Are you sticking with a traditional first dance or doing something a little more lively and fun?

Monkeys are considered to be holy by India’s Hindu community. The three-year-old male monkey named Manu married his two-year-old bride, Jhumri. The female wore a red sari and a flower tiara.

The wedding ceremony was complete with music, dancing, fireworks and gifts. The bride even received a gold necklace from a local businessman.

“It was a unique experience for me. It was the first time I conducted a marriage between two animals. But I followed all the rituals that I do in human marriages”, priest Daitari Dash told the press.

It just goes to show that what may seem unusual to some is normal and sacred to others. And love is love – even a marriage among monkeys!

This sold-out event, dubbed “Re-Union: The World’s Largest Wedding Vow Renewal Ceremony,” is expected to set the Guinness World Record for the most couples to renew their vows at one time.

The Honorable Luke Ravenstahl will preside over the Sunday evening ceremony.

“This Re-Union event coincides perfectly with the City of Pittsburgh’s 250th anniversary in 2008,” said Mayor Ravenstahl. “I’m absolutely delighted to have the honor of presiding over this special, once-, OK, well maybe in this case, twice-in-a-lifetime occasion.”

The event is completely sold out, and the organizers regret that they cannot accommodate those who have not already registered.

The wedding vow renewal ceremony is the brain child of Kitty Julian, director of marketing for Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History and Pittsburgh 250 Committee Member.

“Besides potentially setting a new world record, this is just an ideal way for couples to celebrate their love in a meaningful and unusual way, and celebrate Pittsburgh’s 250th anniversary themed ‘Reunions and Homecomings.’”

She said the ceremony was purposefully planned to occur near Valentine’s Day, and noted that some women are planning to wear their wedding dresses. Several families are participating together, with parents and their married children, or with siblings and their respective spouses.

The ceremony takes place in the romantic and elegant Carnegie Music Hall, site of about 60 wedding receptions annually.

Couples for the event are being asked to furnish a copy of their marriage certificates. The number of certificates collected will be the determining factor for the attempt to set the Guinness World Record. The current record – 272 couples – was set September 16, 2007, in Sydney, Australia, breaking the previous record of 232 at Orlando Bike Week set in 2002.

In addition to the thrill of potentially setting a new record, the ceremony will be followed by a champagne and wedding cake reception. All couples will receive a commemorative certificate of participation that is suitable for framing, along with a bag full of gifts and special offers.

“Re-Union: The World’s Largest Wedding Vow Renewal Ceremony” will take place thanks to major sponsors: TWOgether Pittsburgh, one of the most intensive marriage support initiatives in the Pittsburgh area, Great Western Champagne and radio sponsor Star 100.7.

Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History is working on the Re-Union event in partnership with VisitPittsburgh, the official tourism and promotion agency for Allegheny County, which is leading the “Reunion 2008 Initiative” of the Pittsburgh 250th Anniversary Celebration.

Jennifer Cannon, of Lexington, Kentucky, didn’t just don her stylish two-ply extra-soft wedding duds, her wedding actually took place in a restroom in Times Square. Granted, the Charmin restroom was only temporary, and it was actually put up for the promotional event, but still.

Though Cannon wore the dress, it was Hannah Kim, winner of the 2007 Toilet Paper Wedding Dress Contest sponsored by Cheap-Chic-Weddings.com, who designed the dress.

According to the official rules, entrants in the contest were only allowed to use toilet paper, glue, and tape in the construction of their wedding dresses. Submissions were due in by July 31, 2007 and were judged on creativity, originality, and beauty.

Hannah Kim isn’t all that new to the toilet paper designing world of wedding dresses, though. She actually competed in the same contest just last year and came in second! Well, I guess second best wasn’t quite good enough, and with her first place prize this year, Kim will get to see her design turned into an actual wedding gown. Not an easy feat considering Kim’s intricate detailing!

Oh yeah, and as the overall winner, Kim also received $500 for her efforts. Not bad considering her only expenses were seven rolls of toilet paper! If you want to see pictures of Kim’s wedding gown designs, you can check them out at the Cheap-Chic-Weddings winners’ pages.

And if you want to enter, I’m sure they’ll be having another contest next year. (This year marked the third annual contest.) Why not get an early start?

A wedding dress made from toilet paper?! Who would have thought… I, for one, will be seeing toilet paper in a whole new light from now on!

Well, there’s yet another one coming out, and I think it looks hilarious. Really, though, what’s a movie about love if there’s no humor? And furthermore, what’s a marriage without some hilarity? Clearly the theme of this movie is on the right track.

So what is this mystery film? The movie is called 27 Dresses, and it’s scheduled to hit theaters in early 2008. The main character? Katherin Heigl. (Wow! Has she ever been busy!)

Heigl is a bridesmaid in the movie, but a bride in reality, with her own wedding scheduled for Dec. 23. (That’s this Sunday!) A bit of a stretch from real life, though, the movie focuses on Heigl as a character that’s “always a bridesmaid, never a bride.” Hence, the 27 dresses.

Heigl’s character, Jane, is idealistic, romantic and completely selfless. She’s perfectly content playing the bridesmaid role over and over again, even though her own happy ending is nowhere in sight. But when her younger sister Tess captures the heart of Jane’s boss, with whom she is secretly in love, Heigl’s character begins to reconsider her “always-a-bridesmaid” lifestyle.

It certainly seems like it’ll be a hit, but we’ll let you know what we really think when the movie finally debuts in theaters. Until then, though, enjoy the movie’s trailer, over and over and over again!

(Photo credit: Fox 2000 Pictures)

According to the press release, actor Tom Arnold (who has been married three times himself) will host.

Each episode features a different weddding of a “down-home” couple on their journey to wedded bliss. We will get to see a reception that includes mud wrestling, a four-legged best man, and much more.

I can’t wait! It sounds hilarious! The show debuts on January 11th at 9:30 p.m ET/PT. Eight initial episodes have been ordered by the network.

I found this wedding cake topper pictured here at magicmud.com. I thought it would be perfect for a redneck wedding!

Check out Magic Mud when you have a chance, they offer a variety of very unique cake toppers – everything from a Boston Red Sox Wedding Cake Topper to a Deer Hunter Wedding Cake Topper. They are custom, so they are expensive. But their wedding cake toppers are very unique.

The Marriage Advice Clock looks like a postcard. It has a “stamp” in the corner and is covered with witty and wise words of wisdom for the bride and groom. It would make a great wedding or anniversary gift.

It can be hung on the wall or sit on the nightstand or table. If you are interested, you can buy it at TheHandsWork.com, where you can find a bunch of other clocks and other home decor.

Speaking of marriage advice, what’s the best marriage advice that you have ever heard?

Here’s some oldies but goodies:

• Don’t ever go to bed mad.
• Count to 10 before you speak.
• Call if you are going to be late.
• Look your spouse in the eyes when talking to him/her.
• Say thank you and please.
• Try to always eat dinner together.
• Hold hands in public.

Oh … and buy your wife diamonds for every occasion you can afford them.

Just kidding! (I think!)

Maybe, though, if you are creative enough, you can come up with a wedding plan that features something amazing without spending ungodly amounts of money. Something beautiful that symbolizes love; something that that you and your guests have likely never experienced before: a butterfly release.

Granted, a butterfly release is best suited for an outdoor wedding (I have no idea how you’d gather them up again if you released them indoors), but even if your wedding is indoors, there are ways to incorporate a butterfly release. If, for example, you are married in a chapel, the butterfly release could be timed to occur as you and your guests exit the building.

In any case, there are a few basics you might want to consider if you choose to have a butterfly release at your wedding:

1. Butterflies can be released individually or all together from a large box. If you’d like each of your guests to release a butterfly, you would want to look into the first option. If you have a young flower girl or ring bearer, however, releasing all the butterflies might be a very meaningful task for them.
2. The butterflies are typically kept chilled on ice until the time of the release. Just to make sure the release goes off without a hitch, you’ll want to let them thaw about a half hour before they are freed.
3. Many butterfly vendors also offer decorative cages where the butterflies can be viewed as centerpieces before they are released. If you are planning an outdoor reception, releasing the butterflies at dusk might be an ideal option.
4. Most butterfly vendors are actually butterfly nurseries where butterflies are raised. If you hope to plan a butterfly release for your wedding, make sure to place your order in advance: two to three months is ideal; six weeks is cutting it really close.

The two met in the Army and grew closer as they trained for combat duty. And though Jasmine didn’t think much about Luis at first, he was in love with her from the get-go. And through time, they grew closer.

After hours of training, they would sit together and listen to music on his computer. One of their favorite songs was from Death Cab for Cutie, the lyrics went like this:

If there’s no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I’ll follow you into the dark.

As they sat in the darkness of a blacked-out belly of a C-130 transport plane heading to Iraq. Luis offered Jasmine his heart and told her, “I’ll follow you into the dark.” Jasmine could only offer a hug in return.

After landing in Iraq, before parting ways to their assignments, she told Luis what she had realized on the dark plane ride, “I love you. I really, really love you.”

They would keep in touch by email and Jasmine would plan virtual dates where she would send him a link of a hotel website where they could stay, another link for a restaurant and so on.

Luis told Jasmine that, whenever she decided she was ready to get engaged, “it would be the easiest question you could ask me.”

And so she did.

Both on vacation back in Southern California, she led him to a chapel at Chapman University, her alma mater. She had told him they were attending a alumni function. When they walked toward the door, a big truck pulled into place in front of the main entrance. In white letters, across the side was emblazoned, “Luis, Will You Marry Me? Love, Jasmine.”

And so their journey begins.

Read the rest of this story at OCRegister.com.

Many couples are opting to pay the cost of setting up a webcast of their wedding, and then cutting back on their guest list.

One wedding webcast company that is very reputable and relatively inexpensive is Webcast My Wedding. They can set up a full-service webcast package for just $595 that includes a live broadcast of your wedding over the Internet, plus an on-demand archive where anyone can view the video for the next 30 days after you wedding day.

What do you think about wedding webcasts? Leave your comments here and let us know!

Photo credit: Erick Gómez