A recent study by Rand Corporation and Alicante University in Spain shows gay and lesbian cohabiting couples save more for retirement than married heterosexual couples, retiring with over 5k more annual income on average.
Researchers estimate one of the main reasons might be the fact that gay couples have less children than heterosexual couples. Mind you, the findings used the US 2000 Census as a base. 10 years is a long time and spending habits can change fairly quickly, specially if there is a downturn going on!
Irish Tenor Ciaran Nagle ‘married’ The Honeymoon Testers at Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel in County Dublin where they exchanged funny Dr Seuss inspired wedding vows
Mark and Denise at Hook Lighthouse, Co. Wexford, Ireland
The Honeymoon Testers Mark and Denise Duffield-Thomas, winners of the Ultimate Job in Ireland – and probably the World!, were back in Ireland this week where they continued their bid to beat the Guinness World Record for the Most Married Couple.
As part of their first official Irish tour as The Honeymoon Testers, the couple arrived in Wexford on Saturday 3rd July and renewed their wedding vows in several unique venues across the county over the weekend, including Johnstown Castle, on board of the Dunbrody Famine Ship in New Ross, at the top of the Hook Head lighthouse, at Tintern Abbey and twice at Whites Hotel in Wexford Town.
It was the first time in over 100 years that Wexford’s stunning Johnstown Castle hosted a wedding. The Last wedding held at Johnstown Castle was Lady Kathleen Larkin’s (nee Fitzgerald) in 1904. Rosemarie Meleady, of The Wedding Planner based in Wexford, who recently succeeded in getting Johnstown Castle recognised for civil and religious wedding ceremonies and can now arrange weddings at the castle.
“This has been our first visit to Ireland since we won the Ultimate Job in May and Wexford has been fantastic – everyone is so friendly and you have such amazing venues and locations for weddings and honeymoons, we are really looking forward to helping promote it as a destination wedding location!” said Denise, who is from Australia. Her husband of 10 months Mark is from London. His mother comes originally from County Donegal.
On Tuesday, Mark and Denise left Wexford to continue their job as The Honeymoon Testers, for wedding and honeymoon destination company Runaway Bride and Groom (www.runawaybrideandgroom.com). Their next stop will be Malta.
”Johnstown Castle has always been a popular location for wedding photos and I am delighted that we can now offer renewals of vows and legally binding wedding ceremonies in the magnificent rooms of the castle. I have planned weddings all over the world and I have to say that Johnstown Castle has to be the Ultimate fairytale location. Denise and Mark will be the first couple to renew their vows there which we are excited about. Getting it recognised for weddings has been a long process but our first legally recognised wedding will be on the 16th September 2010 between a couple from the US,” says Meleady.
“We have put together stunning wedding packages for Johnstown Castle. A fee for the use of the castle will go towards its maintenance and restoration. So it is lovely to think that this beautiful castle will be restored by love and romance!”
The Honeymoon Testers, Mark and Denise Duffield-Thomas, winners of The Ultimate Job in Ireland – and probably the World! have arrived in Zanzibar. Watch their first video at Breezes resort.
It should be a case of third time lucky for actor Harrison Ford. It has been reported the Indiana Jones star has just tied the knot with actress girlfriend Calista Flockhart, after eight years together.
People magazine reports that the wedding took place earlier this week New Mexico, where Ford is currently filming.
67-year old Ford proposed to Flockhart, 20 years his junior, on Valentine’s Day last year. The couple had started dating after meeting at the Golden Globe Awards in 2002.
The Honeymoon Testers, Mark and Denise Duffield-Thomas, winners of the Ultimate Job in Ireland – and probably the World! have just clocked wedding number 10 at the Beau Rivage resort in Mauritius, in their quest to become the ‘Most married’ couple in the world, beating the current record (at 83 weddings!).
It will be the royal wedding of the year and thousands of tourists are expected to travel to Stockholm on 19th June to see Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden marry her personal trainer/ gym owner boyfriend Daniel Westling.
However, the event has sparked a heated debate among the Swedes (who will be forking out for the wedding party bill estimated at approximately €2m) since the Swedish Royal family has decided the King will take the Princess down the aisle and to the altar. While it might be taken as a given in other countries, Swedish wedding tradition establishes that both bride and groom enter the church as ‘equals’ and walk down the aisle together, instead of the bride being ‘given away’ by her father, which is considered by many as an old-fashioned sexist tradition.
The decision of the royal family has infuriated not just the Swedish population, but also the Church of Sweden. Archbishop Anders Wejryd has openly expressed his disapproval and called on the couple to follow Swedish tradition but it seems like the heir to the throne is staying put. Many have said the future head of state is setting a bad example for other brides-to-be, and the controversy has even prompted some to question if this would be the right time for Sweden to ditch the Monarchy altogether and turn into a Republic…
The Ultimate Job in the World Couple, Denise and Mark Duffield-Thomas, put their money where their mouth was and placed a maximum bet with Paddy Power for them to be chosen for the Ultimate Job in the World – six months of luxurious global travel as honeymoon testers for Runaway Bride and Groom, before leaving the UK for the final stage of the selection process.
Betting opened ten days before the final weekend, and the odds went up and down like a fiddler’s elbow in the nail biting finish. The actual final was held in the private estate that is Ballinacurra House, the Irish home of the late Michael Jackson, and in environs of Kinsale itself. The Top 10 contesting couples had to make videos, dash about the town, attend soirees in lovely venues such as the Blue Haven, Hamlets Bar, The Carlton and The Trident Hotel. They ate sumptuous meals in Fishy Fishy Café, Max’s Restaurant, Jola’s Restaurant and Crackpots and had to post professional dinning reviews afterwards. They had to eat oysters, drink champagne and sight see across the harbour. It was a tough weekend all in all.
But stalwart couple Denise and Mark reckoned they had the upper hand. She worked with Barnardos, he with Manchester United, she hails from Australia, he from the UK, but together they knew they were the best bet. Mark placed the bet online. As Denise recalls: ‘In a moment of madness we tried to put all our life savings on the wager, but the maximum bet of £35 pounds put paid to that cunning plan.”
A total of £175 was won which the lucky couple say they are going to use to fix their broken shower back in the UK before heading to New York, followed by Zanzibar, Mauritius and Kenya. Mind you, as they head off on their six-month trip around the world, they might not have to worry too much about dripping shower. What’s the odds they’ll come home? Talk to Paddy Power!
Do you have your favourite? Bookmakers Paddy Power has opened bets for the final stage of the Ultimate Job in Ireland – and probably the world… who do you think will land the best job in the world?
It was reported in the media this week that Peter Andre ‘can’t wait’ for his tattoo in honour of his ex-wife Katie Price (and newly wed to cage figther/Celebrity Big Brother winner Alex Reid) to be ‘gone’.
Irish rockabilly extraordinaire Imelda May might sing the praises of a ‘good aul’ Love Tattoo but when things turn sour, such self-explanatory pieces of body art might turn up not to be such a good idea after all. As someone once said: love is eternal while it lasts…
Other in-famous celebrity tattoos:
-Jordan
Katie Price herself also used to have a tattoo with Andre’s name but has since replaced it with a black cross. She has since re-married (in a quickie Vegas wedding) but, as far as we know, no tattoos have been exchanged (yet).
-Johny Depp’s Winona Forever
Once Hollywood’s favourite couple, for a while, it seemed like love would never run out for young, beautiful and talented Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder. Depp tattooed ‘Winona Forever’ on his bicep to show the world nothing would come between them. However, in 1993, the relationship ended and in a very thrifty move, Depp simply got the tattoo partly removed to read: ‘Wino Forever’. He now has his own vineyards in the South of France with his missus Vanessa Paradis. We like your thinking Johny.
-Angelina and Billy Bob
She might be half of the world’s current model couple but before the Brangelina incarnation happened, Angelina Jolie had a hell raiser reputation and a tempestuous relationship with matching bad boy Billy Bob Thorton (and one of the weirdest weddings). She had ‘Billy Bob’ tattooed on her arm but it has since been removed with the help of laser treatments and time.
-Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee
Before marrying the Baywatch beauty, Tommy Lee was married to Heather Locklear (also a Love Tattoo fan) and had ‘Heather’ tattooed across his chest.
Then along came Pamela Anderson so Tommy Lee’s tattoo got ‘edited’ to read ‘eather’ and Pamela got a ‘Tommy’ tattoo around her ring finger.
However, after their break up, Pam’s ‘Tommy’ has now become ‘Mommy’.
-Amy Winehouse and Blake Fielder-Civil
We don’t know what has happened to one of Amy’s many tattoos: the one that said ‘Blake’ just by her boob. What we do know is that her marriage to Blake Fielder-Civil (after their secret wedding in America) is long gone and we suspect her tattoo will be following suit.
