Miranda Lambert weds Blake Shelton

FROM: Wonderwall.msn.com

It’s official: Miranda Lambert is a married woman!

The 27-year-old “House That Built Me” singer wed longtime love Blake Shelton late Saturday evening at Texas’ Don Strange Ranch, the couple confirms to Us Weekly exclusively.

Miranda Lambert

Wearing her mother’s wedding dress, Lambert walked down the aisle in front of 550 family members and friends

(including Reba McEntire, Cee Lo Green, Martina McBride, Dierks Bentley, Charles Kelly and the Bellamy Brothers).

“I’m married to my best friend!” Lambert told Us after the ceremony. “Looking forward to a lifetime of laughter.”

Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton wedding

Added Shelton, 34: “I wanted to be married to Miranda the day I proposed. Finally, it’s official!”

Blake Shelton

Dating since 2006, “The Voice” mentor asked for Lambert’s hand in marriage last May. “I fumbled it up a little,” he told Us of the proposal. “It’s funny how you rehearse those things and go over what you want to say, but I probably screwed it up.”

Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton

Fortunately, Lambert didn’t seem to notice. “He did a really good job,” she insisted. “He’s always nervous around me, though — and that’s how I like it!”

This is the first marriage for Lambert; Shelton was married to Kaynette Williams from 2003-2006.

FROM TodayShow.com

LAS VEGAS — Churches, banquet halls and other wedding venues across the country were extra busy Sunday as couples seeking a perfect 10 rushed to tie the knot on a once-in-a-century milestone: Oct. 10, 2010.

In Las Vegas — long a destination for weddings — one marriage license bureau extended its Sunday hours from 6 p.m. to midnight to accommodate the rush. Hotels and churches in New Hampshire’s Seacoast area were booked long before Oct. 10.

Wedding-related businesses said the day was perhaps the most sought-after wedding date since July 7, 2007, when the lucky 07-07-07 marked the calendar. Some 10-10-10 couples even chose to take their vows at 10 a.m.

One pastor in Nevada took the rush airborne by planning to join 30 couples at various venues Sunday and aboard a helicopter through the buzz of a headset.

“This is kind of a neat way to spend my retirement years. It keeps me in good health and keeps my mind alert,” the Rev. Jim Hamilton of Henderson’s Sunrise Community Church told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Renee Fletcher, hostess at the Arch of Reno Wedding Chapel, said it was staging more than 40 weddings on Sunday.

Megan Powell, a 26-year-old who married a nightclub and restaurant operator, said her Las Vegas wedding was “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get married on 10/10/10.”

“That day will never happen again,” she added.

Some say 10-10-10 is lucky, and couples by the thousands are rushing to the altar. Glynis McCants, numerologist and author of “Love by the Numbers,” speaks with TODAY’s Jenna Wolfe about its meaning.

Her new husband, Scott Frost, called it “fun” that “we’ll have something unusual in common with a big chunk of people. We’ll have a much greater probability of running into couples with the same anniversary.”

Tamara Tom, 28, of Fairfield, Calif., was following a tradition when she married Robert Harper at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno. The couple said they will celebrate 10 years of being together on Dec. 10.

“We thought it would be fun to have all 10s as our anniversary,” Tom told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

At the Antique Angel Wedding Chapel in Reno, owner Beverly Van Dusseldorp said all dates with multiple similar numbers bring out more newlyweds, but especially on Sunday.

“It’s just like Valentine’s Day,” she said. “It’s a magic day.”

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/39606098/ns/today-today_weddings/#

State Of Matrimony

10 Obscure Marriage Laws

By Woman’s Day

Last month the New York state legislature approved no-fault divorce, the last state to do so, siding with opponents who viewed the law as antiquated and passé. This landmark decision got us thinking about what other outdated marriage laws might exist in the U.S. Read on to find out which states have (or had) the wackiest rules around.

Montana

Marriage by proxy, which means someone stands in for a bride/groom who can’t be present at his/her wedding, is limited to members of the U.S. Armed Forces. But of the four states that allow the practice — California, Colorado, Texas and Montana — Montana is the only one that allows double-proxy weddings. Essentially, neither the bride nor groom has to show up. Call us old-fashioned, but it doesn’t seem like the ideal start to the biggest commitment of one’s life.

Arkansas

For a few months between 2007 and 2008, anyone under 18 could get married in Arkansas with parental consent. (Yes, even babies — as their parents agreed!) The original law was meant to allow pregnant teenagers to get married if their parents approved, but lawmakers forgot to put in an age minimum. The law was corrected in April 2008, making the minimum age 17 for boys and 16 for girls.

Delaware

Ever been dared to get married … as a prank? Neither have we. But apparently this happens often enough in Delaware that it’s actually an option when couples file for an annulment. Along with the basic reasons such as marrying “without the capacity to consent” or “under duress,” couples can now check “because of a jest or dare” when applying to dissolve their nuptials.

Kentucky

In Kentucky, it’s illegal to remarry the same man four times. Honestly, good for Kentucky: If you’ve already divorced him three times, someone should step in. Of course, as long as it’s different men, you can get married and divorced as many times as you like.

Mississippi

In Truro, Mississippi, a groom-to-be must “prove himself manly” prior to marriage by hunting and killing either six blackbirds or three crows. Manly is a good thing. Dead birds? Not so much.

Massachusetts

Despite the fact that the infamous witch trials were over 300 years ago, religious conservatism is still alive in Salem, Massachusetts — at least on the law books. Apparently, married couples are not allowed to sleep in the nude in a rented room. Of course, reflecting on numerous media reports about germs on hotel bedspreads, who would want to?!

South Carolina

In South Carolina it’s illegal for a man over 16 years old to propose marriage and not mean it. Doing so means he’s committing a misdemeanor under the Offenses Against Morality and Decency Act. Not sure if that means he will be forced to marry the woman in question, or if he can’t ask for a woman’s hand as a way to seduce her. We hope it’s the latter.

Kansas

Many husbands would probably say their mother-in-law isn’t their favorite person in the world. But for those who really, really dislike their wife’s mother, moving to Wichita, KS, might be a good option. In this city, a man’s mistreatment of his mother-in-law may not be used as grounds for divorce.

Connecticut

Imagine it: You get a babysitter so you and your hubby can go out for a romantic dinner. Afterward you take a stroll around town. Caught in the moment, you lean in for a passionate kiss. Busted! The police can cuff you and throw you in jail — that is, if you live in Hartford, Connecticut … and it’s Sunday. Well, maybe not these days, but technically, it’s still illegal in this city for a man to kiss his wife on the Lord’s Day.

Louisiana

It’s most likely that your wedding was officiated by a religious figure or judge. Or, if you’re a bit more eccentric than some, you had a friend become ordained so he or she could marry you. New Orleans has made it illegal for palm readers, fortune tellers, mystics and the like to officiate a wedding. Guess they don’t want you peeking at your future — you’ll just have to go into it with blind faith like everyone else!

http://glo.msn.com/relationships/10-obscure-marriage-laws-5450.gallery?gt1=49006#stackState=0__%2Frelationships%2F10-obscure-marriage-laws-5450.gallery

Amber and Dave Wedding

by Cassandra, an ABG bridal blogger 

Thursday, February 4, 2010

3.2 months. 14.2 weeks. 100 days. 2400 hours. 144,000 minutes. 8,640,000 seconds. And, it all comes down to one moment. The moment you walk down the aisle to the one you love, the one to whom you are going to pledge the rest of your life. Could you plan your wedding in that short amount of time? Nashville newlywed Amber did, and she wrote about her journey on the blog aptly named 100 Days to Plan a Wedding.

Thoroughly impressed by this concept and her hard work, I think it only right to share with you Amber’s inspirations and reflections for her wedding day. Not only did she plan a wedding in 100 days, but she also did it on a budget! {Brides, start taking notes!}

1. What was your biggest splurge that you thought was well worth it?

Photography! It was the one think I was willing to blow my budget on. Once the flowers are dead and the cake is stale, the photos are all we have to remember our big day. I was so blessed to find Matt Vietti and his creative eye! {you can read about her decision here & here}

2. What did you think was the biggest waste of your money?

Nothing. We were very frugal and thought out all our purchases. {be sure to check out her budget recaps}

3. What was your favorite Do-It-Yourself project?
The Paper Poms! They were very time consuming, but they were a lot of fun to do with my mom, and my various friends and family who stopped in and helped make one.

4. What would you go back and have someone else do that was originally a DIY project?

Invitations! DIY invitations were a great idea in theory, but they were, by far, the most tedious and annoying thing we had to do. They required a lot of assembly we didn’t know about until we got home and opened the box. The invitations were an odd size so we couldn’t print them at home. We ended up having to spend $60 extra and take them to Kinkos. {be sure to read about it here & here}

5. Why 100 days?

Dave {her husband} knew his brother was being deployed to Iraq in October and his best friend was also leaving in October for Naval boot camp. He wanted both of them to be a part of our special day and didn’t want to wait another year plus to get married so he popped the question in June! By the time I had processed what was happening, I realized we only had 100 days to go. That is what inspired the blog and my thought process throughout the entire planning process!

Today’s blog was written by Cassandra, an ABG bridal blogger.  She is also a Nashville bride-to-be and writes from her unique perspective!  Read more about Cassandra here.