Meeting someone, getting to know them, getting together, falling in love, deciding to get married, engagement, planning the wedding, then the wedding, then the happily ever after.

This is the standard relationship patter, deviations happen occuring to individuals, but (for the majority) this is what people want and expect.

So what happens when your carefully (and expensive) plans start to fall apart?
Do you keep at it and hope it will come together eventually?
Or do yo ucut your losses and run, hoping to find it again but with a more reliable source?

I personally, would cut and run. If you’re on the marriage trail, and your partner starts to indicate, in any way, that they do not view it in the same way you do, then obviously it’s not the right path for you to take together.

Why am I rambling about this?

Well, a friend of mine has been with her boyfriend/fiance for nearly 3 years now - they rented together, and they were approved a joint morgeage (they were going to buy after the wedding - lucky thing considering! read on to find out why…), they had similar friends but had happy nights out/in with other friends, so on and so forth. They seemed to work.

Then two weeks before the wedding (which would have been in March), she found him in bed with another woman - her bridesmaid in fact!

Did she go nuts, yes.

Did he bbeg forgiveness, kinda.

Did she forgive him and the bridesmaid? YES!!

Damn silly thing to do. She forgave them both, pretended it never happened, and skipped happily off down the aisle, her Daddy paying for everything.

The night before the wedding, he called it off - and she still wonders why!!!

I can honestly say, this is an extreme situation - but who the hell would forgive their partner for this kind of betrayal? And the excuse that “we were getting married in two weeks, I can’t cancel it now!” - erm, yes you can! And should! He’s cheating on you now, that won’t change just because you get a ring on him.

Marriage is not an easy decision, it is a lifelong commitment, and if the run up to it isn’t going smoothly, then perhaps the marriage itself won’t either.
Be honest, get out when you can, and when you should.

When picking the flowers for your wedding, simply having a wander through a flower shop and looking for inspiration, is not always a good idea. You may see plenty of flowers that fit in with the colour scheme of your big day, but does the bud tell the right story?

What I mean by this is that every flower has it’s own associated meaning. So when you are picking a yellow carnation for it’s simple but pretty colour, do you realise you are saying “you have disappointed me”?

Nope? Didn’t think so!

I was looking into the different meanings and saying as my Grandad told me about the yellow carnations (he’s a keen gardener, and my Grandma was a fan of all things “associated” - i.e. the meaning of stones, birthdays, names, etc).

I though the info was pretty good, so I’ve listed a brief few below - hope they help!

Carnation White - Innocence / Pure love
Carnation Yellow - You have disappointed me
Eucalyptus - Protection
Gladiolus - Generosity / Strength of character
Heather white/pink - Good luck
Holly - Good will
Iris - Wisdom / Eloquence
Ivy - Friendship / affection
Jasmine - Grace/ Elegance
Jonquil - Love me / Desire
Lavender - Devotion
Lilac - First love
Lily (Calla) - Beauty
Lily (White) - Purity
Lily of the Valley - Sweetness / Humility
Orchid - Love / Beauty
Rose Red - I love you / Passion
Rose White - Eternal love / Heavenly
Rose Yellow - Joy / Friendship
Rose Pink - Perfect happiness
Sunflower - Loyalty
Sweet Pea - Goodbye / Blissful pleasure
Tulip General - Declaration of love
Tulip Red - Believe me
Tulip Yellow - Hopeless love
Violet - Modesty

It means something very different to each person; to some it is a life long dream, and the only way to commit to the person you love, to others it is a pointless expense, to some a union of two families that will benefit both.

Religion obviously plays a key part in a persons perceptions and beliefs of marriage, and religion will obviously affect the ceremony itself.
(I won’t discuss each religions affect on the meaning of marriage, as it would take forever, and as I am not an expert on any religion, I do not wish to get it wrong!)

But generally speaking, all religions agrees that a marriage is a lifelong commitment between two people, who promise to remain together through both good times and bad.

However, to marry legally, you generally have to be of different genders, use the details from your original birth certificate, have witnesses, and bind yourself into a contract which is only breakable via the courts.

Is a marriage a legal or spiritual union?

Take your savings and put them to work, finance experts suggest that you make sure you use up your full tax free savings allowance, and even use a personal finance website, you know the ones, ‘compare the market’ and ‘money supermarket’, in this economic climate it’s good to check out your savings options and there are lots out there that could be better than the tired old savings account you have.

Like most of the country you probably know your likely to have that Saturday night takeaway, well do away with that and get yourself down to the market you may be surprised at how much you save, and you never know you may do away with that money eating gym membership too as well as fitting snuggly into that dainty little dress. Not just that pack a lunch and save all those three pound shop lunches. With little savings like this you’ll soon start to notice the change.

Short most important tip I believe I can give you, create a budget and stick with it! Set your pocket money and don’t take any more out of the bank until the following week! And when you spend on your limitless wedding cost, an added tip is to always use your credit care this way you’re making a saving on cash back and added bonus its insured.

If you happen to be one of the lucky sods who can afford a regular monthly facial, great. But as for the most of us we can’t. There are things you can do to get the professional skincare look. The worst thing ? It takes a little work.

So you give your face a once over with a 3 in 1 skin cleanser and splash of water and dash out of that house and the jobs a good one right ? Wrong, very wrong. A thorough cleansing section is needed at least once a week in order to get that beautiful healthy rosy complexion you want. A quite evening or a Saturday morning always works a treat for those leading a busy life, just to take the time to devote to your skin.

Your skin will look dull, drab and unattractive if your complexion isn’t clean, and almost as importantly id won’t be able to kick start that essential cell renewal process, the one that keeps you at your youngest, however it important not to go overboard, its easily done and this could lead to your skin losing its natural defenses and all the essential nutrients. The best way is to have a gentle cleanse, exfoliate and moisturize routine once a week.

For healthy and hydrated skin, you need to drink at least two litres of water a day and eat a healthy, balanced diet, which should include five pieces of fruit and veg a day and two portions of oily fish a week. If you’re not doing any of these, then make an effort to do so. I guarantee your skin will look brighter and feel more supple in just a few weeks.

No matter what you’re sure to be thinking about the big day and looking like utter gold dust as you tie the knot, all your outfits will be chosen the dresses and the tux and all the fancy trims and accessories.

And for all the girlies out there the accessories are what make you look a million dollars, and the thing that seals the deal? Your, Tiara! Now we’re talking about your pride and glory and where you have long, short, think, thin, dark or light hair there’s tons of options for your big an beautiful day. And the men, you may have little hair, but you’ll be wanting that little hair in great shape on the day, not the usual role out of bed stuff.

Think that’s it, wrong! It’s likely as the beautiful blushing bride to be, you may want to take another look at that make up collection of yours, or even consider the skills of a makeup artist themselves, and don’t be thinking this is too much either, it’s doesn’t have to be as expensive as it sounds and most towns will have a local artist, so just do your research. You may even be thinking about getting your skin, nails and hair into radiant shape well before the day with a care routine.

Civil Wedding ceremonies are often found to contain a wedding reading. There is typically at least one, the words are picked by the happy couple and usually read by a close friend or relative, but its not uncommon for the reader to suggest the words themselves.

It is always a good idea to ask your registrar about readings, some may only like one reading and at a particular time or none at all whereas others may be optimistic about various readings scattered throughout the service. In the case of a particularly awkward registrar don’t be afraid to ask for an alternative registrar, if available.

When this is all go, now you must decide how many readings you would like to have, the registrar will give as much help and guidance you need on this and will overall have the final say so on the timings of the readings. In guidance most registrars for civil ceremonies will be happy with one to possibly even three readings, but, more is likely to be pushing it. Undoubtedly this is dependent on the length of the readings, three short readings could be favourable to one really long one.

As for the readings, you may take the world by storm, as long as you stick to the non religious theme of the ceremony. The possibilities are limitless, from poems to lyrics, to pieces from texts or novels. But my advice make it relevant, and timeless something that will stick with you forever and never grow old.

What’s the best party you have ever been to? And what was so good about it? Music and Entertainment, correct.

Consider your options, because this shall set the scene of your entire celebration. What do you imagine on your big day, are you the romantic sophisticated people of the world that want the harmonious string quartet and guest gently flowing to its beautiful tones? Or, the latest tunes, pumping being rhythmically pumped out by some, it, DJ. The contrasts are clear and there is no right or even wrong answer it’s about you and what you want out of your big day. Choosing the right kind of wedding band, DJ and music is an important task.

It’s always best to seek inspiration, grab the wedding mags and feast your eyes on the music articles, they’re sure to give you a few tips on what’s the good, bad and ugly at the moment. They will also give you contact information so you can find the perfect wedding band. It’s important to think what kind of music you want where I mean you’ll hardly want ACDC’s Highway To Hell to play as you and you’re partner take to the floor for that all important first dance.

And for the rest of the evening think wisely it’s always a good idea to choose music that will reflect yours and your partners relationship but you do want to be engaging and entertaining your guests, so think for them too, form the flower girl to great grandpa it’s good to have it all covered.

After all this is the celebration of the start of the rest of your lives together, make it one to remember.

Nearly 50% of brides under the age of 35 years are still set to spend a minimum of £1,500 on a wedding dress for their wedding.

Mintel, the market analysts have just released figures showing that the bridal wear market is estimated to be worth £128 million which is an increase of 21% across the 5 years between 2003 - 2008.

Mintel also predict that even despite the economic crisis, the sales of wedding dresses will continue to grow as Britain’s brides will not compromise on cost.

Mintel predict that by 2013 brides will be splashing over £153 million on wedding dresses alone which will be an increase of 20% from todays spend.

Since 2004, the number of marriages has dropped by 1.8% to 263,000 in 2008.

Senior Fashion Analyst at Mintel, Katrin Magnussen said: “Over the years, women have become more and more extravagant with their choice of bridalwear. Buying the wedding dress is often seen as a once-in-a-lifetime purchase and is invariably an emotional event. With this in mind, it is very unlikely we will see brides prepared to sacrifice that perfect dress in light of a tighter budget. In their eyes, there will always be other areas where money can be saved.”

Susanne Turner, a market researcher in Surrey is getting married in April 2009 and has confirmed that most brides cared more about their dress and how they look on the big day rather than the cost.

She said: “I saw my dream dress in a magazine. It was an Essence of Australia dress and did not give me much change out of £1,000. I had sort of set myself a budget, but that went out the window when I saw this one.”

Singer, songwriter and actress Stacey Ferguson aka Fergie from hot US band The Black Eyed Peas has married her actor fiancé Josh Duhamel early than rumours suggested she might. Josh was the star of the TV series ‘Las Vegas’ and the Michael Bay big budget movie Transformers in 2007. Josh also stars in the sequel, Transformers Revenge of the Fallen, later this year.

It was believed that Fergie was planning her wedding for summer 2009, but she and partner Josh have tied the knot a few days ago in a luxurious ceremony in Malibu.

Contrary to previous rumours that the star was going to design her own wedding dress, Fergie wore a stunning coloured gown by designers Dolce & Gabbana and carried an elegant bouquet of white crystal studded flowers. The bridesmaids wore black.

The star studded ceremony was followed by a romantic reception in a tent decorated to look like a forest.

Initial wedding celebrations began last week with the pair enjoying their stag party and hen nights together with 75 close family and friends at the infamous Dakota Lounge in Santa Monica.

The pair is now thought to be in the Bahamas enjoying their honeymoon before heading back to the £2.5million home they share in Los Angeles.