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.

Newly weds Ashley and Vicky Thorpe have accused the vicar that performed their wedding ceremony of ruining the event when he excluded the couples’ two-year-old son from the church for talking.

The vicar brought the wedding to a standstill after young Cameron began to repeat his Dads’ name.

The vicar staggered the hundred or so wedding guests and members of the congregation by stopping the service and proclaiming that since a wedding is considered a legal ceremony he did not intend to continue until the chattering had ceased and requested that somebody take the child outside of the church.

As the bewildered couple waited at the altar in complete astonishment, their son’s grandmother complained that Cameron was not being naughty but the Vicar insisted that the Cameron be removed and he was eventually taken into the church courtyard by his aunt.

Ashley and Vicky have lodged an official complaint to church officials, who have since begun an investigation into the Vicars handling of the situation after claims from the new Mr. & Mrs. Thorpe that the ill-tempered cleric was both unrealistic and unreasonable in his requests that the toddler remained silent for the ceremony.

The Rev David Cameron, who carried out the marriage of Vicky 20, and Ashley, aged 21, is claimed to have “entirely rejected” their version of events. The couple have declared that they have released this information into the public domain in order to warn other couples who may be considering the church in Fenton, Stoke on Trent for their big day, and have confirmed that they have no intention of requesting a refund for the £500 cost of the service.

Wedding vows are a significant part of any wedding. The promises that you make to each other throughout the course of the ceremony will set the tone for your married life together.

The most popular preferences are perhaps the more traditional wedding vows, which are still seen by many as the most appropriate wording to use.

But promising to ‘love, honour and obey’ might not be considered the perfect recipe for marriage in these modern times, and an increasing number of couples are deciding to personalise their vows, giving them meaning that is apt to the more avant-garde marriage. But how exactly do you write your own?

Your vows are not just words that you read out during your wedding. These words will stay with you throughout your marriage, so your heart should be in each and every word. These very public promises are expected to be genuine and heartfelt, but it can be difficult to know where to begin. Here are a few basic elements that you might want to consider when personalising your vows.

Confirm your appreciation that your partner has come into your life. Relay how your life has been enhanced by this

Include a declaration of lasting love

Verbally pledge your intention to be faithful and to love your partner through good times and bad

Refer to spiritual or religious meaning of your nuptials if this is appropriate to your relationship

Since they are personal there is no right or wrong way to write your vows and more intimate couples might even opt to use lines of poetry or lyrics from a special song to convey their feelings. They should be designed to meet the individual and emotional needs of both the bride and groom, and although the language used may be more modern and appropriate to today’s society, their intentions need not be any less earnest or sincere that traditional vows.