The film was released in early 2009, and portrayed how two best friends reactions to having their big day on the same day - i.e. they fell apart bickering and backstabbing and trying to out-do the other, but ultimately came together at the end.

Aww!

No matter how sickly sweet the story is, I was wondering if two friends could actually pull it off - having a joint wedding. I have never met a single person that did, although I occaisionally come accross one or two aricles about shared weddings in the magazines my mother reads.

Financially, they do appeal, especially if you share the same friends. But when it comes to standing centre stage, I do not think anyone would really want to share, no matter what the savings.

And I disagree! I’ve seen wedding costs spiral totally out of control - why would people spend £15,000 on ONE DAY?!?! I understand it is a drea, day, but the lifetime you get with someone should be the real dream - and that £15k could be much better spent on a house or debts, or whatever else would make your lives together more comfortable.

I’d share my wedding day (with a normal friend, no bunnys!), and spend the savingsg on living happily ever after.

More than 60 workers at a Bassett sweet factory in Sheffield attended the wedding ceremony of the famous Liquorice Allsorts character Bertie Basset tie the knot with bride, Betty.

Betty Bassett is the new face of the Bassett’s new product of Red Liquorice Allsorts and is the newest character that has been introduced into the organisation for 80 years.

Shaun Wagstaff, Factory Manager and Bertie’s best man, said: “Bertie’s been a big hit since he stepped into our lives back in 1929 swinging that liquorice cane and charming the ladies. I’ve only known him for eight of those years but it’s good to see old Bertie finally settle down - he certainly looked extra sweet for his big day.”

Craig Hitchen and David Golland, two other factory workers were the ushers and Kayla and Emma -the daughters of the staff member Tyana Owen were the bridesmaids for Betty.

Martin Driver, Bassett’s marketing director said: “Betty has already won a place in Bertie’s heart but we’re expecting her to be a big hit with the public too. We’re confident that Bertie fans will approve of his new bride and wish them both the very best.”

Bassett’s Red Liquorice Allsorts are to replace their Fruit Allsorts.

The firm, owned by Cadbury Schweppes, began in 1842 in Sheffield and came about by complete accident in 1899 when Charlie Thompson a salesman tripped up and mixed all the sweets he had been carrying.

Rising unemployment and the global economic downturn has meant that many British couples are thinking twice before they go ahead and tie the knot this year.

Nearly 80% of British couples who are currently living together and want to get married are re-thinking their wedding plans as unemployment figures rise in the current climate.

Director of family/education at Civitas, Anastasia de Waal commented “As the recession bites it’s going to be harder for partners to make that commitment - without financial stability and jobs they won’t have the confidence to say ‘I do’,”

The recent study looked at 1,560 adults who were aged between 20 years old to 35 years old found that 50% of people who wanted to get married wanted to make their commitment final in the eyes of the law whilst another 2% were considering marriage for the tax advantages.

An employee in London’s CBD, Jenny Brown said; “If my boyfriend asked me now, then I would still say ‘yes’, but I wouldn’t waste my money for a high-profile wedding.”

Anastasia de Waal commented that the recession was going to have a serious impact on couples who were planning their life together, she said:

“This is not about being able to afford a fancy wedding dress for 10,000 pounds or not.”

A January survey from the British Social Attitudes revealed that younger people were showing a far less traditional attitude towards their marriage and are now considering their careers first.

40% of people between the ages of 18 years and 34 years of age stated that marriage was the “best kind of relationship,” in comparison to 84% of people who were aged over 65 years and over who said the same.

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.

For many years it was one of the biggest wedding taboos, the blushing bride walking down the aisle with a baby bump.

But these days much has changed. In 2008 around 20,000 of all UK brides were actually pregnant on the day of their wedding - that’s an incredible 10% of all brides aged under 45.

Bridal boutiques supplying maternity wear are reporting increased sales of maternity wedding dresses, and figures have revealed that more and more brides who are in the family way are choosing to walk down the aisle in a traditional white wedding gown.

Tiffany Rose, an online business dedicated to selling maternity bridal wear confirmed that their online sales soared to 1,000 maternity gowns in 2008, a 50% increase on 2007.

Founder of Tiffany Rose, Tiffany London said:-

“It’s been amazing to watch our maternity bridal range take off.

We’ve seen a steady growth in over the last few years, and it’s still growing. It’s really a reflection on our society: we’re much more open-minded than we once were.

More and more younger couples are choosing to live together before they marry these days. And when they do get married, it’s more acceptable for the woman to wear white, even if she is pregnant.”

The office of National Statistics revealed that the majority of pregnant brides are aged from 25 to 29 year, with most being between 3 and 5 months pregnant on the day the wedding. How many brides to be would have the hen party and baby shower on the same night?

A bride who was thrown from the horse and carriage which was transporting her to her wedding ceremony has finally married her fiancé.

29 year old Sophie Clarke was saved from serious injury by her Father who pushed her from the carriage when the horse pulling it bolted after becoming spooked by heavy traffic in Evesham.

Friends and family said that Sophie was ‘lucky to be alive’ after the out of control horse dashed towards a level crossing and straight into the path of an oncoming lorry.

Poor Sophie was then forced to spend the remained of the day at Worcestershire Royal Hospital receiving treatment for a head injury. She was discharged but was readmitted two days later with complications.

Sophie went on to make complete recovery although the wedding had to be rescheduled for the New Year.

Now Sophie has finally wed her intended 36 year old Karl woods recently, but his time the blushing bride chose to arrive at the ceremony at St Leonard’s Church in Bretforton by car.

Brides and grooms across the nation are following a new craze in which they and their wedding party perform their wedding song for the camera.

The trend dubbed ‘Marryoke’ is currently livening up wedding videos and DVD’s all over the country.

One couple who have taken part in it are newly weds Andrew and Caroline Caotes. Hey performed to ‘That’s How You Know ‘ from the hit movie Enchanted at their recent wedding in their home town of Dewsbury, Yorkshire.

33 year old Andrew said:-

“When we were planning the wedding I really didn’t want to go for all the traditional stuff like the photos and music and the cheesy, staged video.

Originally we wanted to get married in Disneyland but we realised that wasn’t going to work because some of the elderly guests would struggle to get there.

But we still wanted to do something a bit more fun and a bit different.”

The unique wedding production features the newly weds as the main characters but also includes the remainder of the wedding party as the supporting players.

Caroline aged 26 said:-

“It was fantastic and really made the day.

We put notes on the seats at the wedding ceremony explaining what everyone would be doing in the video.

It went brilliantly because everyone felt involved. My grandpa picked up his trumpet for the first time in years and plays it in the film.

I teach four to five year olds and after the wedding I took the video into school. My pupils loved it - and for a while they thought I was a real Princess!”

A competition run by a Welsh newspaper to win a dream wedding has been won by a lucky couple from Swansea.

Michael Bowen and Layla Twigg are the lucky winners of the South Wales Evening Post’s 2008 competition, and have bagged an incredible £16,000 towards their dream wedding next month.

31 year old groom Michael and 28 year old bride to be Layla have been a couple for more than 11 years and started their relationship as two friends dating, they have two daughters aged 8 and 5.

The couple had always intended to get married but finances had stood in their way for many years. They will be married at St David’s Church in Swansea on the 28th of February.

The competition means that almost all aspects of the wedding have been paid for by the South Wales Evening Post, including Layla’s wedding gown, Michael’s suit, the rings, the cake, the photographer, the flowers, the cars and a wedding reception for around 70 guests.

Bride to be Layla is ‘over the moon’ after winning the competition and husband to be Michael commented:-

“It is going to be the day I have always wanted to give Layla but could not afford.

I think we might eventually have settled for a small, civil ceremony at County Hall with just a few guests had it not been for winning the Post competition.

The budget would have been really, really tight. Just getting married would have been great. But this really has made all the difference.”

The South Wales Evening Post’s 2009 competition which is worth an estimated £19,000 is due to begin shortly.

Research carried out by the National Office for Statistics has revealed that the number of couples tying the knot has fallen over the past decade.

In 2008 just 51% of adults registered as being married in comparison with 58% back in 1998.

In 1979 around 75% of women in the 18 - 49 age bracket were married, but by last year that figure has fallen to less than 50%.

Yet the numbers of unmarried women in the same age bracket living with a partner almost tripled over the same period.

It is believed that fall in the numbers of weddings taking place has been accelerated as a result of the credit crunch, with the cost of the average wedding having increased by 50% over the last ten years to over £21,000.

But it would appear that there are still couples who want to get married regardless of economic circumstances.

Stephen and Delyth Toghill, a Welsh couple who got married last summer, saved up for more than two years for their wedding and revealed that they always intended to get married.

Stephen commented:-

“If we had been short of money we would have just had a smaller wedding.

You can get hitched on next to nothing if you really want to.

The problem is people are too materialistic and the whole marriage thing is becoming less important.

I know a lot of couples who live together but are not married– most of them don’t see the point.”

Christine Hamilton, TV presenter and wife of former MP Neil Hamilton, has been wed for more than 18 years and says that government initiatives ought to be designed to encourage more couples to tie the knot.

She said:-

“The key to a healthy marriage is determination to make it work.

Nowadays marriage is all too often regarded as disposable, like a nappy.

I think it’s a real shame less people are getting hitched and it’s bad for our society.

I know a couple who have put off their wedding for at least a year until they can afford it.”

Brighton’s Best Western Hotel is auctioning a Valentines Day wedding on popular online auction and shopping site eBay.

The General Manager of the sea front hotel, James Wilson put the wedding package up for auction after learning that the couple who had booked it had sadly split up over the Christmas period.

Mr Wilson commented:-

“About two to three weeks ago we called up to check on the booking and to make sure everything was OK.

That was when we found out the wedding was off.

We only take a small deposit for these things which does not cover the costs and it left us with a big space on what is a prime date.

We had already turned down a request to stage a Valentine’s dance because of the wedding but now we are faced with having nothing at all.”

The eBay wedding which would usually cost £3,870 has a massively discounted starting price tag of £2,200. So far there is just one bidder and the auction is set to end on 28th January at 11.41am.

The booking is for Saturday 14th February 2009 in the Best Western Brighton hotels newly refurbished Prince Regent Suite. The auction price includes a three course wedding breakfast for 50 guests plus an evening reception with buffet and disco for 80 guests.

It also includes wedding night accommodation for the bride and groom.