Pink Wedding Days | Gay Marriage and Civil Partnerships Blog

Two months from now, The Republic of Ireland will hold a referendum on gay marriage. No other country in the world has taken the issue to a popular vote before. Irish LGBT groups have been tireless in their attempts to bring equal marriage into the mainstream. It hasn't been easy. Homosexuality was only decriminalised in Ireland in 1993, and that's four years after Denmark first legalised civil partnerships. Of course, Ireland has had to balance its increasing acceptance of homosexuality with its traditional and deeply rooted devotion to the Catholic faith . For those campaigning in favour of equality in Ireland, it's been about normalising homosexuality and championing equal marriage as something that strengthens romantic unions, rather than undermine them. Whatever they've been doing, it appears to be working. Earlier this week PinkNews.co.uk reported that the 'yes' campaign looked to be ahead:  75% of people surveyed saying that they would vote ...

It must be an election year. The Government is to reward married couples with a tax-break.  Not all couples, however, and not with life-changing amounts, but it's better than nothing. From April 2015 , spouses and civil partners who earn less than £10,600 per year can transfer a portion of their tax-free allocation to their partner if their partner pays basic-rate tax. For example Judy earns £25,000 per year. Her partner, Jane, earns £5,500 per year. Judy is a basic tax rate payer.  Jane does not pay tax and does not use £5,100 of her tax-free allocation.  Therefore, she can give some of the remaining £5,100 of her allocation over to Judy .  It could save couples up to £212 each year on their tax bill. Who qualifies? - Couples in a marriage or a civil partnership where both partners were born after 1948 . and - Where one partner pays basic tax (earns between £10,600 and £31,785) whilst the other does not (earns below...

"Here comes the bride da da da daaaa." We all know how the tune goes. Whether it comes from the clunky key changes of a church organ or from the hissing crackle of a CD player, it's about as traditional as wedding traditions get. But what if you don't want traditional? Or what if you want something more than the musical equivalent of brown bread. And what if there's no bride? If you're planning a relaxed summertime wedding, then wouldn't it be better to have something a little bit more upbeat? As we're heading towards the summer months (yes, we know it's only March, but summer is technically ahead of us, so we're sticking with that ). We thought we'd select 10 songs that could work at your wedding. We've chosen some upbeat, light and airy songs to counterbalance the plodding beat of the wedding march. If you had something different for your wedding, then please let us know. We'd love to hear your suggestions. You c...

Couples in The North West of England are blessed with an impressive host of wedding venues in a range of stunning locations. For most people, the venue is the foundation upon which the wedding will be built, so it's important to choose a venue that works well both on an emotional and financial level. We say emotional because most couples recognise their perfect venue by the way it feels to them. It isn't the same as picking out a new carpet for the hallway or deciding on which takeaway to have. It's a cliche, but the venue has to feel right to the couple.  Finding that perfect space, however, is  not always easy , so we've raided our directory to showcase some of our favourites. For more North West venues keep an eye out for Part II   The text and pictures below have been taken from our directory but have been written by the venues themselves.The pictures are the hotels own, too. You can find contact information by clicking the link at the bottom of e...

It's funny. Weddings are often so  similar.   It's almost as if we're all just using the same template: get married on a Saturday; have a wedding cake, have wedding cars, have a wedding breakfast with a champagne toast, have an evening reception with a buffet... And that's fine. The tried-and-tested route works precisely because it's been tried-and-tested. Most people don't want to deviate too far from the norm. What it does mean, however, is that you're likely to pay more for certain "staples". Of course, beside the registrar, the witnesses and the vows, there are no other genuine staples. Everything else is tacked on and labelled as traditional. Well, traditions cost.  So we've found some  painless ways to cut the cost of your wedding without compromising the overall vision for your big day. Have Your Ceremony Later In The Day This will help you in two ways. Firstly, your guests won't be hanging around all day getting bor...

We don't want to take the sparkle out of your engagement, but when you're planning a wedding it's important to remember that the wedding industry is just like any other industry. It's designed to make money . Every venue, every service provider and every small business in between will be promising you the sun, the moon and everything else in our solar system. Just remember, you're paying them for the privilege of it. The vast majority of those in the wedding industry do have a genuine desire to make your day the best that it can be, but, again, you're paying them to do it. This makes planning a wedding as much of a business arrangement as buying a car, booking a holiday or fitting a new kitchen, and it's important to keep your emotional attachments (those decisions that you make with your heart rather than your head) in check. . Over the coming weeks, we're going to be running a feature about how you can keep your wedding on track. So that y...