Pink Wedding Days | Gay Marriage and Civil Partnerships Blog

Same-sex couples have a disadvantage when it comes to choosing a honeymoon destination.  Straight married couples don’t worry about their relationship offending someone or whether a simple romantic gesture like holding hands will draw abuse. Homosexuality is illegal in 70 UN member states.  According to CNN , six have imposed the death penalty for consensual same-sex sexual acts. Okay, so it’s unlikely that places like Yemen and Saudi Arabia will be pinned to your Pinterest board but Brunei might be. In Brunei, same-sex relationships are now punishable by death. Gay sex in Tanzania can land you in prison.  What about a trip to St Petersburg or a safari in Kenya?  You might like a shopping trip to Dubai or a tour of India’s Golden Triangle.  Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos don’t have any specific laws against homosexuality, but they’re generally very intolerant to LGBTQ travellers. Of course, plenty of LGBTQ travellers will go to these places and experience no trouble at all.

The average cost of a UK wedding in 2019 is £17,674 , that’s according to a wedding report published by Bridebook.co.uk earlier this year. It’s a lot of money to spend on a single occasion.   To put it into perspective, the average deposit for a house in the UK is £11,400 – that’s £6,000 less.  There’s nothing wrong with having a wedding that surpasses the national average.  There’s no shame in spending what you want in order to have the day of your dreams.  There’s enough pressure on couples without slamming them with unsolicited advice on what’s too much (or too little) to spend on their big day.  If you can afford to and if you want to, then do it. But know that you don’t have to spend a fortune, either.  You don’t have to spend a lot of money on a wedding.  Things tend to escalate once the planning starts but that doesn’t mean you have to break your budget just to keep up with whatever it is that magazines, Pinterest, Etsy, social media, TV programmes,

MPs in Westminster have voted 383 to 73 in favour of legalising same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland.    A vote was also passed which could see abortion decriminalised provided that the Northern Irish assembly doesn’t reform before October 2019. Northern Ireland’s de-evolved Government hasn’t sat since January 2017 when power-sharing between the DUP and Sinn Fein collapsed.   Gay marriage has been legal in England, Scotland and Wales since 2015.  The DUP and Sinn Fein disagree on many issues but few are as contentious as same-sex marriage and abortion.  If the assembly were to re-form before October, it’s almost certain that the DUP would take measures to stop any legislation promoting same-sex marriage.  LGBT campaigner JohnO’Doherty was reported by the Canary as saying: “Our future got a little brighter today and we hope that LGBT people across Northern Ireland will wake up tomorrow feeling more hopeful for the future we all want to see.” Gay marriage and N

The law commission is conducting a 2-year review into “outdated” wedding venue rules which could give couples more choice on where they get married.  Only a venue pre-approved by a local council can legally hold wedding ceremonies and the commission will look at whether this reflects modern British society or not. It means that a couple may be able to get married in a back garden or in their own home.   An overhaul of the current law would be good news for anyone planning a wedding after the 2-year review is up. Wider choice would allow for greater personalisation of the wedding ceremony.  It’s not everyone who wants to be married in a church, hotel or country house.  It is also likely to make ceremonies more cost-effective. Music to anyone’s ears when you consider that the average cost of a UK wedding venue is now over £4,000. Currently, ceremonies held in non-approved locations or outdoors are not legally binding.  Couples have to formalise their wedding either by