The couple were gifted just over $2000 for the shelter and said they already had plenty of household appliances and cutlery sets. Continue reading

A survey of 2,000 American adults, the Nashville-based Christian research company found:

• Nearly six in 10 Americans (59 percent) say marriage should not be "defined and regulated by the state."
• Nearly half (49 percent) say "Religious weddings should not be connected to the state's definition and recognition of marriage."
• About a third (36 percent) say clergy should "no longer be involved in the state's licensing of marriage." More than half (53 percent), however, disagree.
• Those most likely to favor a split between religious weddings and government or civil marriage include 54 percent of men, 53 percent of Catholics and 45 percent of Protestants.

A LifeWay survey of 1,000 Protestant ministers found 25% favoured separating religious rites from a government-issued marriage license.

The LifeWay survey found the rapid expansion of gay marriage in 35 US states spotlights the tension between religious and state views of marriage.

However, conservative Archbishop of Philadelphia, Charles Chaput, last month told the Catholic Bishops' Conference that Catholic priests might consider opting out of certifying civil marriages as a sign of "principled resistance" to growing legal recognition of same-sex marriage.

"It's hard to see how a priest or bishop could, in good conscience, sign a marriage certificate that merely identifies 'Spouse A' and 'Spouse B,'" Chaput said in his prepared remarks.

Last month, the traditionalist magazine First Things launched a campaign for clergy to pledge to stop signing marriage certificates. So far, more than 330 clergy have signed the pledge.

Sources

• Crux
• Dan and Child Photography

It is titled "Why I Didn't Invite Family Or Friends To My Wedding".

And that's great.

But here's why I did invite family and friends (and lots of them, we come from big families) to my our wedding.

After four years of dating, despite being 21, we decided to get married.

Aided by an unexpected proposal on a remote Cook Island beach.

We began talking about what kind of wedding we wanted.

Well actually, I was just impatient to marry my love and get on with our married lives.

We had been living in separate countries, attempting to live chastely for each other, and impatient covered much of that.

From witnessing other strong marriages in our lives and through our knowledge of the commitment and life long nature of marriage, we knew that what we were undertaking was serious.

It wasn't to be taken lightly.

And so, we knew that we both wanted and had to invite everyone around us.

People who had known us and shared with us our whole lives couldn't be missed out.

Because although marriage is a bond between two people, it also is the creation of a family - both as one unit, but also as the coming together of two separate families. In Laws.

That marriage also relies on the support of the community around it.

The strength of good family and friends who will give advice, share in joys and tears, tell you to pick yourself up and go back to the marriage in hard times, support in the raising of children and its inevitable ups and downs.

And so much more. We need them. They need us.

Our loved ones have as much right to celebrate in our joy (and their own joy in sharing in our lives), as we do to celebrate it in the first place (how's that for a sentence?). Continue reading

Sources

• Chelsea Houghton in Restless Press

Chelsea Houghton is editor of Restless Press, as well as a columnist for Catholic Stand, Ignitum Today and NZ Catholic.

The move comes on the back of a British study of bride's expectations, showing nearly half believe it is important to enforce digital rules on wedding guests.

The study also indicated one in seven brides wish mobile phones could be banned.

Administrator of St Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland, Monsignor Bernard Kiely, says the Cathedral does not yet have a policy on the use of social media at wedding ceremonies, however he told CathNews that a policy is something it might need to look at.

Monsignor Kiely said standing at the front of the Cathedral as the bride walks in is very different these days.

"As people turn to greet of the bride, mostly what can be seen are people's backs and the bright lights of their electronic devices as they take photos," he said.

Not averse to social media, Monsignor Kiely is however concerned that the use of electronic devices can become intrusive.

"Parents of the wedding party who view the ceremony through the viewfinder of a tablet might have a digital record of the event, but miss out on the wedding, he said.

Monsignor Kiely says different couples have different attitudes towards social media.

"Some couples prefer no photos or video.

"Others might ask guests to delay posting until the bride and groom have posted first."

However Monsignor Kiely stressed guests at a Church wedding are taking part in sacred ritual.

"Participating in a wedding ceremony through an electronic lens can be a kind of detachment from the sacredness of the moment," he said.

Responding to recommendation from wedding planning website, "The Knot," that couples designate a "tweeter of honour", Monsignor Kiely said at this point it is not an idea that the Cathedral has considered.

However he commented, that for First Communion Masses the Cathedral has an 'official' photographic record and the photos are placed on the Internet for families to download.

Cellphone silence no longer enough

As the Cathedral considers a policy, Wellington celebrant, Victoria Wilks says that in her experience about 75% of Kiwi brides are limiting the amount of social media at their weddings.

Another Wellington celebrant, Karen Simpson agrees with Monsignor Kiley and says couples vary on the amount of social media couples prefer.

"Two years ago, I would have said, 'Please turn your cellphones to silent,' but social media wasn't a big deal back then," she said.

These days, Ms Simpson says she asks most couples before the ceremony, if they wanted her to raise with guests the issue of social media and turning off electronic devices.

Among the "do's and don'ts" identified on wedding preparation websites most say it is inappropriate to use any form of social media without knowing the bride and groom's wishes.

In an article for Lover.ly, Kellee Khalil says modern protocol reqires the bridal couple to state their approach to social media and if appropriate to make known a hashtag for 'their' day.

Sources

• The Times
• DomPost
• Huffington Post
• The Knot
• Image: Wedding Party App

Sure, I get to wear the ivory gown and the invitations have my name on it, but the wedding is only a fraction about me and what I want.

I'm not even sure how the Bridezilla creature was invented; whatever bride actually forced the wedding party to bend to her own personal will must surely only exist in the fantasies of frustrated brides everywhere.

It's common to read (and receive, from well-intentioned or simply thoughtless friends) articles on why and how weddings should be limited in both expense and size.

Every few months, it seems, newspapers regurgitate the topic with a selection of new words and ingenious ideas for cutting costs.

But I don't see the average cost of weddings — not to mention Jewish weddings, outsized only by Indian fares — getting glower, in spite of the plethora of brilliant suggestions published by every news-source ever. As a bride, I get it.

I spent half of my wedding-planning months scheming how my fiancé and I could elope. Not only would it be easier, we argued, but it would be so much cheaper. A quick trip to Atlantic City, a cute hotel on a beach, no fuss. When we presented the idea to our parents, half (but only half) jokingly, they played along. Continue reading

Image: Oh it's a baby

This is the ninth article in a series "Feminist, Orthodox and Engaged," by Simpi Lampert.

Emily Morton is now staging a sit-in protest at All Saints Church, along with 50 villagers in Maerdy, Rhondda Valleys.

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