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.

These days it’s quite common to hold your wedding reception at home. There can be several reasons for this. In many cases it can prove to be a cost-saving measure, as booking any sort of venue suddenly becomes ludicrously expensive as soon as you let it be know that it’s for a wedding reception.

Or the reason for holding your wedding reception at home could just be that your own home is the nicest place for the event. Think about it. Where else in the world is going to fit your personal tastes as well as your own home?

However, if you decide to go down this route, it does actually add another layer of problems. You’ve now got to plan and prepare for the reception even more as you’re responsible for the venue as well.

It’s important that the place be spotless prior to the big day, but you’re probably going to have a few things on your mind anyway and hoovering probably isn’t going to be high on your list of priorities.

Nevertheless, it needs doing. So it might be a good idea to get some professional help. That way you can leave the task in their hands and not worry about it at all. There are many different home cleaners in London, Manchester or wherever you happen to live. Take advantage of their services and ease your stress before the big day.

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.

If you have recently become engaged, then a massive congratulations to you from all the team at Bridal News.

You will shortly take part in two of the most incredible life adventures - the first being part of a married couple, and the second - the thrilling but sometimes exhausting rollercoaster ride that is planning your wedding!

Your wedding is likely to be the most important and detailed event that you or your husband to be will have ever had to plan.

Although it can sometimes be incredibly overwhelming there are two things that you can do as a bride to be to make sure that the initial process goes as smoothly as possible.

First things first, you both need to tell your parents, siblings and other close family and friends the good news. Take time out to revel in their delight and congratulations and enjoy being the centre of attention, it probably won’t happen again until the actual day of your wedding!

And secondly, set the date for your big day as soon as you can, after all it will likely be the first question that you are asked once you announce your engagement.

Deciding on a date will also help you plan a timeline for planning you wedding, see our section on choosing a date for your big day at