything can stress you out to the point of no return.

Run yourself that bath, pour that glass of wine and catch up with the friends you have no doubt ignored for a while or a husband to be who could do without an evening of arranging seating plans.

Marriage halls ban Muslim weddings, cite stench of meat

Citing cooking of non-vegetarian food at their wedding, owners of marriage halls in Uttar Pradesh’s Khurja town, about 400 kilometres from here, have reportedly refused to give them on hire for Muslim weddings.
According to the reports, the marriage home owners had held a meeting in the town a few days back in which the decision was taken.
“The preparation of non-vegetarian food items makes the place dirty and smelly. We have to work very hard to clean the place and ready it for the next marriage ceremony,” said one of the owners.
The owners said they had also received complaints from the ‘non-Muslim wedding guests’ that the marriage homes smelt of meat even after a thorough cleaning.
Reports said some owners have even refunded the advance taken from Muslims, who had booked them for weddings.
“We have been forced to look for marriage venues far away from the town in places like Bulandshahar and Aligarh,” said members of a family whose booking was cancelled by the owners.
Local BJP leaders said no one had the right to interfere in the private business of the marriage home owners. “Some people may have objections over non-vegetarian food,” said a local BJP leader in Khurja.
Local officials said they were trying to solve the matter. “We are talking to the owners of the marriage homes as the current marriage season for the Hindus is now over,” said an official.

“We have received complaints. We will speak to the owners and try to find out an amicable solution,” they added.

Wozow, Anderson Wedding

Cynthia Lee Wozow and Jonathan Andrew Anderson were united in marriage on May 17, 2014 at The Grand on Foster in Dothan, Alabama.
The Bride is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Bruce Wozow of Cottonwood. She is the granddaughter of Mr. Joe Graddy and the late Mrs. Barbara Graddy of Cottonwood, and Mrs. Christine Wozow and the late Mr. Henry Wozow of Ashford.
The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Anderson of Ashford. He is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Tucker Jr. of Dothan, and Mr. and Mrs. Bobby and Anderson of Dothan.
Given in marriage by her father, the bride wore a lace tiered, strapless ball gown accented with a Swarovski crystal belt tied delicately into a bow at the back. The dress was accompanied by a fingertip length, Alencon lace edged, double veil.
The bride chose Miss Angela Rene Bevill as her maid of honor. Serving as bridesmaids were: Miss Armdabi Chung, Miss Alexandra Cox, Miss Samantha Hutto, Mrs. Danielle Womack, and Miss Jessica Woodbury.
The groom chose his brother, Nathan Matthew Anderson, to serve as best man. The groomsmen were: Mr. John McLean, Mr. Cole Robison, Mr. Phillip Sumner, Mr. Casey Tucker, and Mr. Jimmy Watkins.
Miss Julia Flowers served as flower girl and Mr. Dylan Tapley was ring bearer.
The groom's grandfather, Mr. Bobby Anderson, officiated the ceremony.
A program of the wedding music was provided by pianist, Mrs. Hope Taylor and Mr. Dave Guiler. Miss Ashley Garner served as program attendant. Mrs. Pamela Keeble directed the wedding.
After the ceremony, the bride's parents hosted a reception at The Grand on Foster. The groom's parents entertained the wedding party and out of town guests with a rehearsal dinner at Hollow Oak Cabin in Webb, Alabama.

Following a honeymoon in Natchez, Mississippi, Dr. Cynthia Wozow Anderson and Mr. J. Andrew Anderson now reside in San Antonio, Texas.

The Tiffany Porter & Michael Canarozzi

When Tiffany met Michael back in 2008, marrying him was the furthest thing from her mind. It was her first week as the medical director at a facility where Michael was a tactical teams instructor. When he was leading a demonstration, he volunteered her to come to the front and participate—which she found very annoying.
After that, she didn’t see him regularly for the next two years. Eventually, Tiffany joined a gym with her mom and ended up crossing paths with him again. “With time, we became friends and started dating,” she says. Tiffany became pregnant with their daughter in the spring of 2011 and, in the fall of 2012, Michael surprised her by proposing on the day of their daughter’s christening—he popped the question by placing an engagement ring on a necklace that their daughter wore.
When it came to wedding planning, they knew they wanted an outdoor ceremony somewhere in the Hudson Valley. “After seeing four or five places and not liking any, Michael's sister recommended The Historic Catskill Point,” Tiffany says. “It was beautiful and untouched with views of both the water and mountains.”
Tiffany’s cousin, a minister, officiated the ceremony. Instead of a traditional lighting of the unity candle, both bride and groom asked their families to come up and pray together so they could unite as one family from that day forward.
“It was especially moving for me, because my cousin sang the Lord’s Prayer as we released a single white balloon in memory of my father, who died of cancer five years earlier,” she says. “It was so significant, because my family had said that same prayer as my father was passing on.” Tiffany also carried a locket with pictures of her and her father so that he could be with her in spirit.
Since both Tiffany and Michael—who today live in Ridgefield, Connecticut—are athletic and outdoorsy, the newlyweds rented a rowboat, which they boarded immediately following the ceremony to take them to the reception. There, they danced their first dance together to kick off the celebration.
The venue was an open warehouse, which gave them a blank canvas to set up however they liked. Wanting to create a vintage look to warm up the space, Tiffany brought in antique furniture and place settings, which she found from dealers and antique shops. Each piece of furniture was actually reupholstered by their wedding planner—including the sweetheart table, which had a king and queen chair for the bride and groom. “Each guest had a place setting made up of mismatched antique pieces, and all of the tableware was rented from a vintage shop,” Tiffany says.
There were many other special touches to the day. For example, during the cocktail hour, “living statues” (dancers positioned on pedestals, each holding a bouquet of flowers) swayed and moved to the live music as guests walked by. The “statues” then changed into all-white costumes with wings and were there to greet everyone as they entered the reception. Once everyone was inside, they performed an upbeat wedding dance to really get the party started.

“It was a wonderful day,” the bride gushes, “but perhaps my favorite part was my dress, which was a lace-and-tulle strapless gown with a sweetheart neckline and a big, flowing train for a dramatic entrance.” The ending of the day was no less spectacular, as everyone was treated to a fireworks display.

Seahawks 12th Fan of the Week: Yakima couple married in Blue Friday wedding

Seahawks fan for: More than five years. “I originally started as an Eagles fan, but once I met my husband, the rest was history,” she said. “He made me realize the Seahawk was the most prestigious bird of all. We have shared our love of theSeahawks throughout our relationship.”
Favorite Seahawk: Running back Marshawn Lynch. “He’s not afraid to be himself. I love the way he is all about football and how much love he has for the game,” she said.
Dani’s story: She started dating her future husband in 2010 after meeting him in her hometown of Port Angeles, and quickly fell hard for both Lance and the Hawks. Two years later in 2012, he popped the question. “And, of course, it was while we were decked out in our blue and green watching the Seahawksgame in Mexico,” she recalled. “Needless to say, I was so excited, I don’t think I even watched a minute of the game!”
Memorable moment: Her most memorable Seahawks moment had nothing to do with a game. It was their wedding day. July 4, 2014 was a Blue Friday Seahawks wedding. “The men wore their jerseys proudly as they walked down the aisle, and green and blue rally towels were waved with excitement,” she said. “Guests were asked to wear their favorite Blue Friday attire.” The affair was topped off with a Lombardi Trophy ice sculpture, and a 45-foot Seahawks banner that had hung in the Kingdome in 1976. Lance and Dani were married by a referee, of course. “It was truly the best day of our lives,” Dani said. “And it was just a bonus getting to do it wearing our favorite colors.” Lance can’t resist making a joke about it, though. “My husband still says that getting married was the second best thing to happen in 2014 – the first being the Hawks winning the Super Bowl!”
Fast facts: Dani, who is a Central Court reporter, can write 200 words per minute on a stenography machine.

Prediction: Seahawks 30, 49ers 10 — “We will beat San Francisco because we are at home and we are a better team than the 49ers. Our defense is the best!”

Wedding: Catherine Sciarrillo & Jason Hartweck

Mrs. Jason Hartweck
Catherine Michelle Sciarrillo and Jason Len Hartweck were united in marriage on Saturday, December 6, 2014, at 4:00 pm at Rip Van Winkle Gardens in New Iberia , Louisiana. The ceremony was officiated by Blake Gilbert.
The bride is the daughter of Sondra B. Stokes of Lafayette, Louisiana and John M. Sciarrillo of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Her grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Glenn M. Stokes of New Iberia, Mr. and Mrs. William Scheer , Mr. John Sciarrillo and Mr. James Sepulveda. The bride is a graduate of New Iberia Senior High and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in Early Childhood Education. She is currently a kindergarten teacher at J. W. Faulk Elementry School in Lafayette,Louisiana.
The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hartweck of Loreauville , Louisiana. His grandparents are Mrs. Dolores Bienvenu and Mrs. Roselyn Hartweck. Jason is a graduate of Loreauville High School and currently attending the University of Louisiana at Lafayette for a degree in Informatics. He is currently employed with Furgo Chance Incorporated.
Given in marriage by her parents, and escorted by her grandfather Glenn M. Stokes and her father John M. Sciarrillo, the bride wore an elegant ivory lace overlay A-line gown by Allure. The lace gown was accented by a deep V-neckline in front and back as well as pearl and crystal buttons from the back of the dress to the hem of the chapel train and a Swarovski crystal belt to complement the gown. She wore a fingertip ivory tulle blusher veil and carried a hand clutch bouquet of ivory and blush pink roses with green hypericum.
The maids of honor were the bride's sisters, Caroline Sciarrillo and Christina Sciarrillo. The bridesmaids were Marion Stokes, Jade Hartweck, Claire Frederick, Lindsey Disatell, Katherine Dyess and Marnee Ogden. Flower girls were Alli Boudreaux and Molli Boudreaux.
Jad Landry, friend of the groom, was the best man. Groomsmen were John DeRouen, Nick Bienvenu, Joey Chitwood, Larry Escagne, Dustin Daigle and Brant Patout. Samuel Stokes was ringbearer.
Ushers were Leif Stokes, Ashton Stokes,Glenn Stokes III and Julien Stokes.

A reception immediately followed at Rip Van Winkle Gardens. The couple will reside in Youngsville, Louisiana.

Naples couple launches on-line prop house for weddings, events

The genesis for a new business came about three years ago when Lisa and Tom Radlovacki were planning their wedding.
Lisa Radlovacki, with a history in seeking furnishing, furniture, props and décor to fit the looks needed for major films, was used to being able to get such needs at prop houses. When she couldn't quite find what she was looking for in the Naples and Marco Island area for her wedding, she saw the need for a prop house in the area.
London's Prop House opened in the summer of 2013 with Lisa, 34, and her husband Tom Radlovacki, 36, at the helm.

"There are some great design and décor companies in town. But when we got married three years ago, we were looking for some high quality pieces to rent, like when I was in the film industry," said Lisa Radlovacki who worked as a freelancer in London's film production industry for about 12 years . "I was seeking something like the prop houses I used to go to as assistant director in coordinating film sets and events. We wanted something just like that for our wedding."
While she noted the potential to get everything from a design company, she also noted that not everybody has that budget. They may be looking for fantastic candelabra, archways or arbors — just one or two exceptional quality pieces that make more sense to rent than purchase.
London's Prop House offers crystal candelabras, center pieces and a variety of unique props and decorations for corporate events, weddings, holiday parties and galas. London's Prop House also offers event planning and coordination, whether planning an entire event for a client or assisting with day-of event coordination.
Centerpieces were a hit for the Thanksgiving holiday, Lisa Radlovacki said.
"People like to have that fire and centerpiece at the center of the table as the family gathers," she said.
Currently, London's Prop House is operated online and their pieces are kept in a storage facility. However, they have plans to locate and open a showroom in the future.
While London's Prop House works with many outside vendors and service providers, it is solely the husband-wife team operating the business.
The Radlovacki's were longtime friends in their early teens before reuniting and launching the venture. When Lisa Radlovacki moved from Naples to London in high school, they stayed in touch over the years.

The friendship turned to a romance about five years ago. Shortly after, Lisa joined Tom Radlovacki back in Naples, and they married at the Marco Marriott where they first met nearly two decades prior.

13 TV Weddings That Prove You Should Never Get Married

Mourn, if you must, for those lost to Game of Thrones' Red Wedding, but while you're drying your tears, consider that those fallen might be the lucky ones. While society conditions us to believe marriage is the gateway to a Champagne-soaked fairy tale, in this day and age, weddings will probably sooner lead to weekend meetings in a divorce attorney's office than some happily ever after scenario. Just consider these 13 TV-wedding fiascos:
1. Sex and the City Season 6, Episode 8: "The Catch"
Turns out curses don't exclusively target folklore heroines and Cubs fans. When Harry Goldenblatt (Evan Handler) catches a glimpse of his wedding-dress-clad fiancée Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) before the ceremony, he triggers a series of unfortunate events that would make Lemony Snicket cry out in envy. If this is what weddings are like, the maid of honor's speech going up in flames will be the least of your worries.
2. Grey's Anatomy Season 3, Episode 25: "Didn't We Almost Have It All?"
In Cristina Yang's (Sandra Oh) tragic case, it's the groom-to-be, Dr. Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington), who decides to bounce from the occasion (as Washington did from the entire series). But any absences can be devastating: an hours-late florist, a slow-to-arrive groomsman, or a sluggish polka ensemble will bring things to a screeching halt.
3. Modern Family Season 5, Episode 23: "The Wedding (Part 1)"
Considering their lengthy history together, Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cam Tucker (Eric Stonestreet) were sure they were prepared for happily ever after, but instead, they become convinced they had invited the apocalypse when a fire, a flood, and a swarm (of dudes named Lucas, which they interpreted as "locusts") all threaten to destroy the big day.
4. Friends Season 4, Episode 23: "The One With Ross's Wedding"
Ross Geller (David Schwimmer) will forever be known as "the guy who said the wrong name at his wedding," and though his embarrassed bride Emily Waltham (Helen Baxendale) still manages to go through with the ceremony, the young couple's relationship flatlines almost immediately thereafter.
5. Scrubs Season 3, Episode 22: "My Best Friend's Wedding"
While Carla Espinosa's (Judy Reyes) sentiments could make statues cry, her fiancé Chris Turk (Donald Faison), who doesn't have the same facility with words, winds up ripping off a classic film speech to keep up, and Carla, for one, is pissed.
6. Happy Endings Season 1, Episode 1: "Pilot"
The onset of cold feet is an unfortunate possibility at any wedding, but rarely does the bride ditch the ceremony for a grown man in rollerblades. Alex Kerkovich (Elisha Cuthbert) leaves Dave Rose (Zachary Knighton) at the altar for an extreme-sports enthusiast, and though it’s unlikely you’ll suffer the same fate, some drunk uncle or your cousin's last-minute desperation date will almost certainly try to climb a stretch of scaffolding or expose himself to a cater waiter during "The Macarena" on your big day.
7. 30 Rock Season 7, Episode 8: "My Whole Life Is Thunder"
If you assumed Jenna Maroney was born with a shred of decency and wouldn'thijack Colleen Donaghy's funeral and reduce it to her own wedding's backdrop, you're a naïve fool. Will your bride also double for Narcissus? Probably not, but she might malign a harmless cater-waiter for any simple offense, and if you dare to look at her dress the wrong way, you better hope you’re equipped with a flak jacket.
8. Frasier Season 7, Episode 24: "Something Borrowed, Someone Blue (Part 2)"
The idea of spending the rest of your days in the company of one other human being is completely insane, and at least a handful of engaged people — like Daphne Moon (Jane Leeves), on the verge of marrying a boring lawyer named Donny Douglas (Saul Rubinek) — will recognize this at the 11th hour and run off with someone else.
9. Boy Meets World Season 7, Episode 7: "It's About Time"
In an ideal world, childish fights die off with school-mandated recess, but in reality, they continue to reappear during formative adulthood rituals — like weddings! In this case, Shawn Hunter (Rider Strong) plays the role of petulant man-child at Cory Matthews's (Ben Savage) marriage to Topanga Lawrence (Danielle Fishel), stomping his feet until he gets the attention he doesn't so rightfully deserve.
10. Will and Grace Season 5, Episode 8: "Marry Me a Little, Marry Me a Little More"
No, a City Hall wedding won't spare you from marriage mayhem, either. While strolling through Central Park one afternoon, Leo Markus (Harry Connick Jr.) and Grace Adler (Debra Messing) come across Katie Couric doing a sweeps week televised marriage special and impulsively decide to let her marry them, only to quickly realize how completely unprepared they are for the reality of matrimony. Plus, the Today anchor proves to be an unordained hack, and when the couple is finally ready to commit, they have to repeat the whole process again.
11. Friends Season 10, Episode 12: "The One With Phoebe's Wedding"

If you're planning a Valentine's Day wedding like Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), you can bet a blizzard will cancel your plans by dawn. (Date set for July? Expect a monsoon.) With roads jammed and no Plan B, Phoebe and Mike Hannigan (Paul Rudd) are forced to exchange vows outside of their friends' apartment building, surrounded by sewer grates, ornamental shovels, and a steel-drum-playing guest named Marjorie.

Unique ways to capture memories on your big day

If you are like most couples, you want to capture memories at your wedding. It is even better if there are some special and unique ways to do so.
After all, your wedding day is only one day and you want to cherish those sweet memories forever.
It only makes sense to use all the different and creative ways you can to capture memories at your wedding.
ASK GUESTS TO SHARE THEIR PHOTOS: This is a very simple way to capture memories at your wedding. Your guests will no doubt be taking pictures. Ask them to give you copies of them. They will be photographing from more unique angles than others. They may catch a few little moments you might miss but would love to see photos of.
HAVE AN ADVICE BOX: Having an advice box is a fun thing to do at your wedding. It does a couple of different things for you. It captures who all of your guests were and may capture some that neglected to sign your register. It also is a way for them to share what lessons they have learned about marriage to pass on to you. You can use that advice and also look back on it with fondness in the years to come.
HAVE EVERYONE SIGN SOMETHING YOU CAN DISPLAY: At one wedding, the couple had a picture of themselves set up on an easel. Around the picture was a huge mat that guests could sign and wish them the best. It was just one unique idea that a couple could use for guests to sign. You could choose a plate or platter or any other number of options. It is a nice little extra touch to add in.
GIVE OUT DISPOSABLE CAMERAS: Disposable cameras are very economical and they can be worth every penny. They encourage guests to take photos and leave them for you to develop so you are sure to get the pictures. Even children can capture small moments and their photos could end up being some of your favourite ones. They may capture moments that are seen only through a child's view of life, which can be refreshing. It can also be a lot of fun look through the developed pictures and enjoy the surprises.
JOURNAL THROUGH THE WEDDING PROCESS: This is a very personal way to capture memories at your wedding. No one can capture your thoughts and feelings as you go through planning your wedding. Why not journal about it? You will be so glad that you did this later on. You will always have this unique way to remember your wedding.
ASK YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER TO CAPTURE LOTS OF UNPLANNED PHOTOS: Generally, there are a lot of poses that are planned out ahead of time to be taken on your big day. That is a good thing and can help you to get the photos that you want. But you can also have a lot of great photos taken at moments that weren't planned. They may even end up being some of your favourite wedding photos. Ask your photographer to capture the beauty of unplanned photos.

BE FULLY PRESENT: This is another way to capture memories of your special day that only you can do. Be fully present. Take the time to notice how things look, sound and smell. Be quiet within yourself and just soak the beauty of your day in. Memories are best made and best remembered when they mean something to us personally and are our own personal formulations.

Sandra Lee sees wedding bells in her future with Gov. Cuomo

New York's First Girlfriend, celebrity chef Sandra Lee, said she sees wedding bells in her future with Gov. Cuomo.
But it doesn't sound like she'll be preparing a semi-homemade wedding cake just yet.
"We'll get married some day," Lee told the New York Observer. "It's been nine years. We talk about it. It's not like we don't know we're going to do it."
Both Lee and Cuomo have previous failed marriages.
In 2011, she told Vogue magazine that as she walked up the down the aisle, "I remember thinking, it's not too late to run."
But even then, she raised the specter of a lifetime commitment with Cuomo.
"Right now I'm happy being a girlfriend, but someday Andrew and I will get there," she told Vogue. "When his kids say we need to, we will."
Cuomo has three teenage daughters with ex-wife Kerry Kennedy.

Cuomo in his recently-released memoir called Lee, who he met in 2005 at a Hamptons cocktail party. a "godsend."
He described Lee as smart, successful and gorgeous. He called her his "opposite"--a west coast woman with expertise in cooking, entertaining, and decorating.
She was also a businesswoman who had never heard of New York politics, he wrote.
"I quickly fell in love with her," he wrote. "Why she got involved with me I don't know. I was not much of a catch."
The governor also praised her relationship with his three kids. "My children took to her immediately,and as they've grown older, she has been a significant presence in their lives," he wrote. "We have made a family."
Lee assumed a higher-profile role with Cuomo this fall, when she appeared with the governor in a campaign ad and at parades.
“I don’t really have any official responsibilities,” she told the Observer. "He’s very good with me. He says, ‘you know, honey, you can do anything you want, or nothing at all.’ He’s very good about giving me the flexibility and letting me be comfortable in whatever role. And I need a lot of space. I need someone who understands who I am."
While Lee expects to someday marry Cuomo, she made no predictions about whether the couple might ever take up residence at the White House given the widespread belief that the governor holds national aspirations.

"Oh God," she said. "We're not even thinking about that, honey. I have no aspirations. Absolutely not one."

Same-sex couples frequently chuck typical wedding traditions

From a simple backyard barbecue to an extravagant five-star bash, same-sex weddings are all about personal style.
“We wanted to go for an almost-over-the-top thing,” said Scott Meoni-Ridenour, 45, who celebrated his marriage to partner Bill Meoni-Ridenour, 48, at a lavish ceremony at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History recently. “We never expected this to happen in our lifetime, so we wanted to do something big and grand.”
“It was flawless, magical,” said Bill, a local actor.
The Fox Chapel pair leased the museum and invited 135 guests to share their renewed nuptials among dinosaurs, fossils and mummies. Same-sex marriage has been legal in Pennsylvania since May 20, when a federal judge declared the state’s ban on such marriages unconstitutional.
After 11 years together, the couple was tired of waiting for gay marriage to be legalized in Pennsylvania, so they married last year in a small, private ceremony on Fire Island, N.Y.
“We knew we wanted to do something in Pittsburgh to celebrate it,” Scott said. “We decided to renew our vows so our friends and family could be included.”
They had a year to plan the wedding, and the preparation showed. Autumnal colors of gold, burgundy and plum bedecked everything from linens to centerpieces.
“The Great Gatsby came to mind,” said Scott, a managing director of BNY Mellon.
Bill said: “We sat down with the florist and told them we wanted simple elegance and fall colors, and we told him to come up with a plan.”
“And we wanted to make sure that we used gay-friendly vendors who supported the gay community in the past,” said Scott, finishing his husband’s sentence.
Finding supportive vendors is emerging as one of the more important elements in same-sex weddings, said Jamie Miles, editor of TheKnot.com, a wedding website created in 1997.
“Some vendors will refuse service,” Ms. Miles said. “It’s really important to do your research on your vendors before you start working with them. Same-sex friendly vendors will give it their all and showcase their work, while others might be reluctant.”
Public support for gay marriage has swelled considerably in recent years, with 32 states and Washington, D.C., legalizing marriage for same-sex couples. In 11 other states, the issue is wending its way through the courts and is expected to soon bring to 43 the number of states where same sex marriage is legal.
And same-sex weddings are quickly becoming a booming industry. The Williams Institute, a think-tank at the UCLA School of Law, estimates that as much as $492 million in revenue will be generated in California over the next three years, as 37,000 same-sex couples tie the knot, while legalizing gay marriage in New York City resulted in about $259 million in revenue during the first year.
Weddings in general generated $53.4 billion last year, according to the Wedding Report, a research company that tracks the costs associated with weddings.
Same-sex couples frequently chuck typical wedding traditions and instead rely on personal taste to dictate their own traditions, Ms. Miles said. As for it being bad luck to see the bride — or the groom — in their wedding clothes before the ceremony, same-sex couples aren’t buying it, Ms. Miles said.
“Ninety-one percent of them will see the wedding attire in advance,” she said.
Other traditions, such as changing last names, selecting a bridal party or incorporating religion into the wedding ceremony are typically decided by each couple based on their individual wishes. Bill and Scott decided on hypenating and combining their last names because when they were married in New York, state law allowed them to easily change their names on the marriage license, unlike Pennsylvania where courts must be petitioned.
They felt the hypenation was a good compromise, Scott said, to keep their professional names.
Plus, “this was a very visual way of showing our commitment,” Scott said.
The two also tossed typical traditions, like slicing the wedding cake and a large bridal party. Instead, Bill and Scott had two best friends stand by them for the ceremony.
They also called on drag queens and friends to supply the night’s entertainment, with Kierra Darshall coordinating the show and performing as Diana Ross, Divauna Diore as a belly dancer, Blade Matthews as Cher, and Lady Diamond performing a comedy number, “If I can’t sell, I’ll sit on it,” from the show “Black and Blue.”
“We threw away all the traditions,” Scott said. “We just wanted to have a good party and celebrate with our friends.”
Instead of gifts, the couple requested guests contribute to the PPG Zoo and Aquarium, where Bill is a docent. But, they did have a first dance and a toast.
“Everybody was very supportive — we were very lucky,” Scott said. “We really only invited people who we really wanted to have come.”
For couples like Terry Cowden and Karla Bolster, who have raised two children together, the wedding was more of a legality than a change in lifestyle.
“We’ve been together almost 21 years,” said Ms. Cowden, 47. “We were just kind of waiting. I didn’t think it would happen in our lifetime, at least not in Pennsylvania.”
For that reason, the Beechview couple held a commitment ceremony in August 1995 in Massachusetts.
Ms. Cowden’s job as a guidance counselor at Carrick High School provided her family with same-sex family benefits, but the couple still longed to call each other wife.
They were married by Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, along with 18 other couples, on June 15 during Pittsburgh Pride celebrations.
Instead of a lavish reception, the couple opted for a backyard party hosted by their children, Kaela Bolster Blum, 27, and Tyler Cowden Bolster, 15.
“The kids really wanted to do this, and we didn’t want to deprive them of that,” said Ms. Bolster, 48.
Ms. Miles said it’s OK to skip the pomp and circumstance for a simpler celebration.
“Get playful with your details,” she advised. “You don’t have to go strictly traditional with the reception.”
Bill and Scott had a custom cake-topper made with caricatures of them and their three dogs, Mya, Maxx and Mooshy.
The couple said that the most surprising part of the reception was the way it made them feel.
“The cheers went up in the end, and I almost fell down,” Scott said, recalling more than 100 guests observing their vow renewal on the grand staircase in the museum. “It was so heartfelt and wonderful. I still get chills thinking about it.”

“I never realized the strong personal emotion that was behind it until it actually happened,” Bill said. “It took a lot of fighting for us to get married to the person we’ve chosen.”

Why Our Wedding Announcement Would Never Make The New York Times

When I was 28, I received a letter from myself from 10 years prior that I had written as a college assignment. Since I had been a pain in the ass overachiever trying my best to feign a casual vibe, my letter was a mix of shallow observations about what my life was like ("It's awesome living in a dorm!") tempered with exacting lists of what I should have achieved by that point in the future. (No, I was not popular in college. How did you know?)
The list included:
- Write a book
- Move out of my parents' house and into a city
- Get in the New York Times wedding section (with a note that said, "But not till you're 30")
So here I am at 30. That letter, for reasons only a therapist would understand, has haunted me since. I only achieved #2 on the list -- and even then, after five years of city life, I escaped to the suburbs that surrounded the college where that letter was written. I'm engaged, so I kind of fulfilled #3. However, as I look around my cramped 1-bedroom apartment, I could feel my younger self judging me.
Here's the truth: Even though I am in a very happy relationship with someone who is my best friend, we would never, ever, ever make the NYT wedding section. But the obsession with the NYT wedding announcements dates back to even before Carrie Bradshaw called them the "single girl sports pages." To my younger self, trying to form an identity, it was an instructional guide to becoming the "right" sort of adult.
To be listed, you needed to go to the right schools, have the right families or have contributed something to society. Failing that, you have to have a remarkably interesting "how we met" story. (Bonus points if it involved international aid work and/or being 80+.) Failing that, you could make it in there if you had an extremely magnificent or extremely creative wedding.
Here is how we stack up:
We didn't go to the "right" schools.
We first met at a no-name private school whose only claim to fame has been starring in an interior location shot for the musical "Annie." Also, they gave Jon Bon Jovi an honorary doctorate. That's about it.
Our parents are not prominent people.
My grandmother, however, was a member of the TomKats, a Tom Jones appreciation club. She met him once and was so starstruck she could not speak. (A true rarity.) I've been tempted to invite him to the wedding, but I am sure he doesn't remember that life-changing encounter.
We are not people of impressive means.
My fiance has proudly owned a pair of cargo shorts from the Clinton Administration, which he happily wears whenever the temperature reads above 50 degrees. Our wedding budget is not so much a budget but a punchline to whoever we call to ask about booking anything.
We haven't contributed anything lasting to the culture at large.
I've written a series of letters called "Please stop leaving the cabinet doors open." He's responded with "Please stop buying kale, we both know that tastes like sock-flavored cellophane." Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning we are not.
There isn't a touching, heartfelt story behind our union.
We didn't speak to each other for six years because of a misunderstanding around a mutual acquaintance asking me out. Once we did start talking again, we immediately started dating. Done and done.
Our proposal wasn't viral-worthy.
He lead me to a stretch of boardwalk on a misty evening. When he proposed, my stunned response was a mildly alarmed "Are you sure?" I repeated this over and over, while he lost confidence. For a while after that, he wasn't 100 percent sure we were actually engaged. I am very glad this moment wasn't recorded.
In short, we are pretty average, as far as couples go. Our achievements can't be measured in newsprint. But I've accepted that I haven't done the things I thought I'd do when I girlishly wrote that letter. I haven't chosen an "important person," I haven't written a book and while I have been on TV, it was to awkwardly show the world how to clean their carpet with shaving cream. On weekends, I am clad in yoga pants like every other suburban lady, running my errands. It takes the threat of entertaining to get our house to look like adults live there.

It's a really happy life, if a quiet one. Was this what I pictured 12 years ago? No. But then again, my definition of happiness has changed dramatically since then.

Beyoncé Attends Sister Solange's Pre-Wedding Festivities in New Orleans

Beyoncé stepped out Friday night in New Orleans to celebrate sisterSolange Knowles's rumored wedding weekend.
Solange – who is engaged to music video director Alan Ferguson – is reportedly set to tie the knot this weekend, and about 50 family and friends joined the happy couple in NOLA for a pre-wedding bash at the Indywood Cinema.
Solange, 28, and Ferguson, 51, showed a film they made of how they met before playing the movie they saw on their first date:Mahogany, a '70s flick featuring Diana Ross.
"It was pretty adorable," Hayley Sampson, who owns the film house with brother Will, tells PEOPLE. "They were talking about how they met and that they bonded [over] this film and then showed everybody the movie."
As for the bash's treats, partygoers enjoyed daiquiris from local sandwich shop Gene's Po-Boys and drinks mixed by bartenders from the nearby go-to Oxalis.
The ready-to-wed pair have a history with the theater. Ferguson discovered Indywood Cinemas on his own when he saw a documentary and cult film there and then returned with Solange.
The bride-to-be's older sister attended the fête solo. "It was really nice to meet her," Hayley says. "She's a lovely person."
The "Partition" singer stunned in an all-black ensemble with a blue jacket, while her younger sister rocked a cream dress and gold heels, with fiancé Ferguson matching in a beige suit.
The rumored wedding weekend marks a return to New Orleans. Back in January, matriarch Tina held a star-studded 60th birthday soiree in The Big Easy. Then the Knowles clan returned this summer, appearing to have made upfollowing Solange and Jay Z's elevator scuffle in May.
And it sounds like her brother-in-law's absence Friday has nothing to do with bad blood.

"What's important is that my family and I are all good," Solange told Lucky for its August issue.

Same-sex couple rejected by wedding planner. Now what?

Comes now the inevitable story of the wedding planner who is refusing to do business with a same-sex couple.
Crystal Allen and Kenyata White found a one-stop shop for all their wedding needs on the web, 12 News' Brahm Resnik reports that they were all set up for a December wedding in Encanto Park when the owner of the business, Susan Latimer, realized that the couple she was preparing to marry were two women.
So Latimer called off the wedding – or at least her part in making the wedding happen.
"We are very uncomfortable with same-sex marriage as it is directly against our beliefs," she told the couple via email on Monday. "We would not be a very good fit."
Naturally, the couple is disappointed.
Naturally, all eyes are now on the gay community, which recently won the right to legally marry in Arizona. So here's what the gay community should do.
Nothing.
The website is run by a pair of ordained ministers. Al and Susan Latimer have a First Amendment right to say who they want to marry and who they don't want to marry.
This, according to attorney Brendan Mahoney, chairman of the Phoenix Human Relations Commission, a guy who co-wrote the city's LGBT anti-discrimination law.
Undoubtedly, there are plenty of bakers and wedding planners and even ministers in town who stand ready to bake, plan and marry same-sex couples. Plenty of people who will take joy in Crystal and Kenyata's special day, not to mention a tidy profit from their business.
So, go, celebrate and don't play into the hands of those who are itching for a reason to bring back Senate Bill 1062, last year's debacle of a bill that attempted to legalize discrimination in the name of the Lord.
The people who run AffordableWeddingMinistry.com appear to be people who really do have a sincerely held religious belief that gay marriage is wrong. "We believe Jesus loves everyone and the concept he gave is ... Marriage is HOLY and right for one man and one woman," their website says.
Of course, the couple also says they are "non-judgmental." Go figure.
And then go find a business that wants your business. There are plenty of them.
For years, gay couples have correctly asked that they not be forced to live by the moral beliefs of others. That right has now been granted to them, with the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Would they now want to force their moral beliefs upon others?

Can cooler heads and kinder hearts prevail or is it inevitable that Arizona will head down the rocky road of trying to legalize discrimination?

Pictures on set of Coronation Street's most flamboyant wedding yet - 80s style

Beth Tinker is dressed in a Madonna-inspired outfit for her big day and her husband to be Kirk Sutherland as Adam Ant as filming took place in Swinton.
It was 80s fever outside Salford Civic Centre as Coronation Street rolled up to film scenes of an upcoming wedding - with Madonna appearing to marry Adam Ant.
Cast members dressed in flamboyant 80s-style outfits for what is set to be the soap's most outrageous wedding yet between Beth Tinker and Kirk Sutherland.
Beth, played by Lisa George, was dressed in white corset, lace fingerless gloves and netted skirt reminiscent of Madonna's Like a Virgin phase, while her hubby to be, played by Andrew Whyment, was a convincing Adam Ant - complete with leather trousers, white ruffled shirt and even face paint to embody the dandy highwayman.
The cast were causing quite the stir as they transformed Salford's main council offices in Swinton into "Weatherfield Civic Centre" for the registry office wedding, set to be screened on the ITV soap over Christmas.
And the 80s theme continued for Beth's bridesmaids with Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) Maria Connor (Samia Ghadie) and Sinead Tinker (Katie McGlynn) all donning retro white dungarees, spots and striped tops and matching lace gloves, hair bows and funky creepers.
Cast were spotted getting out of a green Volkswagen camper van draped in rainbow-coloured ribbons.
Meanwhile other guests at the garish fancy dress wedding included Julie Carp (Katy Cavanagh) who was dressed in an all-pink ensemble that seemed more 1960s than 80s in style, while Kirk's friend Chesney was also spotted on set.
Groomsmen, Beth's son Craig Tinker (Colston Smith) and Chesney Brown (Sam Astin) looked cool as the Blues Brothers.
Signage outside the Civic Centre had also been altered to reflect the fictional 'Ridgeway Road' register office and a black cab was also decked out in colourful ribbons.
This Morning presenter Sharon Marshall was seen filming for the ITV show and blended right in with her red and black Madonna outfit.
The scenes shot on Tuesday will become Coronation Street's latest dramatic wedding - hot on the heels of the failed nuptials of Tracy Barlow to Rob Donovan.
In that wedding, shot at Cheshire's Capesthorne Hall, the wedding failed to go ahead after Rob was unmasked as the real murderer of Tina McIntyre, and was forced to go on the run as police arrived at the venue.
A distraught Tracy ended up in a scrap with Rob's sister Carla (Alison King) after spending months planning her perfect day in a Bridezilla plotline.

At least Tracy appears to enjoy another big day here - as one of Beth's 80s bridesmaids.

Jessa Duggar responds to rumor she allegedly consummated marriage at reception

According to an alleged wedding guest named Mary B, Jessa Duggar and Ben Seewald were caught consummating their marriage at their church reception reports Rob Shuter of naughtygossip.com.
In “My Life As a Stay at Home Wife and Mom,” reported wedding guest Mary B claims that Jessa, 21, and Ben, 19 were busted by Duggar sister Jinger, 20, in an ‘act of lust’ immediately following their vows.
'Multiple people were discussing that when Jinger opened the door to get Jess for the reception, she immediately closed the door with a look of shock on her face,' wrote Mary B.
'I am not sure why they would not wait for the evening to pray and then consummate God's marriage,' she continued.
'This really made me question Ben's headship and leadership skills. I pray he is not swayed to evil. I pray he acts as strong husband and worship leader to Miss Jessa.'
The post has since been deleted
Newlywed Jessa Seewald appears to have responded to the gossip by Instagramming a quote about overcoming evil.
What is certain is that Jessa and Ben did wait until the reception before sharing their first kiss in private. Since their wedding the bride posted a snapshot of the pair smooching alongside the caption, “It’s great living life with your best friend.”

Another non-traditional aspect to the wedding was that there was no wedding cake. “I don’t really like it,” Jessa told People. The pair decided to go with ice cream sundaes instead with a choice of four toppings. The newlyweds left the reception in a horse-drawn carriage as bubbles were blown in the air.

Eight Men Jailed In Egypt Over 'Gay Wedding'

Eight men have been sentenced to three years in prison by a Cairo court after video emerged of them allegedly taking part in a gay wedding ceremony.
The mobile phone footage shows two men exchanging rings during a private boat party on the Nile.
There is a cake and at one point the men are seen embracing while others cheer.
While the ceremony is not legally or religiously binding, in a conservative society where homosexuality is frowned upon, the video - leaked months after the event - has sparked controversy.
Within days of its release, dozens were rounded up by police.
After a short trial, eight of the men in the video were handed jail sentences for "inciting debauchery" and other charges.
A close friend of the men in the video told us the sentencing has sent shockwaves through the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.
Kim, which is not his real name, told Sky News: "We are terrified, really terrified.
"To get to the people in the video, the police raided three parties in the space of 48 hours and made arrests. They took people from their homes."
Kim also said there is nowhere safe for homosexuals to meet or even talk now.
"There's no chatting, messaging or online dating. It feels like we are being strangled," he said.
Homosexuality has long been a social taboo in Egypt and it is not the first time the LGBT community has been persecuted.
In 2001, the famous Queen Boat trial saw 52 gay men charged with debauchery and offending religion.
But since President Abdel Fatah al Sisi took power last summer, rights organisations say there has been a sustained and co-ordinated crackdown, with more than 80 homosexuals and transexuals arrested since June last year.
Scott Long, a Cairo-based human rights activist who focuses on LGBT rights, thinks the latest arrests are part of a general crackdown.
He said: "Whether it's young atheists, or long-haired revolutionaries or even guys who sell clothes illegally on the streets downtown, there's an enormous police crackdown on any kind of behaviour the state doesn't like.
"But it's really easy for them to target LGBT people because they're unpopular nobody will stand up to defend them."
In the hours and days after the alleged gay wedding video emerged, the homophobic backlash played out on the airways.
One of the so-called grooms called in to a popular TV station insisting the party was for a birthday and that he is not gay.
But the host mocked him, asking him repeatedly if he was gay and whether he had a girlfriend.
Unlike other countries, Egypt does not have a law explicitly criminalising homosexuality.
Prosecutors use existing laws to do with morality and public decency to arrest those they suspect are from the LGBT community.
They are not the only ones who currently feel targeted as the state increasingly closes in on those who will not conform to its ideals - regardless of whether they pose a threat.

It is a crackdown that often seems to care more about appearances than the truth.

Driver may be charged in fatal wedding day crash

The driver of a pickup involved in a one-vehicle crash Oct. 12 that took the lives of two people, including a groom on his wedding day, could face charges this month.
Wyandot County Sheriff Michael Hetzel said evidence has been presented to the Wyandot County Prosecutor's Office.
"I can't comment on the evidence because it is still an ongoing investigation," Hetzel said. He also would not say whether toxicology test results have been received.
Hetzel said previously that alcohol and speed were both being investigated as possible causes of the crash.
"I am pretty sure the evidence will be presented to the grand jury within the next week to 10 days," Hetzel said.
Timothy N. Tebbe, of rural Nevada, Ohio, was driving a 2014 Dodge Ram quad cab pickup on Oct. 12.
Andrew M. Bloomfield, 27, Galion, died in the crash just hours after saying his vows with Ruth D. Driskill Bloomfield, who was seriously injured in the crash that happened at 4:49 p.m. Oct. 12 in Antrim Township in Wyandot County.
Elizabeth M. Shelton, 26, Bucyrus, was pronounced dead at the scene by Wyandot County Coroner Joseph Sberna. Andrew Bloomfield was taken by medical helicopter to St. Rita's Hospital in Lima, where he later died.
Driskill Bloomfield, 37, also of Galion, and Tebbe were flown to St. Rita's Medical Center in Lima.
Hetzel said the preliminary investigation shows Tebbe was traveling north on Township Highway 135, just north of Township Highway 72, when he lost control of the pickup. The truck traveled off the west side of the road and hit an embankment, which caused the truck to roll. The truck then hit a utility pole and rolled several more times, coming to rest in a cornfield.
Shelton and Bloomfield were thrown from the vehicle. Driskill Bloomfield and Tebbe had to be freed from the vehicle with an extraction device.

Both Driskill Bloomfield and Tebbe have been released from the hospital. A memorial took place two weeks ago in Nevada in honor of the crash victims.

Aaron Murray Engaged: Andi And Josh Mad Their Wedding Is Being Upstaged?

Kansas City Chiefs QB Aaron Murray’s family is excited about his engagement to his long-time girlfriend, Kacie McDonnell. Well, everyone except his big brother Josh Murray and his fiancee, Bachelorette Andi Dorfman. The reality TV stars haven’t uttered a word on social media about the Aaron’s big news, and they were not present for the big Murray family engagement celebration last week.
Aaron proposed to Kacie last week in Kansas City, surrounded by the whole Murray clan, with Andi and Josh noticeably missing. Within days of their October 10 engagement, Kacie revealed on Instagram that plans for a Philadelphia wedding were underway, leaving many Bachelorette fans wondering if Andi and Josh are mad that their wedding is being upstaged by Aaron and Kacie.
Perhaps they didn’t show up at the engagement celebration because Andi is not in good graces with Josh’s family. Celeb Dirty Laundry claims that the Murray family “hates Andi” — but it wasn’t always that way. Apparently Josh’s family was fine with Andi right up until the After the Final Rose special aired. Remember when Nick Viall blurted out that Andi slept with him? That apparently didn’t go over so well with Mr. and Mrs. Murray, so that could be why Andi and Josh were not in Kansas City to celebrate Aaron and Kacie’s engagement last week.
Of course, it’s also possible that the Bachelorette couple weren’t able to make it to Kansas City on the night of Aaron’s engagement because they were attending a Bridal Fashion week in NYC. Wet Paint reports that Andi and Josh were invited to several events related to Kleinfeld’s 2015 wedding gown collection, which was probably a paid appearance.
The bride-to-be made it sound like she went to New York to pick out her wedding dress, but that didn’t happen. The couple cheesed it up for the cameras, but managed to repeatedly dodge the “when’s the wedding” question. To top it off, they were surrounded by all-things-bridal and never once mentioned Aaron and Kacie’s engagement during their interviews with the press.
“Yesss! Couture Bridal Fashion week and NYC… Here @joshmurray11 and I come! Pumped to see it with @kleinfeldbridal! Wedding time! @kleinfeldpaper #weddingdress #fashion #happygirl.”

Andi and Josh got engaged on May 9, and have mentioned many times that they are excited about getting married. Although they have only been engaged for five months, there must be a reason they haven’t announced a wedding date. Could it be that the Murray family feud is real, or are they just holding out hope that ABC will offer them a pile of cash to get married on TV?

MILLION DOLLAR LISTING LA: Josh Altman Admits, ‘All My Fault’ Wedding’s Off

It’s official, Heather Bilyeu and Josh Altman have stopped planning a wedding on MILLION DOLLAR LISTING LOS ANGELES.
The last straw was another “Oops” moment by Altman. He forgot about the couple’s plans to meet with a florist. He was posing for a photo by brother Matt as he tried on his wedding tux.
Heather hung up on him, which according to Josh Altman, was a rare occurrence. He knew he was in deep trouble and became a bit unglued, which was unfortunate timing because he and Matt were scooting off to a prestigious property for a listing appointment at the prestigious Chandler mansion.
Until he got home that evening and the pair made their decision to halt all wedding plans, Josh Altman was trying to keep it in perspective, but fumbled his way through the appointment relying on Matt to carry the ball.
“The call with Heather really rattled me and I’m a mess,” he said. It’s just a flower appointment.” We all know that sometimes a flower appointment isn’t just a flower appointment.
A man like Josh Altman is used to getting what he wants by working hard to make it so, moving mountains, cajoling, finding a way and outlasting the competition. He stopped doing that with Heather and to his credit he admitted it in some of the most awkward scenes ever on MILLION DOLLAR LISTING LA.
“We had a long conversation last night and the wedding’s off. This is all my fault,” he told Matt on the day after the final decision was made.
“From the beginning she wanted a small wedding and I kept inviting people. I wasn’t even paying attention. I’m definitely scared. I don’t know if it’s something I can salvage. I don’t know where to go from here.”
When Matt asked, “You guys still love each other, right?” A beleaguered Altman said, “I don’t know.”
It looks like that’s the easiest question to answer. Yes, they do. For those that loathe Altman’s persona on the show, you may enjoy the fact that the dreaded couple’s counseling sessions are in his future.
He resisted the suggestion and unless brother Matt had encouraged it, who knows if he would have agreed or even thought the process was worthwhile.

MILLION DOLLAR LISTING LA has seen it’s share of personal sorrow, and there is more to come as Edith Flagg’s illness progresses throughout the season, but for right now, the golden couple is struggling to survive.

Thank you wedding industry for sapping the joy out of getting married

It’s breaking my heart, and my bank balance. The wedding of my dreams is out of reach. When my boyfriend proposed this summer, I knew exactly how I wanted us to pledge our troth: a trip to the registry office, and then a drink in the pub with all of our favourite people. There would be dancing. There would be chips. How hard could it be?
Well, so far it’s cost me £500 – not a large sum, post-Clooney and Alamuddin, but a month’s rent all the same – and I have yet to procure any food, booze, rings, clothes, entertainment or celebrants. I just put down a deposit on a fairly modest venue, because the going-to-the-pub plan turned out, in practice, to be as easy as procuring diamond confetti, or making and serving 9,000 lobster vol-au-vents, or attempting to ride down the aisle on a giant mongoose. If we want to have everyone we love in the same room, toasting us and dancing to Toto’s Africa, we either wait for the pub that will accommodate us all to be built, or we have a “Big Wedding”.
So I was a little irritated to hear that the more you spend on your marriage, the more likely it is that divorce is around the corner. According to a study by economics professors at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, women whose weddings cost more than $20,000 (£12,444) are 3.5 times more likely to divorce than those who spend between $5,000 and $10,000 (£3,111-£6,222).
Pre-engagement, I would have responded to this with a smug “duh!”. No party should cost more than £70 – enough for five bottles of white wine, some Pringles and a prawn ring. But as soon as you start feeling your obligations as a host – it’s the sort of party people will come a long way for, and you want to make sure they have something to eat, somewhere to drink and somewhere warm and dry to sit – you enter the grim, pinched world of people who look you up and down and say that if you’d like them to cover up the electrical wiring protruding from the wall it will be another £4,000.
Planners fall over themselves to tell you that your “special day” must be an expression of your personalities and relationship, but it’s best if you express yourself with an entree of boiled chicken wrapped in cold, greasy bacon at £90 a head. People who look forward to their own engagement instigate dreamy discussions about flowers and frocks; meanwhile, people who are recently married or about to be share gloomy stories about how they thought it would be easier to buy in their own booze until the venue rang up three days before the wedding to announce they were introducing a new and punishing fee for corkage.
Rebecca Mead, author of One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding pointed the finger at our princess complexes. Plenty of women hear the message that we are our weddings – when the world conspires to make us feel fat, frumpy and inadequate, we can have 24 hours of pretending, while wearing a tiara, that we’re special. But it’s in the interest of the salon owner, the dress designer and the make-up artist to tell us we’re “worth” their fees. When you’re organising a party for more than 100 people and you’re too tired to say no, it can feel like it’s easier to just keep handing your credit card over.

Ultimately, I’m not too worried about what my wedding will cost. I suspect the trick is to think of it as the most complicated party you will ever throw, and not the best day of your life. I want my wedding to be the first day of a union, not like the last days of Versailles. As long as we can make sure everyone has a lovely time without going into debt, that’s all I can really hope for. But if you know of anywhere that specialises in mongoose hire, please do get in touch.

Franconia honors army veteran on his wedding day

Army Capt. Steve Walters received the hero’s welcome home he deserved Sunday, with his blushing bride at his side.
The 25-year-veteran, who served multiple combat tours during the first Gulf War, and more recently in Iraq and Afghanistan, was escorted with wife, Michele, on their wedding day Oct. 12 by his fellow members of the American Legion Riders Post 234. Walters is set to retire from the army next year.
The large procession into the parking lot of Family Heritage Restaurant in Franconia for the wedding reception was quite a memorable site. Members of the Telford and Souderton Fire Companies parked two fire trucks facing each other and used the trucks’ ladders to hang a 30 by 40 foot American flag into the air, in order for the procession of motorcycles and cars to travel underneath. A band of bikers then pulled into the lot, playing patriotic music, followed by the newlyweds inside their purple Dodge Challenger, a few more bikers and the rest of the wedding party bringing up the rear.
“I’ll tell you what,” the 45-year-old Walters began, after the procession ended, “what our local fire fighters, what our Legion Riders have done here, the support that we have gotten has been absolutely amazing. We could not ask for a better day all the way around.”
The couple, who’ve been together for almost five years said this was an incredible way to celebrate one of the most important dates in their lives.
“I had no idea,” Michele said. “So I got a little teary eyed because it’s very awesome to see our flag anywhere, but that size on our special day is just awesome.”
While Walters admitted to helping plan the escort with the Legion Riders, he didn’t expect the overwhelming show of support they received.
“I had asked for a four to six man detail,” Walters said. “We had 60 riders. It was absolutely amazing. And their chief, they said to us, ‘we have something a little extra planned for you.’ So what we have here is that something little extra with this tremendous flag and all the support you could ever ask for.”
American Legion Rider member Nancy Buck, who helped organize the event, said the escort was about celebrating the special day and honoring Walters for his service.

“That’s his career. He’s military. He’s been awarded the silver star,” she said. “And he’s been with this woman for a long time and they finally got married. And he is a member of our post, so we’re definitely going to honor him. That’s why we did this.”

Are diamonds really a girl's best friend? What your ring may say about your marriage

If you like it, you should definitely put a ring on it ... but maybe not too big of a ring.
Few things set engaged couples into the boxing ring faster than just how much to spend on their wedding, but a new study from Emory University economics professors indicates that moderation in all things leads to a longer union.
"'A Diamond is Forever' and Other Fairy Tales: The Relationship between Wedding Expenses and Marriage Duration," a new study from Andrew M. Francis and Hugo M. Mialon, isn't just one of the first looks at how wedding spending correlates with marriage duration — it's also an indictment of the persuasive powers of the wedding industry.
The pair surveyed 3,000 U.S. adults who had once been married to a member of the opposite sex and discovered you should:
Spend no more than $2,000 on the engagement ring
Men who shelled out between $2,000-$4,000 on engagement rings were 1.3 times more likely to get divorced than men who spent between $500 and $2,000. But that doesn't mean you should just use a plastic ring you got out of a gumball machine, either. Spending less than $500 on a ring also led to higher divorce rates.
Keep your wedding costs under control
Spending more than $20,000 on a wedding led to divorce 3.5 times more frequently for women than for those who spent between $5,000 and $10,000. (The average cost of an American wedding is nearly $30,000, according to The Knot.) And maybe a reception at a fast food restaurant is warranted: Spending less than $1,000 on a wedding decreased chances of divorce.
But have a big guest list and honeymoon
Good news! You can invite everybody to your low-budget wedding, and head off to Niagara Falls afterwards. The study discovered that high wedding attendance and a honeymoon (regardless of cost) "are positively associated with marriage duration."
"In 1959, Bride’s [magazine] recommended that couples set aside 2 months to prepare for their wedding and published a checklist with 22 tasks for them to complete," the authors of the study (which can be viewed in full here) noted. "By the 1990s, the magazine recommended 12 months of wedding preparation and published a checklist with 44 tasks to complete."
And if you're too busy driving yourself around the bend planning that big lavish wedding to read the study, here's the sum-up: "Our findings provide little evidence to support the validity of the wedding industry’s general message that connects expensive weddings with positive marital outcomes."

Burgers and fries for all!

WI LGBT Chamber of Commerce says next month’s “LGBT Wedding Expo” at capacity for vendors

The Supreme Court announced Monday it is staying out of the same-sex marriage debate — at least for now — rejecting requests from five states to immediately review their bans that prohibit gay and lesbian couples from civil wedlock. The rejected appeals originated from same-sex couples in Utah, Oklahoma, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Indiana. With Monday’s order, lower appeals court rulings striking down the bans could soon be enforced in those five states. That also means bans in all the other states covered by the three circuit appeals courts would also be invalidated. Those states include West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming. Same-sex marriage would then be permitted in 30 states.
The Supreme Court’s announcement Monday means Wisconsin same-sex couples can now begin planning their weddings. That could translate into millions of dollars for Wisconsin’s wedding industry.
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s announcement, the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce has announced it is sponsoring an LGBT Wedding Expo on November 13th.
The wedding expo will be held from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the Radisson Milwaukee West by Mayfair Mall.
“We were all really excited and kind of anticipating that a decision would be made,” Radisson Social Event Manager Brian Peterson said.
With nearly a month to go before the event, the LGBT Chamber of Commerce says it has already reached capacity with the number of vendors that can fit into the space — and the Chamber says it has received countless calls from couples looking to plan their big day that want to do business with those that share their values.
“We’ve got a lot of great buzz around it. Great vendors signed up for it already,” Peterson said.
Unlike in early June, when couples rushed to county clerk’s offices to marry, same-sex couples now have the chance to plan a wedding months in advance.
“Talking to different businesses and even people in the community, finally, finally this is happening,” Peterson said.
“Today I already got give calls from individuals who once their heard about the decision, wanted to start planning their special day,” Jason Rae, the executive director of the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce said.
The Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce is expecting same-sex marriage to have an economic impact in the millions of dollars.
“In Illinois, they predicted with marraige equality they would get about $54 million to $103 million spent within the first three years alone on same-sex weddings,” Rae said.
Hawaiian caterer Ono Kine Grinz is hoping to win some of that new business.
“I think it opens new horizons for catering businesses,” David Lau with Ono Kine Grinz Catering said.
Ono Kine Grinz is already on the list of caterers for the LGBT Wedding Expo.
“This will be new for us too and we’re excited about it. I think we all have a human need to be accepted and loved in society and I think that we’ll all come out as a better person,” Guy Roeseler with Ono Kine Grinz Catering said.
Jason Rae, executive director of the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce, issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s decision not to take up the appeal of Wisconsin’s discriminatory marriage amendment:
“Not only did the US Supreme Court affirm the right of all of Wisconsin’s citizens to marry who they love, the Court also paved the way to help strengthen our state’s economy. At the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce, we are incredibly excited about the economic impact that this decision will have for our members and for our state economy as a whole.
In a short-term sense, the benefits are clear. Weddings are very expensive, and an influx of marriages means a great deal of spending is happening all at once, and better yet it’s happening locally. A study done last year by the Williams Institute at UCLA predicted that marriage equality in Illinois would generate $54 to $103 million in new spending in the state over the first three years that marriage is allowed.
The providers of wedding flowers, food, music, and venues are all local, and likely small businesses. Whereas our neighboring state used to benefit from Wisconsin same-sex couples travelling across the border to get married, now Wisconsin businesses reap the rewards of these nuptials, and the state keeps the sales tax revenues as well. While the exact numbers in Wisconsin are unclear, it is clear that same-sex marriage will bring a welcome boost to our state economy and tax rolls for years to come.
The immediate benefits of marriage equality provide millions of dollars of stimulus to local businesses, but the short-term benefits do not even begin to tell the whole story. These new marriages create families in Wisconsin that will have a lasting, observable impact on our economy.
Marriage equality helps Wisconsin recruit and retain diverse talent. People want to move to and live in a place that is welcoming and accepting of who they are. In today’s global economy, potential employees could go anywhere they wanted. If we want to keep the best and brightest here in our state, showing our inclusivity through marriage equality is one way to do that. Because of the federal decision, we don’t need to worry about people leaving Wisconsin and heading to Illinois or Minnesota where they can be respected in their entirety. This in and of it self is a key component of how we grow our business community. Having the best and brightest want to move here and work here is how we make sure our businesses thrive.

As Wisconsin’s LGBT families continue to grow and prosper, so too will our state economy. We look forward to seeing marriage equality translate into a positive force for our economy and local businesses, and consequently giving our state the best of both worlds.”

After Being Fined for Refusing to Host Gay Weddings and Making a Stunning Business Decision, Christian Farm Owners Are Fighting Back

The owners of a family farm who are being fined $13,000 for refusing to host a gay wedding ceremony are taking action in an effort to overturn the state’s ruling against them.
An attorney for the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal firm, filed a petition in New York State court Thursday on behalf of Cynthia and Robert Gifford, owners of Liberty Ridge Farm, a farm and special events venue in Schaghticoke, New York.
The petition asks that the “sexual orientation discrimination” ruling given by the New York State Division of Human Rights in August be reexamined.
The legal battle touched off after the Giffords, who are Christians, told Jennifer McCarthy and Melisa Erwin, a lesbian couple from Newark, New Jersey, back in 2012 that they were welcome to hold their reception on the property, but not the actual wedding ceremony, according to Religion News Service.
As TheBlaze previously reported, The Giffords, who oppose same-sex marriage based on their religious convictions, live on the premises. Weddings are typically conducted on the first floor of their home or on the nearby property.
McCarthy and Erwin, angry over the rejection, took their grievances — and audio from their conversation with the farm owners that was reportedly secretly recorded — to New York’s Division of Human Rights, claiming that they were discriminated against as a result of their sexual orientation.
A judge agreed and the farm owners were fined $10,000 plus an additional $3,000 in damages for violating anti-discrimination regulations under New York’s Human Rights Law.
Additionally, the Alliance Defending Freedom claims that the Giffords have been ordered to train their staff in the state’s viewpoint on same-sex nuptials; New York legalized gay marriage in 2011.
The conservative legal firm’s appeal argues in Gifford v. New York State Division of Human Rights that the state “did not consider Robert and Cynthia’s constitutional freedoms and religious beliefs,” according to a press release.
“While the Giffords have asserted their constitutional religious protections as a defense to the discrimination allegations from the beginning, neither the Division, the Administrative Law Judge (the ‘ALJ’) or the Commissioner herself even mentioned those fundamental rights before compelling the family to either host and ‘celebrate’ same-sex wedding ceremonies in their own home, or go out of the wedding ceremony business altogether,” reads the appeal filed in court.
Attorneys for the Giffords argue that the family should be free to live according to their religious beliefs and that operating in the marketplace does not give the government the right to force an individual to give up his or her First Amendment rights.
“The commission demonstrated stunning disregard for the Giffords’ First Amendment rights, which were never considered at the hearing,” James Trainor, an allied attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a statement. “The commissioner’s order in essence gives an ultimatum: host same-sex marriage ceremonies or none at all.”
McCarthy spoke out about the fine waged against the Giffords back in August, saying that the family had no right to discriminate against her and that she’s hopeful the incident helps protect others’ rights.
“No one should have the happiest time of their life marred by discrimination,” McCarthy, who was represented alongside her wife by the New York Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement, according to the New York Law Journal. “We hope this decision will protect all New Yorkers from having to go through the hurt that we experienced.”
As TheBlaze previously reported, the Gifford family — as a result of the legal battle — has decided to no longer host any wedding ceremonies on their property.

“Going forward, [Cynthia and Robert Gifford] have decided to no longer host any wedding ceremonies on their property (other than the ones already under contract),” Trainor told TheBlaze. “Since the order essentially compelled them to do all ceremonies or none at all, they have chosen the latter in order to stay true to their religious convictions, even though it will likely hurt their business in the short run.”