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.

In order to recession proof their nuptials, many couples are choosing to design and create their own wedding invitations.

One craft shop in Morningside in Edinburgh revealed that the dramatic upturn in demand for materials to create DIY wedding invitation had facilitated an increase in sales of almost one third over the past three months.

The company, Daintree Paper offers a wide range of materials and even offers over the counter advice on making wedding invitations.

Daintree Papers Manager Stephen McMahon commented:-

“You can cut costs in half, or even less on top of that if you want to want to make them the cheapest possible way.

In the last six months in particular there has been a definite swing in the level of business we are getting. Saving money is one of the biggest reasons for people making their invitations themselves.

We have had quite a few customers saying they want to cut back on costs and they are always delighted at how much they can save. Weddings are notoriously expensive so if people can cut back on some of that then they will, especially now.”

One local bride to be, Laura Calder revealed that she had saved somewhere in the region of £500 by making her own wedding invitations. She said:-

“It’s a fair saving and it means we can make it a bit more personal as well.”

A bride to be was so passionate about Jane Austen classic, Pride and Prejudice that she arranged to be married in the original costumes from the BBC adaptation of the novel.

When they wed bride and groom Denise and Stuart Vaughn visited Lyme Park in Disley where the BBC production was filmed, to pose for their wedding photographs.

45 year old Denise said:-

“This was my second marriage and I had already done the white meringue dress. I am a bit of a thespian and a huge fan of period dramas.

I know the book back to front and found out about this shop in London which rents out the costumes.

The costume I wore was from the first ball scene, when Elizabeth Bennett first meets Mr Darcy. Stuart was okay with it all as he is a thespian as well.

He sent me a text on the morning of the wedding to say ‘Got outfit on - must love you!’

It was like having my very own Mr Darcy.”

We were on the way to our reception when we stopped on the side of the road and got a picture by a field of sheep with Lyme Park in the background.

The image had featured on our original wedding invitations so we had to get a picture. The whole day was perfect.”

The BBC version of Pride and Prejudice famously starred Colin Firth as Mr Darcy.

A church minister has discovered a unique means of supporting young couples hoping to be married but discouraged by the rising cost of a wedding.

In a bid to help them beat the credit crunch Reverend Andie Camper has auctioned a wedding ceremony on popular online auction site eBay.

50 year old Andie, the minister for the Westgate Chapel in Lewes, East Sussex revealed that he came up with the revolutionary way to encourage couples to marry after growing more and more frustrated at the increasing amounts of cash being demanded for weddings.

He commented:-

“Marriage is about loving each other and that is what our church stands for. Our role should be to wish them well in their lives rather than making it a commercial venture.

I’m offering the venue and my services as a minister free.

I wanted to help young people who are frightened off by the overwhelming cost of getting married, and who are probably already struggling with the cost of setting up home, particularly in this time of recession.

It’s difficult enough for young people to pay for their homes and their lives together, so the idea is to save them from spending a fortune elsewhere.”

The average overall cost of a wedding, including the cost of the venue, honeymoon, reception, cake and dress etc. has risen recently to somewhere in the region of £25,000.

Reverend Camper is offering a ceremony at the Westgate Chapel for just £50, a fraction of the cost of a Church of England ceremony which costs approximately £250.

The eBay auction ends on Tuesday 20th January and the highest bidder will be married at 2.00pm on Saturday 9th May.

Britains biggest high street jewellers H.Samuel are the first to have launched diamond engagement rings solely for men.

The titanium and diamond embedded pre-marital band, called the Tioro can be purchased at H.Samuel online for just £79.99, much less than the average cost of ladies engagement ring - £1,350.

The new M-engagement ring will be launched in the 400 H. Samuel stores in the UK at a later date.

Men’s engagement rings are worn by betrothed men in parts of Spain and Scandinavia but in the UK such rings are usually only fashioned by designers. It is rare to see men with any sort of engagement ring, yet alone diamond engagement rings.

Natasha Gregory, the head buyer at H. Samuels commented:-

“UK women are no longer waiting until the man pops the question. We are equals in the workplace and in relationships and we make our own decisions.

Now this ring is a clear message to everyone that a man is to be married.”

Unlike a woman, a man doesn’t wear both his engagement and wedding rings on the same finger. A M-engagement ring is worn on the ring ginger on the left hand until he is married when it is worn on the fourth finger of the right hand.

Wedding bands are worn on the left hand since ancient times when it was believed that the vein of love or Vena amoris ran directly from the fourth finger of the left hand to the heart.

27 year old Christina Quilter values her cherished wedding gown more than most brides, in fact the newly wed believes that it actually saved her life.

The Mother of three went for a dress fitting shortly before her wedding, during which the corset of the satin ivory gown pushed into her right breast, causing her to be to cry out in severe pain.

When the pain had not gone after a fortnight, Christina made an appointment with her GP and was sent for tests and she was quickly diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer.

Even though she underwent a mastectomy and began a course of chemotherapy as soon as she was diagnosed, the brave bride decided to go ahead with her wedding plans and married her 28 year old beau Dan.

Christina commented:-

‘It was a really hot searing pain. I’d never felt anything like it. It felt as though my breast was burning.

There is no doubt that my wedding dress had saved my life. I feel very lucky that my cancer was caught so early and I was able to have treatment.

I’ve got no history of breast cancer in my family and I am so young, so I never imagined it would be anything so serious. I felt as though my world had just collapsed around me.

I tried to put it all behind me on the actual day. All the guests knew that I’d got breast cancer and was having chemotherapy, but we still had a wonderful day.
I’d considered postponing the wedding when I was diagnosed, but it gave me something to look forward to and my dress was so beautiful.

Dan and the children really kept me going throughout it all - I knew I had to get better for them.

It has been a long haul getting through my treatment, but with three children to look after I didn’t have much time to feel sorry for myself.’

Thankfully two years down the line Christina’s doctors have advised that they believe that she will recover completely.

When 28 year old bride Katie Mawson married her husband Gary Turpin in 2008 at St Michaels Church, Workington there was someone else at the alter with them.

Family friends Andrew Long was by the brides side as she took her vows, interpreting every word that was spoken in sign language to profoundly deaf Katie.

At least one third of the wedding party were deaf, as well as Katie’s three bridesmaids.

Katie’s signed her vows on her big day and caring Andy even interpreted the speeches at the wedding reception.

Katie who is a lifeguard at their local leisure centre in Workington said:-

“We wanted to hold the reception at our favourite venue, the Broughton Craggs Hotel near Cockermouth, and they had space on this date.

It was important that Andy signed at the wedding because so many of the guests were deaf.”

Newly weds Katie and Gary met on a night out in Workington in 2004. They fell in love and Gary learned sign language. Gary proposed one year after they met when they were having a meal in their local pub, The Old Town House.

Katie’s proud Mum Heather commented:-

“When Katie has made a friend in the deaf community she has made a friend for life. It is like a family and it was wonderful that they were all at the wedding. It was very emotional on the day.”

John and Margaret Beauvoisin can perhaps lay claim to being the most happily married couple in the world.

The couple who live in Portsmouth, Hants have renewed their wedding vows every year since they married in 1948 with the exception of 1949 when John was stationed overseas with the Royal Navy.

The pair wed at St Swithun’s Church in the town of Southsea on 27th December 1948 and since 1950 have renewed their vows and had their wedding bands blessed annually.

Their 2008 ceremony was took place at Sacred Heart Church in their hometown of Waterlooville on 27th December, the Beauvoisins 60th wedding anniversary.

Guests included 10 of the couple’s children, their 23 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

81 year old Margaret said of the moment the devoted couple met:-

“It was by accident really. He was sitting in my chair and I went to sit next to him. Then he got up and I thought he was asking me to dance.

He hadn’t really intended to ask me it turns out, but we spent the rest of the night dancing and he saw me home.”

I asked what his name was, and he said Oswald. I said ‘Do people really call you that?’

He said his middle name was John, so I said ‘I’m going to call you that instead’.”

When asked to reveal the secret to a long and happy marriage, Margaret said:-

“He loves me and looks after me. We have remained faithful and love our family.”