Every wedding should be an event full of romance and happiness, whether it is a first or second marriage, for the bride, the groom or for both of them.

According to recent statistics, some 40% of weddings ceremonies that are carried out are now second weddings for one or both parties and as traditional vows such as ‘till death do us part’ are spoken again, it is important to remember that there are a great number of explanations as to why those original vows aren’t in place any longer.

The passing away of a partner or the collapse of a marriage are both incredibly traumatic experiences, and can be an extremely isolated and distressing time in anyone’s life, so to discover love for a second time can be a really wonderful time following such sadness.

The etiquette surrounding second marriages is both accommodating and flexible. Your second marriage celebrations should be as extravagant or as simple as you wish, as a second marriage is still considered a time for celebration and for new beginnings for both the bride and groom. Planning a second wedding can and should be just as exciting as the first time around.

Although most grooms would beg to differ, forward planning and good preparation are the key to him looking as happy and as healthy on your wedding day as you, as a bride hope to be?

Male beauty experts suggest that a grooms ‘beauty’ regime should begin around 3 months prior to the wedding day. Particular attention should be paid to the care of hair and skin. Hair should be kept in good condition with regular trims and conditioning treatments to avoid split ends, and skin should be exfoliated on a weekly basis where possible to keep it looking healthy for the big day.

However unlike the vast majority of brides, most grooms do not have the time or the inclination to carry out a beauty regime, even if it is for the most important day of their lives. So we have planned a six day guide to have your groom looking at his best for your nuptials, but one he won’t find too intimidating!

• 6 days to go
  Probably the best time for a hair cut, it allows time for hair to re-grow slightly in case of an over zealous barber!
• 5 days to go
  Pay particular attention to dental hygiene, brush the teeth and tongue at least twice a day to remove the bacteria which could cause bad breath on your wedding day
• 4 days to go
  Go for a facial to ensure that your skin is looking as healthy and fresh as is possible and continue to cleanse and moisturise you skin for the next 6 days
• 3 days to go
  Take care of your body hair! If bushy or unruly eyebrows need to be tidied up, today’s the day. Make sure that nose and ear hairs have been kept in check too.
• 2 days to go
  Feeling stressed? Nervous? Treat yourself to a relaxing massage to calm and invigorate your body and mind
• 1 day to go
  A grooms hands will be looked at on his wedding day more than on any other day of his life, making today the perfect day for a simple man-icure!
• The Big Day!
  Start the day with a relaxing hot towel shave, the perfect way to be clean shaven on your wedding day.

Today’s brides seem to be faced with a stream of continuous planning and preparing in the run up to their all important big day.

From discussions with the wedding vendors to numerous visits to the bridal salon for dress fittings, it’s very easy to subconsciously allow your wedding to take over the rest of your life.

For some brides the build up to the wedding can seem like being in the middle of an all consuming hurricane from which there appears to be no immediate means of escape.

It is common to hear of pre-nuptial brides becoming completely consumed by the planning and preparations for their wedding day, which can often lead to unnecessary amounts of stress and strain being put on both the bride to be and those around her, and often her entire life will become eclipsed by all things wedding. A good way of reducing the load of some of the big days arrangements is to used pre-made wedding activity bags. They help to organise a range of fun things for any children at a wedding.

A persistently demanding timetable will often lead to stress, which isn’t good for the health, particularly for someone preparing to be married. In order to stay calm and relaxed and appear radiant and happy on her wedding day a bride should begin to consider her emotional wellbeing long before her wedding is to take place, and ridiculously demanding schedules should be re-evaluated as early on into the wedding preparations as possible.

It is important during this pre-wedding period to make time to spend with your fiancé and make sure that your agenda does not consist entirely of wedding talk, if you need time out from wedding planning; it’s likely he will too!

A healthy marriage stems from a healthy relationship which in turn begins way ahead of the walk down the aisle, so quality time spent with your husband to be is vital in the run up to the wedding.

Aidan and Helen Ruff, a couple from Northumberland have started a project which they hope will attract wedding parties from the South of the country to the North East after they transformed their home into an exclusive wedding venue.

Ellingham Hall, which is situated near Alnwick, a relatively small market town in Northumberland is being promoted to wedding parties as a more economical option than other venues available in the South of England.

Aidan claims it may even lower the need for homeowner loans, saying the following:-

“We were getting one or two weddings from the South, often people who had historical links with the area, and we realised from the comments that people were stunned how cheap it was. We thought ‘let’s try to capitalise on that’.

It costs a third of what it does in London. People are looking at the credit crunch and they can’t get loans to pay for their weddings.

Last year of the 50 or 60 weddings in the year, there were two or three from the South. This year, we are up to a dozen or so in the last three weeks. Clearly the whole strategy is starting to work.”

The Ruffs are hoping to double the turnover of their business to around £1m by the end of 2009.

The venue, a former school which had been badly damaged by local vandals was purchased by Mr & Mrs Ruff in 1995, and the couple lived there after re-developing the building.

The pair say the hall, which in addition being promoted as a wedding venue is being marketed to other businesses as a venue for conferences, has provided a welcome boost to the local economy.

Derbyshire actor, Tom Chambers star of BBC 1’s hit medical drama Holby City has married his long time girlfriend Clare in a private ceremony recently.

And the happy couple managed to impress their wedding guests with their very first dance as a married couple at their reception.

The pair waltzed onto the dance floor to ‘Chicago’ - the same song which helped the actor to his position at the top of the leader board on BBC 1’s Strictly Come Dancing recently.

As part of the dance, the happy couple also recreated a lift which Tom had previously executed on the popular show with his professional dance partner Camilla Dallerup.

Their very first dance as man and wife was caught by Tom’s Father, Stuart, who has recently passed on some of photographs he took to a local Derbyshire newspaper.

The snaps reveal the newly weds cutting the wedding cake, which held miniature iced models of the bride and groom on top alongside a reproduction of the brides much loved vintage Fiat 500, which the couple used to drive away from their wedding ceremony in.

According to Stuart Chambers, the day proved an emotional event for all involved. He said:-

“Seeing Tom get married was a very proud moment. We were all in tears on the front row and Clare was very emotional when she was trying to get her words out.”

Most would consider it a natural reaction for a stressed out bride to have second thoughts regarding her upcoming nuptials, and these pre-wedding jitters shouldn’t be deemed as a warning sign that you’re Mr Right has suddenly become Mr Wrong!

But unlike Julia Roberts in Hollywood rom-com Runaway Bride, today’s modern bride should be able to calm any pre-wedding nerves, well - with a little help anyway!

Getting married is a major event and pre-wedding nerves, or cold feet could simply be an emotional reaction in recognition of the important step which is about to be taken and can often be soothed with a little support and reassurance.

Having a chat with some happily married friends will help, and you will likely discover that both husbands and wives experienced some form of nervousness in the build up to their big day.

If possible you should also talk over any definite worries that you might have with someone that you trust. Whether you are anxious that your intended may not support your decision to give up work and be a full-time mum or you feel intimidated at the thought of an overbearing or bossy mother-in-law, it is worth bearing in mind that a problem shared can often be a problem halved and voicing a specific worry can help to clarify it for exactly what it is likely to be - an exaggerated bout of anxiety.

When young bride Sara Scott wed her long-time sweetheart Tristan she thought that after the wedding photographs had been taken she would be driven to her wedding reception in the same luxurious Chrysler that she had arrived at the church in.

Her new hubby however had other ideas and had been meticulously creating a unique mode of transport for Sara to take to their wedding reception.

Tristan who is the director of his family’s shed-making business had surreptitiously fashioned a beautiful one of a kind ‘Wedding Shed’ featuring pretty heart shaped shutters, and sporting a sofa, flowers and champagne inside!

The blushing bride was taken by surprise but was completely overjoyed when she caught sight of the white shed sitting on a decorated trailer in the grounds of Horsford church on the day of the weeding, and was absolutely astounded by all the intricate and elaborate details as she and her new husband boarded their ‘Wedding Shed’ and enjoyed a glass of champagne.

Tristan said of the unusual choice of wedding transport: -

“Everyone calls me the shed man, and now she’s going to become the shed woman, I thought this would be something a bit different

We’ve been together for seven years, since sixth-form, and she’s been there right from the start when I was trying to get a business together and stuck by me.

I really hope she likes it, but we’re going to keep the wedding car nearby in case she refuses to get in it.”

A creative fashion designer from Lakeland has fashioned an exclusive one of a kind wedding gown, made entirely from Newcastle United football shirts.

The dress was made as a means of disapproval towards the systematic turmoil which currently reigns at the troubled football club.

The designer of the haute couture gown, Angie Morton is a dedicated Newcastle fan as is her husband, Mike, but the pair made the decision to trash their replica football shirts when Kevin Keegan and Newcastle United parted company.

Angie manages her own fashion design business close to Windermere in Cumbria, and came up with the idea of fashioning a wedding dress from the remnants of the shirts.

She commented:-

“Newcastle United fans have a real love-hate relationship with their team at the moment. So I thought tearing up the shirts and turning them into a wedding dress was a good way to express how we feel.

Many fans are finding it difficult to wear their shirts with pride with the way things are going at the moment but ultimately there’s no escape because they are really married to football and the team!”

The unique wedding dress was recently featured in a wedding show in the town of Rheged near Penrith with a selection of Angie’s other designs.

British actress Wendy Richards has married her partner of more than 10 years, 45 year old John Burns in a civil ceremony in the city of London.

Wendy, aged 65 is better known to the nation as long suffering cockny, Pauline Fowler from long running BBC soap Eastenders.

The couple already live together in Marylebone, Central London and decided to wed prior to the start of the well known actresses forthcoming chemotherapy treatment.

Wendy was diagnosed with a devastating form of cancer which has caused severe kidney damage and has unfortunately spread to her bones, after having fought breast cancer twice previously.

The courageous bride and her new husband looked happy and posed for waiting photographers and press as they left the swish Chesterfield Hotel in Mayfair in the capital after the celebrations.

The ceremony took place in the presence of more than 60 of the couples close friends and family including many of the Eastenders cast, both past and present, including her on screen sons Todd Carty and Martin Alexandriou.

The newly weds have revealed that they have planned a romantic honeymoon in the USA but have opted to schedule it for after the actress’ first chemotherapy session on 13th October.

Wendy spoke recently of the trauma caused by finding out that her cancer had returned, she revealed:-

“I was absolutely raging, hopping mad to have to go through it all again. It has come as a terrible shock and you just get so fed up. You think, ‘Oh, crikey, here we go again’, but you just have to buck your ideas up and get on with these things.”

Hollywood singer and actress Jennifer Lopez and her husband, actor Marc Anthony have renewed their wedding vows in a covert ceremony some four years after they originally tied the knot.

The pair decided to renew their vows after a night out partying with friends and took part in a renewal ceremony at around 3.15am on Sunday morning at the infamous Caesars Palace in the Forum Tower Penthouse, in the wedding capital of the world - Las Vegas.

Lopez is reported to have looked ’stunning’ in a black dress, despite having given birth to twins earlier this year.

A source close to the pair said of the surprise ceremony:-

“It was totally a spur-of-the-moment thing. They decided around 12.30 in the morning that they wanted to do it and started calling for ministers.

They were both winning at the craps table and Marc kept saying that it was going to be a lucky night. It was nearly flawless.

Initially, they were supposed to do the ceremony outside on their hotel suite’s balcony but it was too cold, so they had to move it inside. That was the only thing that didn’t go according to plan”

Las Vegas has been a favoured location for countless celebrity weddings including Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie, Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, Cindy Crawford and Richard Gere and Elvis and Priscilla Presley.