Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Arizona wedding brawl

Police officers in a Phoenix suburb had to restrain and arrest a bride who became disorderly at her own wedding reception party.

Gilbert police spokesman Hugh White said Monday that officers had to restrain 28-year-old Angela Davito on Saturday night after she kicked a police officer. Officers responded to an unknown trouble call around at a home in Gilbert, Arizona, around 9:30 p.m. They were told by attendees that people in the backyard were “killing each other,” and officers observed a large brawl.


This entire article is an excuse to post this picture

Police commanded people to stop fighting, but the commotion continued, and White says people became angry and aggressive toward the officers. Officers called for backup, and several other officers were sent to the scene, along with Gilbert firefighters to attend to victims of pepper spray exposure.

Following a short-lived calm, Davito charged a partygoer and had to be restrained. The bride allegedly kicked an officer and was arrested on charges of assault and obstructing governmental operations. It's unclear whether Davito has an attorney.

It is clear that this marriage will most likely end in divorce since she and everyone around her need help for their insane, Chris Brown-style anger issues.

-KB

Monday, March 28, 2011

Couple marries after nearly 30 years of dating

Here is a long-ish but cute article about old people in love.

For Forrest Lunsway, reaching a century of life was only the half of it. On his 100th birthday Saturday, Lunsway married his 93-year-old girlfriend, Rose Pollard.

She's 93? She looks amazing, and so modern and - dare I say it - fresh in stripes.
The wedding – a surprise for most in attendance – was a long time coming. Lunsway and Pollard met almost three decades ago. They were both looking for dance partners after their significant others passed away, and mutual friends set them up on a blind date Dec. 18, 1983. It was a Christmas party at the Long Beach Senior Center and the two danced the night away.

Lunsway asked Pollard out on a date, but he lived in Cypress and she lived in Capistrano Beach. "He lived 40 miles away. It was what you call geographically undesirable. I didn't think it would last," Pollard said. But the two would meet halfway and go on dates. Sometimes, Lunsway would drive to pick up Pollard for a night out and then drive home. "If someone will do that, you know that's something," Pollard said.


D'awwwww.

About 20 years later, Lunsway sold his house in Cypress and moved to Capistrano Beach to live with Pollard. Then he asked her to marry him. "I told him I would marry him on his 100th birthday," Pollard said, laughing. "I had never intended for him to remember."

But he did, and Vanna Murphy, who runs senior activities at the Dana Point Community Center, got wind of the promise. So she started planning a wedding. The trick was it had to be a surprise – neither Lunsway nor Pollard wanted family issues getting in the way.
The red and white roses play nicely off the black and white theme

On Saturday, about 90 people who gathered to celebrate Lunsway's 100th birthday found two cakes at the Community Center – one for a wedding and one for a birthday. Twinkling lights were strung and the room was decorated in black, white and silver. Bottles of sparkling cider were poured, and guests munched on chocolate-covered strawberries.


"It was just oh so beautiful," said Pollard, who wore a black and white striped dress. Her new husband wore a tuxedo and a rose pinned to his lapel. "Many people were completely flabbergasted, and others at least had a suspicion," she said. "Maybe I should call up Guinness World Records," Murphy said. "Someone getting married on their 100th birthday – I wonder if that's been done before."

These two are in amazing shape. He's ONE HUNDRED.

The Laguna Cliffs Resort & Spa in Dana Point donated a free night for their honeymoon. They had a room with a view of the ocean and were served champagne and strawberries upon arrival. The couple received congratulatory cards from President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and Gov. Jerry Brown. Lunsway got cards from the president for his birthday and for the wedding.
Lunsway had been married twice before and outlived both his former wives. Both he and Pollard have children from other marriages.

Lunsway attributes his longevity to keeping active. "Use it or lose it," he likes to say.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Brass knuckles for the picky bride

Bridezillas planning a wedding brawl will appreciate these diamond ring brass knuckles.

They're pretty, and they will deliver severe damage to the bridesmaid who complains the most about her ugly dress.
I'd be pissed if I had to wear this accordion lampshade nightmare.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Elizabeth Taylor has died

Elizabeth Taylor's weddings have been the subject of many blog posts here - a friend once told me that she'd correctly answered an Elizabeth Taylor question at trivia night because of this blog. Taylor died this morning of congestive heart failure, and with all the interest in looking back at her work, it seems like a good idea to have one place where you can see all of her weddings.



Elizabeth Taylor's Weddings

Wedding #1 to Nicky Hilton - her gown was inspired by her Father of the Bride dress.


Wedding #2 to Michael Wilding - a low-key event that lasted five years and produced two children.

Wedding #3 to Michael Todd - a marriage cut short by tragedy; Todd died in a fatal plane crash one year after the wedding.



Wedding #4 to Eddie Fisher - I called her gown black, and then a helpful reader pointed out to me that it was actually a beautiful shade of green. Either way, she looks lovely.

Weddings #5 & #6 to Richard Burton - their union(s) created the Taylor-Burton diamond, and showed a different side of her fashion sense.

Wedding #7 to John Warner - he was a politician; the two met on a blind date. The marriage lasted for five years.

Wedding #8 to Larry Fortenski - this notable wedding cost 2 million dollars, and took place at Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch.

Gossip fueled talk about wedding #9 - Taylor took to her Twitter account to clear up the false rumors.

Taylor died 3/23/2011 surrounded by her family: four children, ten grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

-Kay Banks

Monday, March 21, 2011

Royal-tea

The royal wedding stuff is snooze-tastic, but this is funny.

For just £9.99 (+s&h) this beautiful commemorative mug can be yours. It celebrates the royal wedding of Prince William and Miss Kate Middleton.




Notice the exquisite detail; the fine writing, the gilt edges, and beautiful craftsmanship.



You'll also appreciate these beautiful photos of Prince Harry and Kate.


Somewhere in the world is an office full of people who are so far removed from royal/celebrity gossip, that they don't know the difference between Princes Harry and William. I am going to guess that somewhere is in China.

Get yours before the irony runs out.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Hello Kitty marries Dear Daniel

Hello Kitty: Japan's Mickey Mouse. It seems that nearly everyone in Japan appreciates Hello Kitty, pink, and all things kawaii, so it's no surprise that there are so many HK wedding accessories.

These are cute without being saccharine.

It's Hello Kitty and Dear Daniel in traditional Japanese wedding garb. I think they're adorable!
The stories from Japan keep getting worse. There's nothing else to do besides donate money and make myself sick watching the news coverage. :(

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Japanese wedding customs

First, if you're looking for ways to dontate to help Japan through the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disasters, here are some links. I know the Red Cross is really popular, but if you want to do something different:

JEN
Peace Winds Japan
Good Neighbors International
Google's Relief Page (links to Japanese Red Cross)

I haven't researched those organizations yet, so let me know if you get to it first.

Here's a repost of my article on Japanese Wedding Customs

First, what is Shinto?

Shinto is a general term for the activities of the Japanese people to worship all the deities of heaven and earth, and its origin is as old as the history of the Japanese.

Shinto is characterized by the worship of nature, ancestors, polytheism, and animism, with a strong focus on ritual purity, involving honoring and celebrating the existence of Kami (spirits). Shinto is a religion in where practice (actions) and ritual are of the utmost importance rather than words.


A couple enters the shrine

Engagement:
When a Japanese couple gets engaged, the man may give his fiancee an engagement ring, but the couple also exchanges nine lucky objects to symbolize their happiness:

Awabi (abalone): for good wishes
Kinpo-zutsumi: a ceremonial amount of money
Katsuabushi (dried bonito) and surume (dried cuttlefish): preserved foods that symbolize lasting quality
Yanagidaru: cash specifically for purchasing sake (rice wine)
Suehiro: a fan as a symbol of happiness
Konbu: kelp to ensure fertility and a healthy family
Tomoshiraga: linen thread to signify strong ties in married life
Mokuroku: a list of the lucky objects


The bride and groom are dressed in white and black silk

Traditional Shinto Style Ceremony:

The Shinto ceremony takes place at a shrine, performed before a Shinto sanctuary and conducted by a Shinto priest. Many hotels and restaurants are equipped with a special room with miniature Shinto shrines located inside where the couple can perform their marriage vows to the 'Kamisama' (god). The ceremony first begins by purifying the couple. After the purification and vows are performed the bride and groom exchange cups of sake (rice wine) in the 'san-san-kudo' (three-times-three) ceremony as part of their wedding vows that symbolizes not only the union of two people, but also the uniting of two families. To close the ceremony, symbolic offerings of small tree twigs called sakaki are given to the 'Kamisama'



Most guests wear Western attire

All photo credits go to Patrick Leong from China. Xie xie!

Monday, March 14, 2011

Japan

It's hard not to say anything about the tragedy in Japan from the earthquakes and tsunamis, but this is a wedding blog, not a sad times frowny face downer blog, so I'm going to post happy things about Japanese weddings all week.

This is an Aflac commercial featuring a typical western-style wedding, but it has elements that could only come from the odd minds of the people of Japan.




Yeah, I have no idea what it means. There's a lucky cat and the Aflac duck stealing the show and getting all the attention with their crazy dancing. The girl in the commercial is Aoi Miyazaki, an actress who also does humanitarian work.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Hospital room wedding

Are your tissues handy?

Patricia Wallenberg had her daughter's wedding planned out. It would take place this summer. Her husband, Ken, would drive their daughter, Amy, to the elegant banquet hall in his 1929 Model A Ford. There would be a four-course meal, a disc jockey and 150 guests.

She just wasn't sure she would be there.

Wallenberg, 64, has terminal cancer. She went to a hospital last week for a blood transfusion and nearly died. Relatives rushed to her bedside. Doctors were uncertain whether she would live to see the wedding. So she made a request: Could they have it at the hospital? "I didn't think I'd be around to see her on her special day, and that's what I wanted to do," Wallenberg said.


On Tuesday night, she watched her daughter, Amy, 33, and Michael Percival, 35, get married in a small chapel at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose Park, where she is undergoing cancer treatments.




Really sweet news story. :*)

The couple met in May 2009 at a fundraiser for the Diveheart Foundation, a nonprofit in Downers Grove that provides scuba and snorkeling programs to people with disabilities. Amy Wallenberg, a volunteer, sold Percival a raffle ticket.

"I told him to put his phone number on it," she said.

The couple got engaged last Thanksgiving. Patricia Wallenberg began planning the wedding. She tested the food, made flower arrangements and selected bridesmaid dresses — even though she wasn't feeling well.

After battling breast cancer for years, she learned a year ago that it had spread to her liver. The number of drugs available to treat her is getting fewer, her doctor said. On Friday, doctors noticed she was anemic and short of breath. They told her family to contact out-of-state relatives. "It looked like things were really critical," said Dr. David Rosi, her oncologist. "I really wasn't sure she'd survive the weekend." But she did.

On Monday, as her condition improved, she asked her daughter and fiance if they wanted to have the wedding at the hospital. "We might as well go with it as long as everybody is here," Patricia Wallenberg said. Before driving 15 hours from their home in Longview, Texas, Amy Wallenberg packed her wedding dress and Percival his suit.

"This wedding is all her mom has been looking forward to for several months," he said. "She's practically planned the whole wedding since we got engaged," Amy Wallenberg added. "If she wasn't there to see it, that would have been hard to go through."

xoxo,
KB

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Geeky mashup wedding

What do you think about this wedding? Geekology says it looks last-minute, and there are lots of comments ripping this wedding to shreds.

Rob Taverner, 32, dressed as the superhero while Nyssa Pratten, 19, was dressed as Jessica Rabbit in Worcester. And the two best men dressed as Captain America and Supergirl at the ceremony.


Jessica Rabbit (?) and Superman

Bride Nyssa walked down the aisle to the 'Star Wars' theme, and after confirming their nuptials the happy couple left to the famous 'Looney Tunes' exit music. Rob Taverner said he initially came up with the idea of a cartoon wedding at Worcester Register Office as a joke - but his wife-to-be loved the idea.

The 32-year-old self-confessed geek wore the blue Superman top underneath a suit jacket - and donned Clarke Kent style specs. Bride Nyssa wore a revealing red dress as she imitated curvy cartoon siren Jessica Rabbit, voiced by Kathleen Turner in the 1988 movie.



Among the guests were people dressed as the Incredible Hulk, Betty Boop, Tweety-Pie [a.k.a. Tweety Bird] and Catwoman at the wedding with a difference. Fancy dress shop worker Rob said: 'Me and my mate Brendan were mucking about, talking online about the wedding.
'We talked about dressing up as cartoon characters, and I was laughing and joking about it with Nyssa when she said 'why not'?'



Mr Taverner said that he and his wife had a shared love of cartoons and comics.
He said: 'I'm what everyone calls a 'geek', into all the nerdy stuff like computers, comics, sci-fi and graphic novels. Nyssa's into more of the girlie stuff like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but she's learning - she gets really proud of herself when we're all chatting and she gets a reference.' [Dear The Groom: If you want to prove you're marrying an adult, don't say stuff like this. Love, me]

]The blushing bride, who is 15 weeks pregnant, said that it didn't take her long to choose her outfit.

So, is it cute, or is it a slapped-together crap fest? The groom works at a costume store, so it wasn't exactly hard for him to get the costumes together. I'll admit that I prefer things with one defining theme, not some umbrella theme. This does seem hasty (the baby helps that rushed feeling), but it's still colorful and fun. Yes, it's tacky, but when the groomsman is dressed as Super Girl, I think it's supposed to be tacky, no?

-KB

Monday, March 7, 2011

Costco to carry wedding gowns

Do you love Costco like I do? I've heard that they do wedding stuff, but I thought it was just flowers, jewelry, and invitations; apparently they've branched out into the world of wedding gowns.

Loyal Costco customers know the warehouse chain carries just about everything, but some shoppers were still caught off guard by a new display of wedding gowns at a Nevada Costco.

The discount giant is trying its hand in the wedding boutique businesses with a pilot program in Reno and a traveling trunk show, complete with special dressing rooms for trying on wedding gowns.

Brides will have six Kirstie Kelly Signature wedding dresses to choose from.

"Kirstie Kelly has been designing couture dresses for socialites and celebrities for decades, and she wanted to share that same inspiration with women everywhere," said Heather Gordon, a spokeswoman for the bridal line. "The gowns start at about 40 percent off of retail."

Prices range from $699 to $1,399, and sizes run from 2 through 24.

Costco already sells engagement rings, flowers, cakes and honeymoon packages. If the pilot program is successful, wedding gowns could become a staple too.

Even with special dressing rooms, would you try on a wedding gown at Costco? I would because it would probably be a huge savings, and that's worth stripping down to my knickers in fluorescent lighting, right? There are only six dresses to choose from right now, but most gown shops won't let you try on every gown in the store anyway. Will Costco become a wedding giant? Has anyone else seen Idiocracy? "Welcome to Costco...I love you"

-KB

Friday, March 4, 2011

Now DANCE!

Today, it's your turn to tell ME something. Please to explain why this is funny (I am not being a jerk, I just don't know anything about Dr. Who):

Doctor Who Wedding Dance. Funny Surprise!





I found this cute Dr. Who / Stargate cake on the Adventures with Dice blog.



This cake was made custom for Mindy (of the Dice Lover blog) by Cakegoodness, and it even includes her cat playing with dice on the lowest tier. Geek-tastic!


That's all for today - I look forward to someone's explanation of the wedding dance!

xoxo,
Kay

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Hunger strike for a royal wedding invitation

A 19-year old woman from Mexico City, Mexico was on a hunger strike in an attempt to get enough attention to snag an invitation to Prince William and Kate's wedding. She parked herself outside of the British Embassy, saying she wouldn't budge until she got an invitation.

"I have been a fan of Lady Di since I was a little girl," said Estibalis Chavez, who set up a tent outside the British embassy in Mexico City. "My mother was also a fan... I promised myself I would go to the next royal wedding."



The young woman said she has been asking for an invitation to the April 29 ceremony at Westminster Abbey but that the embassy has told her it was impossible.

"I intend to fight until the very end... there is no turning back," she said.
There don't seem to be any current updates on her situation, but hopefully someone will talk her down and make her realize that Prince William and Kate are busy. I have a theory that anyone who draws pictures of their celebrity infatuations are straight-up crazy, and based on this story, I'm probably not wrong.
-KB