How to Have a Sizzler of a Honeymoon. Article No.2

Ah! It's the wedding night. You've cut the cake, drank the toast, danced the dance, and now, at last you are completely alone. Unlike the bride and groom of the past.

In those days the wedding night was deemed to be very much a part of the wedding day celebration. In some cases the couple would be literally placed in the bed by their friends. In others, while the two were seemingly alone, the beating of instruments or domestic utensils, together with encouraging advice bellowed at full blast outside their window, never let them forget their wedding guests' presence.

The necessity for all this hullabaloo was explained as keeping bad luck away from all that happiness that the couple had acquired in finding each other. But everyone knew it was all meant to aggravate and frustrate the newly married couple. It has been suggested that Henry V111 was never quite as potent on his honeymoon as he could have been because of the lack of privacy that went hand in hand with being a ruler. Give him an anonymous inn and a comely wench, and he was twice the man, creating little Henrys with no trouble at all.

The romantic lover understood that the fortitude of the bride in the face of the previous night's outrage, deserved some consideration.

Waking up in the morning after a good night, the husband would hand to the object of his passion, something that would be a reminder of the experience for the rest of their life. It could be an extravagant piece of jewellery ? perhaps a family heirloom worth a small fortune. Or it might be a deed to a prized piece of real estate. In any case, the generosity of a husband at such a time was legendary and not often repeated there after.

The less bashful bride would have thought deeply about it long before the wedding day, and was not beyond asking for a specific gift. At such a time it was always, "Whatever your heart desires is yours, my dear." He might have added, as some of them did, "Ask wisely." We've all seen those operas or read those myths and fairy tales where the bride would ask for a favour that eventually, and sometimes immediately, turn her life into a disaster. But if the headstrong bride didn't know her own best interest, it was hardly the fault of her lord and master, be he a Bluebeard or a husband with a past.

Democracy and income tax has pretty well put a stop to these extravagant, and sometimes deadly gestures. Though, for all we know, perhaps the very rich and famous are still into tossing a chateaux or a directorship at their brides. But for the rest, to commemorate that first night as they should, all they need is a little bit of creativity.

Vlady Peters, who is a Civil Marriage Celebrant, is an author of three books, "The Complete Book of Australian Weddings", "The Small Organsiation Handbook", and an ebook "Honeymoon! A Sizzle or a Fizzle" which you can see on her website http://www.vlady-celebrant.com

In The News:

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St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Eloping to Vegas? Why Not Lower Manhattan?
New York Times, United States - Jan 7, 2009
“With these new digs, there might just be a new world wedding capital.� The city clerk’s office issued 66600 marriage licenses 2007 and performed about ...
Manhattan's new Marriage Bureau earns wows as a place to say your vows New York Daily News
NY hears wedding bells, aims to compete with Vegas The Associated Press
Wedding Bells Ring In NYC Marriage Bureau WNYC
Downtown Express - Gothamistall 254 news articles

Washington Post
‘Bride Wars’ is a failed marriage | 1 ½ stars
Kansas City Star, MO - 13 hours ago
And their mutual friends will have to decide which wedding to attend. All would be well if only one of them would cancel (or if they would agree to a double ...
Video: Ann Hathaway's Stellar Year CBS
'Bride Wars' stars Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway are funny allies Los Angeles Times
Two Weddings and a Furor New York Times
Tampa Tribune - Boston Globeall 755 news articles

Boston Globe
Movie review: Cliches nag 'Not Easily Broken'
San Francisco Chronicle,  USA - 5 hours ago
The opening wedding scene in the new Bill Duke film, "Not Easily Broken" is so overwrought and cliched, it's akin to sitting down with a promising novel, ...
Not Easily Broken ( ** ) AHN
Movie Review: ‘Not Easily Broken’ is a romantic soap opera that ... Providence Journal
» Inspirational drama anything but 'Broken' Chicago Daily Herald
Pittsburgh Post Gazette - Kansas City Starall 81 news articles

FOR FAMILIES: A guide for parents to Jan. 9 and earlier releases
Chicago Tribune, United States - 10 hours ago
By Roger Moore | Tribune Newspapers What it's about: Best friends become dueling brides when they both book the wedding they've always dreamed of in the ...

Wedding war: Las Vegas versus New York
KVBC, NV - 8 hours ago
The city has renovated it marriage bureau and even built a 24000-square-foot wedding complex with the hope of becoming the most popular wedding site. ...

Wearing white and eating cake, Brides magazine turns 75
The Canadian Press, NEW YORK - 20 hours ago
"The magazine is realistic about how people's lives are today, but still the focus is how to have a successful wedding and start a healthy marriage," says ...

New York Magazine
City to Make Your Shotgun Marriage Just That Much Nicer
New York Magazine,  USA - Jan 7, 2009
Photo: Getty Images Perhaps sensing the economic downturn (and having eventually watched the Sex and the City movie), the city spruced up its civil-wedding ...

MLive.com
Bay County gets older, refrains from marriage, likes guns ...
MLive.com, MI - 18 hours ago
Luczak said economics could be partly to blame, as young couples struggling to get a foothold in life may be putting off the expense of a wedding.

Former First Lady Cornelia Wallace Dies At 69
NBC13.com, AL - 4 hours ago
Just 16 months after their wedding Governor Wallace was shot. The assassination attempt left Wallace paralyzed. Fifty-four days later, he left the hospital ...

KHOU
Houston wedding show could help brides on a budget
KHOU, TX - Jan 7, 2009
“I refuse to go into this marriage in debt, “ says Ashley. “That's no way to start out.� -- Watch the flowers. All those arrangements can quickly add up. ...

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