Pink Wedding Days | Gay Marriage and Civil Partnerships Blog

Our blogger is currently away on holiday, so you might find that our social media channels are a little quieter than usual. Don’t worry, though.  We’re not about to turn into the Marie Celeste . Blog posts will still appear , news stories will continue to pop up into our feeds but this will be done automatically with slightly less frequency than usual. We've just posted a few in bulk, too. Read about the declining number of civil partnerships in England and Wales. Find out more about the latest additions to the Pink Wedding Days directory: White Dove Barns and Holiday Inn Reading M4 Junction 10. And did you know that the Isle of Man just celebrated its first heterosexual civil partnership? If you need to get in touch with Pink Wedding Days, then you can contact our office: salesteam@pinkweddingdays.co.uk Or use the contact form on the website Or give us a call. Things will be back to normal before you know it.

The Isle of Man  celebrated its first opposite-sex civil partnership last week. Adeline Cosson and Kieran Hodgson's small ceremony took place in the capital, Douglas. It's  the first heterosexual civil partnership  to take place in the British Isles, too.  In the  United Kingdom  and the  Republic of Ireland , civil partnerships are  only offered to same-sex couples.  And among same-sex couples in the UK, they're becoming less popular. T he Office for National Statistics (ONS) recently released figures  showing a sharp decline in civil partnerships across England and Wales for 2015.      Marriage is now far more popular with same-sex couples. So, it'll be interesting to see how many heterosexual couples in the Isle of Man choose civil partnership over marriage. Same-sex couples on the Isle of Man have the same choice as heterosexual couples: civil partnership or marriage.  For Adeline Cosson and Kieran Hodgson, the decision to have a civ

Fewer civil partnerships took place in England and Wales in 2015 than in any year since 2005, according  to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) last month.  There were 85% fewer civil partnerships in 2015 than in 2013.  For 2013, there were 5,646.   In 2014, there were 1,683. In 2015, 861 .  The Government Equalities Office say it’s too soon to know if  same-sex marriage is responsible for the drop in civil partnerships. But it does seem a fair assumption to make. The statistics for 2015 also reveal that of the 861 civil partnerships formed that year, 66%  were between men.  The age at which people enter into a civil partnership has risen, too, to 48.5 for men and 49.1 for women .  Almost half were aged 50 or over. London continues to be the most popular place in England and Wales to have a civil partnership. ONS statistics are always an interesting insight into how individuals choose to classify relationships: comm

We're so excited to have White Dove Barns  in Suffolk on Pink Wedding Days .  With Elizabethan oak beams  and a stunning formal courtyard, this grade II listed thatched barn is where we'd all love to get hitched. Designed to very high specifications , the barn comes with adjustable LED lights to fit any theme or colour  scheme.  Don't worry about size, either. This place has plenty of space and can easily accommodate a live band. If you're planning a big celebration, then there's the option of adding a marquee or tipi in the grounds; ideal for summer and spring weddings. Couples are invited to arrive from 2pm the day before the wedding to prepare and dress the venue. There's plenty of accommodation for the wedding party, so you can avoid that last-minute panic. Of course, a wedding is more than just the four walls and ceiling: it's about food, too. Dove Barns has the benefit of their own in-house caterers.   We'd def

We’re so excited to welcome Holiday Inn Reading M4 Junction 10 to Pink Wedding Days . This new venue comes with a 2AA Rosette Caprice Restaurant and complimentary and secure underground parking for all guests.  It has a certificate of excellence for 2016 from Trip Advisor . We’d highly recommend couples looking for a wedding venue in the Reading area visit this venue. Worth mentioning, too, is the venue's excellent transport links to central London and Heathrow Airport both within a comfortable distance. The venue itself boasts two impressive ceremony spaces : the Buckingham Suite which holds 240 guests and the Frogmore Suite,  110. Both are ideal for couples who’d prefer the entire day in a single location. Guests will benefit from special accommodation rates , and the newlywed couple is invited to stay the night as part of their package in one of the hotel’s suites.   The next morning, too, there’s the choice of either a buffet breakfa

It’s a wonder that anyone can find the time to plan a wedding . Modern life with its thousands of just-one-more-thing-to-do moments can seem completely unsuited to the hours needed to organise a wedding.  Small intimate ceremonies are one thing, but what if you want a bigger, more elaborate or themed wedding? It's all too easy to feel overwhelmed. Some weddings really do come with more parts than a meccano set.   You could benefit from hiring an events company , and a good one is worth its weight in gold. Funnily enough , we know one with over 20 years of experience.  Queen Events will save you money and time. They'll arrange viewings, trials and rehearsals. They're up-to-date with the current trends and could even shave 10-20% off the price of your wedding thanks to their network of suppliers, vendors and venues. For couples in the Midlands, Queen Events have partnered up with the Birmingham Rep Theatre .  Be sure to c

US magazine Modern Luxury Brides is rebranding to Modern Luxury Weddings to include same-sex weddings.   Both the magazine and its advertisers want to ensure that gay readers aren't put off from reading the magazine that previously used a female-targeted title.  Legislation might address the legality of same-sex marriage , but it doesn't change language entrenched by decades of heterosexual unions.  Despite a decade of civil partnerships and over eighteen months of equal marriage in the UK, many businesses, venues and service providers still insist on using terms such as bridal fayres, bridal suites and bridal parties.  Even those who see themselves as LGBT friendly. English is a vast and creative language . It's frustrating that businesses can't find alternative and more inclusive descriptions of what they offer.  Wedding and newlywed are both words that can be interchangeable with bridal: wedding suite, newlywed suite, weddin

We're always excited to hear about new food trends for wedding receptions. There's nothing wrong with tradition, but isn't it lovely to see modern twists on old classics? And you might remember that we got quite excited about a donut wall last month . A wall of donuts! What's not to love? Well here's something else that caught our eye, and we just had to share it with you: the wedding cheese cake from Cheese Shed That's right, cheese cake.  Aren't they amazing? The Cheese Shed has replaced the traditional wedding fruitcake with artisan cheeses . They even stack them like a tiered wedding cake. So you can still do the cake cutting, and it'll still look fab in all the photographs.  The Cheese Shed website actually allows you to build your own cheese cake, too . With the world's first online cheese cake builder , you can order samples, choose which cheeses you'd like and which size you'd prefer, a