Former Spice Girl Mel B and her Film Producer husband Stephen Belafonte are reported to have made the decision to renew their wedding vows after agreeing a £200,000 deal with a glossy celebrity mag.

The couple wed in June of 2007 in a covert ceremony, which the brides mother admitted that even she was unaware of, and news of their secret wedding did not surface until around September 2007.

Mel also known as Scary Spice and Stephen had been friends for years, but began dating shortly after Mel’s very hostile and much publicised split with Hollywood star Eddie Murphy.

It is believed that the new Mr & Mrs Belafonte had always intended to host a more lavish and open wedding ceremony after the Spice Girls world tour had concluded.

Under the terms of their celebrity magazine contract the couple are said to be planning an extravagant ceremony at during which they will renew their wedding vows in a luxury resort in Egypt. It is also reported that the magazine deal has specified that they must invite a number of celebrity guests to the occasion.

Speaking recently of her apparent wedded bliss, Mel said:-

“I think marriage agrees with me - I’m happy all the time! We’re the best of friends, which I think is one of the most important things in a successful marriage.”

A recent study has revealed that the number of couples whose dream is follow their favourite idols by marrying abroad is on the increase.

The research which was carried out by a leading British Travel Insurer confirmed that hte number of couples requesting insurance for weddings in range of destinations had risen sharply over the first six months of this year.

Popular destinations included Las Vegas where Peaches Geldof recently wed US indie rocker Chester French and the picturesque Italian Riviera where Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney married his long term girlfriend Coleen McLoughlin earlier this year.

A spokesperson for the high street insurer explained:-

“Destination weddings are increasing in popularity as the likes of Coleen and Wayne and now Peaches and her husband opt for such a thing. The choice of location both of these celebrity couples made featured in our research proving that a wedding abroad is something many of us think and dream about.”

“Destination weddings are comparable to planning a holiday overseas and it is important to consider travel insurance as a mandatory aspect in the wedding preparations. The bride and groom may also want to consider taking out the additional cover that specialist wedding insurance providers can offer, while guests travelling abroad will need to ensure they have a travel policy that includes cover for loss of baggage.”

The Caribbean was identified as the number one dream location in the overseas wedding study, closely followed by Hawaii and Italy’s’ Almafi Coast.

A slice of wedding cake from the nuptials of the late Lady Diana and Prince Charles has been put up for auction and sold by a former employee of the royal household, who stored it in cling film inside a metal tin in her attic for an amazing twenty-seven years.

The slice which measured twenty-three centimetres, was a marzipan base covered in icing which displayed the royal coat of arms. It had been a gift to a member of staff who worked at Clarence House for the Queen Mother ,and was a segment of one of twenty-three formal wedding cakes commissioned for the royal wedding.

The employee had recently passed away and left her family specific instructions that in the event of her death the cake should be sold and the proceeds donated to charity.

The official auctioneers’ description of the rare lot read:-

“In view of its size, it is most likely that it was either from the side of a cake, or from the top of a single-tier cake. A highly unusual (and probably inedible) collector’s item.”

The cake sold for $1,830 which equates to a value of around £1,000 to an anonymous bidder together with a typed memo signed by both Charles and Diana expressing thanks to the employee for a wedding gift that they had received from staff members of the royal household.

Earlier this month, 40 year old Stewart Campbell waited for around 3 hours for his cherished bride to be, 26 year old Samantha Hobbs to arrive on their wedding day.

But the husband to be had to forgive his blushing bride, as she was busy hiking up a 4,406 foot mountain to get to the unique wedding venue - at the top of Britain’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis!

The pair who are both ardent walkers decided to conduct their ceremony at the unusual location despite the fact that neither bride nor groom had ever climbed the mammoth mountain before.

The groom started his climb at 9.00am along with his 16 year old son, who was also the best man. Then at 9.30am the bride began her ascent of the mountain accompanied by her Father and a family friend who was also an official witness to the nuptials. Unfortunately Samantha’s climb was slower than expected, taking almost twice as long than that of Stewart.

Many hundreds of locals and tourists stopped to observe the Lancashire couples wedding on the summit on the sunny afternoon, and the groom was kept informed of his wife to be’s progress by the various other climbers and walkers who had passed her on her way up Ben Nevis.

The humanist ceremony eventually took place at 4.00pm, the bride wore a pink chiffon dress and white walking boots whilst the groom was kitted out in a kilt.

Every bride wants her wedding day to be the most memorable in her life and so wants to look and feel at her best on her big day. One of the biggest challenges a bride faces is in the pursuit of the dress of her dreams.

From the design to the colour, choosing a wedding gown can be thrilling but overwhelming at the same time but in today’s difficult economic climate one of the most significant factors in choosing a wedding dress is of course the cost.

Along with everything else the cost of wedding dresses appears to be increasing, and many couples disposable incomes already decreasing rapidly, a growing number of financially savvy brides-to-be are not comfortable in purchasing a wedding dress that may cost as much as the wedding reception or honeymoon and instead are considering the option of a second hand wedding dress.

It is possible to acquire a designer wedding dress which has been worn only once for a fraction of the original cost. There is a growing trend amongst newly weds to sell back their wedding attire to the place that they bought it, so that it can be re-sold and re-used, and many wedding boutiques now offer wedding gowns which have been on worn by models at wedding fayres at hugely discounted prices.

Another option for brides searching for that all elusive perfect dress is to consider a vintage wedding gown. In times gone by, wedding attire was handed down from generation to generation with many brides being married in the same dress that was worn by their mothers or grandmothers at their weddings. There is something to be said for a vintage dress, they are exquisite and traditional, and can look completely unique in comparison to todays often mass produced offerings.

It seems that themed weddings are increasing in popularity at the moment and a pair of Star Wars fans recently married in a ‘Jedi’ themed wedding in the Oregon, USA.

Newly weds Rebecca D’Madeiros and Bill Duda both 36 held their nuptials in their own back yard. The intergalactic ceremony and following festivities took more than nine months to design and arrange.

The Star Wars crazy twosome insisted that their family and friends attended their wedding fully clad as characters from the range of Star Wards films.

The groom, a school teacher said of the wedding:-

“Rebecca and I are massive fans of the films and when were planning the wedding we thought why not Star Wars? It was a lot of fun - after all, it’s not everyday you get to be married by Yoda. You have never seen people more excited to be dressed up in Star Wars gear. Everybody totally got into the swing of things”.

With the bride decked out as Mon Mothma and the groom dressed as Admiral Ackbar from the Star Wars series, the couple were escorted into their garden by a procession of Imperial Storm-troopers. The wedding was officiated by Yoda and Princess Leia in her legendary gold bikini acted as the ring bearer during the ceremony!

The wedding party was encouraged to trust in their instincts and feel the force akin to any respectable Jedi knight!

In the most prevalent and anticipated celebrity wedding since the US state of California legally recognized same sex marriages earlier this year, chat show host  Ellen DeGeneres and actress Portia de Rossi have finally married at their shared $33.5million home in Beverley Hills.

The couple who have been together since meeting in December 2004 tied the knot in a private ceremony in front of just 19 guests. Ellen, 50 and Portia 35 exchanged personalised vows during the informal but intimate nuptials on Saturday evening.

The pair traded custom designed rings by Neil Lane. Ellen sported an all white trouser suit whilst Portia wore a pale pink gown; the outfits were both designed by highly acclaimed US fashion designer Zac Ponsen.

A witness to the ceremony told a member of the US press:-

“They looked ecstatic and couldn’t keep the smiles off their faces or their eyes off each other”.

The pair have attended a great number of celebrity events since first meeting four years ago and whilst Californian adversaries continue to collect signatures for a petition hoped to result in a  revision of the law which acknowledges same sex marriages, Hollywood appears to be in complete support of the newlyweds.

Some couples choose to celebrate their marriage with a civil partnership rather than a traditional wedding ceremony and there isn’t a great deal of disparity between the two.

The main difference is that there are no religious implications in a civil ceremony. A civil marriage is sealed by the exchange of spoken vows and a civil partnership is formed by both parties signing the relevant documentation,

Civil ceremonies are usually held in a register office and performed by an official registrar, although they can be carried out at a wide range of venues that have been sanctioned to house civil ceremonies if the registrar is prepared to be present. Permitted venues often include stately homes or other prominent or prestigious settings including hotels or restaurants licensed by the local authority.

A marriage in a register office was at one time the only option for divorcees wishing to remarry or couples opting to marry outside of their religious faiths or indeed for those who had no religious beliefs.

Since the 1994 Marriage Act which permits civil ceremonies to occur at licensed venues, the register office appears to have decreased in popularity and the growing number of couples who opt to marry there expect an uncomplicated but legally recognized wedding which often precedes a further private blessing or a wedding abroad.

A young bride and groom were horrified when they realised that their 52 strong wedding party would be left to go hungry when the caterers that they had booked for their reception failed to materialise.

Chef James Kirkby, 24 and his new bride Hannah, 21 assumed that their big day was destined to end in shambles when they arrived at their local village hall in Martinstown, Weymouth for their reception to find it empty - not a morsel of food or a single caterer in sight.

The mortified Mother of the bride made a number of frantic calls to nearby pubs and restaurants without any success. Fortunately, after a number of failed attempts she managed to source a Fish & Chip Shop nearby willing to supply a whopping 52 portions of fish and chips.
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The SOS call was received at the Marlboro Restaurant & Fish and Chip Shop where owner Mike Johnson saved the day and delivered the meals to the wedding party within an hour.

Mother of the bride Katy Phillips said:-

“We had these giant gold charger plates so we had the fish and chips in their papers on those. Everyone really enjoyed it and got into the spirit of things, the ushers were there handing all the food out. We were nearly left with a lot of hungry guests but it was quite funny in the end. James and Hannah had a lovely day.”

The happy couple had to shell out £200 for the emergency order but have since deemed it worth every single penny for the most memorable fish supper that they’ll ever have!

Over the years Las Vegas has played host to many celebrity weddings including perhaps the most famous of all, that of Elvis and Priscilla Presley. This week brit-kid Peaches Geldof followed in their footsteps and those of her parents Sir Bob Geldof and the late Paula Yates.

The 19 year old wed her American beau, 23 year old Max Drummey, who plays lead vocals in an indie-rock band at the infamous Little White Wedding Chapel. It is believed that Peaches’ Father veteran rock star and globally recognised humanitarian Bob Geldof was advised of the forthcoming wedding shortly before the ceremony took place but has since publicly offered the newly weds his full support in an official statement.

On her return to the UK the teenage bride confirmed to various reporters and photographers camped outside her London home that she was “very happy”.

Paparazzi and celerity media reporters were ignorant of the fact that the pair had become a couple. Although they are believed to have been on familiar terms for around two years they are alleged to have been an item for less than 8 weeks.

Rumours are already circulating that that the nuptials are nothing more than a public relations exercise to inspire media and public interest in Drummey’s little known rock band Chester French who are scheduled to release their debut album this September.

The state of Las Vegas issues more than 120,000 marriage licenses annually and is internationally renowned and much celebrated as the wedding capital of the world.