Pink Wedding Days | Gay Marriage and Civil Partnerships Blog

We live in a funny old world. In the US, there are 17 states where gay marriage remains illegal . Opponents to same-sex marriage maintain that it undermines the sanctity of marriage, that it goes against God, that it's incompatible with a just society, that's it's morally wrong, and, in many cases, that it is a vulgar attack on conservative communities.  There's nothing new to these arguments. We once saw something similar in Britain. It's what gay rights campaigners and equal marriage advocates are fighting hard to change. In the western world, gay marriage is an unstoppable force . Almost certainly, one-hundred years from now, people will look back and think how strange it was that in a time when Islamic State was cutting off heads, when Ebola was spreading across West Africa, when the global economy was treading toilet water that so many people should be so angry about homosexuality.  I mean, for God's sake, the world is a mess . People got angry a...

From the end of December, same-sex couples in Scotland will be able to get married . This fantastic move towards equality will bring Scottish law in line with England and Wales. So, in honour of this momentous occasion, we thought we'd celebrate some of the unique traditions that make Scottish weddings such fun to attend. Hire a Ceilidh band for your wedding reception.  For the uninitiated a ceilidh is " a traditional Gaelic social gathering, which usually involves playing Gaelic folk music and dancing. " Traditionally, ceilidh music is performed with an accordion, a tin whistle, a fiddle, flute and bodhrán (Irish drum) and is accompanied by up-tempo dancing. If you've ever seen Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire , then you might remember the yule ball scene - kind of along those lines (apologies to hardcore ceilidh fans!). Break an oatcake over your partner's head Originally a Roman superstition, breaking bread or cake over a bride's head...

From Wednesday December 10th 2014 , couples who have previously registered as civil partners in England and Wales will be able to convert their partnership to marriage. Following a public consultation over the summer, the Government is still amending details to expand the scope of the conversion process. This last-minute fine tuning should strike a balance between a simpler, common sense system of conversion whilst simultaneously accommodating couples who might like the option of an additional ceremony. There are likely two be two options: Simple conversion: Two partners sign a declaration in front of a registrar. This is about as low-key as it gets: no pomp, no circumstance just a meeting with an official. 2-step conversion: Two partners sign a declaration in front of a registrar and then have some sort of ceremony built around it. This option is more similar to a wedding or civil partnership ceremony. Couples will receive a marriage certificate which will be dated fro...

Couples can spend years planning their perfect day, and yet, when it arrives, the day is over in a few short hours. In the immediate aftermath it's easy to remember the smaller details: the rainstorm that passed overhead with 5 minutes to spare; the colour of the balloon arch; the speeches from the wedding party or the look on a partner's face glimpsed for the first time from the back of the venue. We never want to forget these memories but, as the years pass, inevitably we do. Photographs are are fantastic way of recording a big day, but they only capture so much.  Jenna Wimshurst of Black Vine Productions got in touch with us to tell our readers about her videography company. "My passion for film comes from my love of telling stories and capturing special moment to share forever. That is why I started my wedding video company so that I could share people’s special day and capture the beauty and love of the couple. My four years of videography experi...