The royal couple had a reception in the bride’s country.

Practice makes perfect Charlene! Newlywed looks more natural at South African wedding reception with husband Prince Albert

Another day, another set of official photographs on the honeymoon of the first couple of Monaco, Prince Albert and Princess Charlene.

The couple, who married in Monte Carlo last weekend, have had a rocky start to married life after it was rumoured that Prince Albert had fathered a third baby out of wedlock - a scandal which allegedly prompted former Olympic swimmer Charlene to try to flee through France ahead of the nuptials.

The couple flashed their best smiles, linked arms and kissed for photographers before their South African wedding reception at the £4,600-a-night Oyster Box Hotel at Umhlanga, a stretch of golden sands north of Durban.

Smiles all round: Prince Albert II of Monaco and his new wife Princess Charlene pose outside their South African wedding reception at the Oyster Box Hotel in Durban

Around 400 guests were expected for red and white-themed cocktails and dinner at the romantic getaway where it is understood they are keen to dodge the global spotlight.

Signaling their desire for privacy, security has been stepped up around the rambling colonial buildings, where they have booked the luxurious presidential suite.

Dressed in a black gown with a geometric pattern and sheer throw, the new princess stayed close to her husband, frequently glancing over at him and smiled demurely for photographers.

They also had another go at kissing in public, more successfully than earlier in the week as this time they both closed their eyes.

Take aim: The first couple of Monaco close their eyes and go in for a kiss during their honeymoon in South Africa following a rocky start to their marriage

Charlene Wittstock grew up in the Johannesburg suburb of Benoni, but is said to be fond of Durban and stayed at the Oyster Box during a trip home in February.

Umhlanga is an expensive resort popular with an international crowd including Prince Harry and former girlfriend Chelsy Davy.

The couple have been spending time apart during their honeymoon - yesterday the prince was in Durban city centre to vote at the International Olympic Committee conference, which is choosing the 2018 Winter Olympics host country.

This followed a protocol-heavy lunch with South African prime minister Jacob Zuma and one of his wives, Thobeka Mabhija.

Prince Albert said: 'Durban is very close to Charlene's heart so it's great that I have the chance to get to know it.

'It has been an incredible pleasure and really momentous. It's a wonderful coincidence that the 123rd IOC conference happening at the time of our visit.'

Wave, dear: The couple threw a wedding reception in the bride's home country at the exclusive Oyster Box Hotel in Durban

During their honeymoon the couple have previously appeared at a black-tie launch at Durban Playhouse theatre.

Princess Charlene will also have little time to relax on honeymoon, as reportedly a string of charity visits have kept her diary full.

The former Olympic swimmer is said to be leaving Durban for Cape Town today to visit three development projects, local charity the Giving Organisation Trust said.

Keen to use her new-found resources for good works, she is also due to meet former archbishop Desmond Tutu during the day.

She is expected in Johannesburg to see another programme tomorrow.

Prince Albert has reigned the tiny European state of Monaco since 2005 when his father Prince Rainier died.

He has had two other children out of wedlock - Jazmin Grace Grimaldi, 19, and Alexandre Coste, seven.

Ceremony: The pair exchange glances during their wedding in Monaco on Saturday

Pomp and ceremony: An official photograph from the wedding of Charlene and Albert which took place on Saturday in Monte Carlo

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2012470/Practice-makes-perfect-Charlene-Newlywed-looks-natural-South-African-wedding-reception-husband-Prince-Albert.html#ixzz1RTuWqInm

Charlene Wittstock became the new Princess of Monaco when she married Prince Albert in a civil ceremony in the throne room of the palace. The elaborate Catholic wedding ceremony and wedding gala will take place Saturday.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/gossip/2011/07/monaco-royal-wedding-prince-albert-princess-charlene-wittstock-.html

Monaco royal wedding: Prince Albert II marries Charlene Wittstock

There's a new Princess of Monaco: Prince Albert's South African bride Charlene Wittstock, who on Friday married the reigning prince in a civil ceremony that was part of a larger itinerary of royal events.

The bride, 33, wore Chanel palazzo pants and a jacket while the groom, 53, donned a dark suit and white tie to exchange vows in front of Philippe Narmino, president of Monaco's Council of State.  "I declare you united by the bonds of marriage," Narmino said, officially making Wittstock "Her Serene Highness."

Princess Stephanie and Princess Caroline, Albert's sisters, were among those in the audience in the throne room. Only 80 family members, friends and dignitaries witnessed the 20-minute ceremony, according to the Daily Telegraph. After the ceremony, the newlyweds appeared at a palace window, waved at the cheering crowd and kissed each other shyly, sparking another round of cheers.

"Vive le Monaco, thank you and happy celebrating," the prince told the crowd, his bride at his side.

The ceremony Friday at the palace was far from the spectacle that surrounded the April wedding of Prince William and the former Kate Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. However, on Saturday, the newest royal couple will hold an elaborate Catholic wedding ceremony with 3,500 guests in the palace courtyard and a star-studded wedding gala to follow.

The festivities started with a non-royal treat on Thursday night: a free concert by the Eagles. Then about 5,000 of Monaco's 7,618 citizens and their guests -- many decked out in suits and fancy dresses in the hot sun -- followed the ceremony Friday on oversized screens set up on a square in front of the palace. Post-ceremony cocktails on the square were to follow, leading into a concert by French composer Jean Michel Jarre and a laser light show.

You just have to love Monaco, right? Something about the French Riviera ...

The guest list for Saturday's festivities includes the kings of Spain, Sweden, Lesotho and Belgium, the presidents of France, Iceland, Ireland, Lebanon, Malta, Germany and Hungary, France's richest man, celebrated opera singers, top models and race car drivers, with three-time triple-starred Michelin chef Alain Ducasse preparing a three-course meal.

The bride, a swimmer in the 2000 Sydney Olympics who was born in Zimbabwe but raised in South Africa, met Prince Albert at a swimming competition in 2000. Albert has been an International Olympic Committee member since 1985 and competed in five Winter Olympics as part of Monaco's bobsled team.

Grace Kelly, the previous princess, died in 1982 in a car accident. She and Prince Rainier III, Albert's father, married in 1956 and had three children together. Prince Albert has admitted fathering two children out of wedlock. Rainier died in 2005 at age 81 after being treated for heart, kidney and breathing problems.

Earlier in the week, palace officials denied a French tabloid report that Wittstock had tried to leave from nearby Nice airport on a one-way flight to South Africa, and had required intense convincing by the prince and his entourage to stay.

"The sole intention of these rumors is to seriously damage the image of the Sovereign, as a result of damaging that of Miss Wittstock, and bear down on this happy event," the palace said in a statement.

Monaco’s Prince Albert will marry Charlene Wittstock in the biggest event the country has seen since his mother, Hollywood actress, Grace Kelly, married his father, Prince Rainier, in 1956.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8267847/monacos-three-day-royal-wedding-kicks-off

Monaco's three-day royal wedding kicks off

The royal couple arrive at their wedding concert. (AAP)

Wedding festivities have begun in Monaco for the lavish three-day, $60 million royal wedding that will see former playboy Prince Albert II marry his commoner bride Charlene Wittstock.

The celebrity-studded event kicked off last night with a concert at the Stade Louis II stadium, featuring Californian rock group The Eagles and watched by 15,000 residents of the tiny Mediterranean state.

The wedding is going ahead amid reports that Wittstock, a South African champion swimmer 20 years his junior, had been getting cold feet — reports which the palace strongly denied.

Prince Albert, 53, will marry Wittstock, 33, in a 40-minute civil ceremony at the Palace on Friday and their union will be solemnised in a public Catholic ceremony in the Palace's main courtyard on Saturday.

The wedding is expected to be the biggest event Monaco has seen wince the 1965 wedding of Albert's mother, Hollywood star Grace Kelly, and father Prince Rainier.

Around 3500 guests have been invited to witness Saturday's religious ceremony, which will also be broadcast live on giant screens in the Palace Square.

Star guests include France's President Nicolas Sarkozy, several European, Middle Eastern and African kings and princes, fashion designers Karl Lagerfeld and Giorgio Armani, supermodel Naomi Campbell, former James Bond actor Roger Moore and Virgin boss Richard Branson.

The ceremony will be followed by a procession, an official dinner catered by renowned chef Alain Ducasse, and a gala ball at the Opera Garnier and the Terraces of the Monte-Carlo Casino.

Friday's festivities will close with a sound and light show over Port Hercules.

The wedding extravaganza comes after a French newspaper reported that Wittstock had learned a dark secret about her playboy fiance's past that had her seeking a one-way ticket back to her home country.

Wittstock's father Mike, a photocopier salesman, backed the palace in denying this report, saying his daughter had travelled to Paris to go shopping with her mother (Read more: Monaco royals deny runaway bride rumours).

The royal couple have survived two scandals arising from the Prince's lifestyle. In 2005 he acknowledged fathering a 22-month old boy with a former flight attendant from Togo and in 2006 DNA tests proved he was also the father of a teenage girl, born to a Californian woman in the early 1990s.

Royal watchers have suggested that Wittstock may have more difficulty fitting in with royal life than Prince William's wife Catherine — now the Duchess of Cambridge — because unlike the former Middleton, Wittstock had a working class upbringing and did not attend posh private schools.

The former Olympic backstroke swimmer is said to have bonded with Prince Albert over their shared love of sport, with Albert having also competed in the Olympics, on a bobsled team.

Commentators have said the wedding is vital for Monaco to survive as a Mediterranean tax haven.

The royal family ensures the world's smallest state keeps its special status, and without them Monaco would return to France.

New York City Wedding Planners  - look forward to a boom in business as gay weddings are welcomed  by the mayor

Mayor Bloomberg anticipates big gay wedding business for New York City

BY Reuven Blau and Erin Einhorn
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU

Mayor Bloomberg extended New York City's invitation to gay couples looking to hold their ceremonies in the city, expecting a huge financial windfall.

Mayor Bloomberg is looking to cash in on a big fat gay wedding bonanza.

"We'd love to have you come here," Hizzoner said yesterday of the two-bride and two-groom couples who can begin marrying in the Empire State next month.

"Stay in a hotel. Buy flowers, clothes, meals or whatever. It's good for the economy."

An analysis two years ago from then-city Controller William Thompson predicted a windfall for the city as large as $149 million within three years of gay marriage becoming legal.

A separate study by Senate Democrats this year put the statewide impact closer to a half billion.

That assumes 21,000 same-sex couples from New York will say "I do" here - plus an additional 3,300 couples who will travel here to tie the knot from states where gay marriage is still illegal.

They'll all need rings and cakes and champagne - and that means big bucks for merchants and government tax coffers.

Officials are taking steps to maximize the payday with an ad campaign to persuade couples to take the plunge in the city where the gay rights movement began four decades ago.

NYC & Company, the city's tourism arm, "is working to create a multichannel, global communications and marketing campaign - NYC I DO - to promote the vibrancy and attractiveness of the five boroughs as a gay weddings destination," said Kimberly Spell, the agency's chief spokeswoman.

The city is promoting an "NYC I DO" page on its website - nycgo.com - that tells couples the rules for getting married here, offers them deals on hotels and lists popular wedding venues.

NYC & Company will release more details on its ad campaign in the coming days.

The rules: No, you don't have to be a New York resident to get married here, and yes, you can marry here even if you've already gotten hitched elsewhere.

The new law will go into effect on July24, but since that's a Sunday, marriage licenses for same-sex couples won't be available until Monday, July 25.

Officials hope to have judges on hand to waive New York's usual 24-hour waiting period before a ceremony can be performed.

"I just don't know that everyone is going to rush to New York the first day given there are alternatives," Bloomberg said. "But we will be ready. Will there be lines the first day? Yes. Get ready for it. Get used to it. It's a lot better than no lines."

Gov. Cuomo said the gay marriage bill, which he signed late Friday night, "has touched people in a way that government seldom does."

Cuomo told Albany's Talk 1300 radio that the issue "is personal. It's who they are. It's who their family is."

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, meanwhile, offered a more muted support for same-sex nups.

"I still state that marriage is being defined between a man and a woman, but I can truly understand what people are striving for," Giuliani said yesterday at Joe Torre's Safe at Home Foundation golf outing at Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff Manor, Westchester County.

With Peter Botte and Kenneth Lovett

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/06/28/2011-06-28_ya_oughta_marry_here_sez_mike_mayor_dreams_of_big_bucks_and_issues_invites_to_ga.html#ixzz1QZvwbQoy

Wedding planners in New York  – with gay marriage becoming legal in your state in 30 days, you might consider marketing your wedding planning services to gay couples.

Wedding plans bloom as NY legalizes gay marriage

By DAVID B. CARUSO, Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) —

As the news flashed around the globe that New York state had legalized gay marriage, New York fashion designer Malcolm Harris didn't waste any time. He dashed off a Twitter message to his boyfriend of nine years: "'Will you marry me?"

A city away, in Boston, Bernadette Smith decided to immediately relocate her business planning gay weddings to New York City.

In Brooklyn, pastors Ann Kansfield and Jennifer Aull received their first two requests to wed gay couples at their church in the borough's Greenpoint section. They scheduled one for Labor Day weekend.

Even as supporters of gay marriage celebrated victory in New York on Saturday, preparations were being made to make gay weddings a reality in the state.

Couples who had talked about going out-of-state to wed changed their plans. Reception venues got their first calls. Churches that accept gay unions said they were looking forward to hosting ceremonies.

After a lifetime of waiting, there was a sense of urgency.

The law signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo late Friday night doesn't take effect for 30 days, but Harris — who got a "yes" to his Twitter proposal — said he and fiancé K. Tyson Perez planned to get a marriage license right away, wed on paper, and then have a blowout reception in six months.

"I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him," Harris said.

"This is going to be as traditional as it gets. We're going to do it at the Four Seasons, a place that is like gay church to me," he added about the atmospheric restaurant where he planned to hold the event.

The law passed amid opposition from the largest and most influential religious groups in the state, but in New York City, at least, there were still an ample number of churches that have already said they would happily officiate a gay marriage ceremony.

The Rev. Stephen H. Phelps, senior minister at the Riverside Church, in Manhattan, said he was looking forward to replacing the commitment ceremonies that have been done there for years with something state-sanctioned.

"I think it is an occasion for members of our society who have been burned by narrow-minded religion to see that it doesn't have to be that way," he said.

At a gay pride celebration in Harlem's Marcus Garvey Park, the Rev. Joseph Tolton of the Rehoboth Temple Christ Conscious Church, a Pentecostal congregation that is predominantly gay, said he couldn't wait to start.

"I'm going to be very busy on Saturdays," he said.

Congregants Yvonne Lindesay, 55, and her partner Elaine Livingston, 62, said they're planning to get married after living together for two years, after watching the results of New York's critical Senate vote on television Friday night.

"I cried. Our phone was ringing off the hook — from straight people too," Lindesay said.

Smith, who founded a gay wedding planning business in Massachusetts after it legalized gay marriage, said she had been hoping to relocate to New York for some time, and had already begun laying the groundwork to establish a New York officer for her company, 14 Stories, in anticipation of the vote."

The move is partly a matter of survival, she said. Over seven years, her client list has been dominated by people traveling to Massachusetts from elsewhere to wed — a type of tourism that may now shift to the Big Apple.

"I was supposed to have a gay wedding today with a gay couple from New York," she said. "They were a no-show. Of course, for a good reason."

She said New York has quite a set of parties to look forward to.

"The weddings are incredible," she said. "I think maybe because there is a lot of pent up anticipation ... It's really about appreciating and savoring the legality of it. Because some couples have literally been waiting for years and years. To be around that energy, where they are not taking a thing for granted ... there's usually not a dry eye in the room."

At the Greenpoint Reformed Church, Aull said she and co-pastor Kansfield, who got married themselves in Massachusetts years ago, have presided over same-sex unions before. But she expects there will be something different, more joyous, about being able to do it legally at home.

"There is always a little bit of a bittersweet aspect when you are doing a marriage, and there is a sense that it is not recognized by anyone," she said.

Associated Press reporter Julie Walker contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Marketing Tip for Wedding Planners –  Add ideas you have picked up while working with your brides, and wedding hair and makeup stylists, to make this list even more valuable when you share it with your brides.

Wedding beauty countdown

© Digital Vision / Thinkstock

From Bright Smile Beautiful You

By Dana Wagner

We know you're completely crazed with the final preparations for your wedding, and the last thing you need to worry about is having all that stress turn you into bridezilla. To take the anxiety out of making sure you look every inch the blushing bride, just follow our easy timeline of to-do's (and a few to-don'ts).

Six Weeks to Wedding Day:

·         Hair and Makeup Trial: Schedule a trial run with your makeup artist and don't be afraid to speak up if you're not 100 percent happy. Not using a pro? Head to the makeup counter to make sure you have everything you need and start practicing! Now is also the time to bring your veil to your hairstylist to test day-of options for your 'do.

·         Brighten and Whiten: Some at-home teeth whitening kits can take up to four weeks to achieve results, says beauty expert Greg Clarke, so it's best to start now. Cut back on tea, coffee and colas, which can stain your pearly whites. And swap out your regular toothpaste for a whitening one.

·         Don't schedule a professional teeth-whitening right before your wedding -- you don't want to be worrying about what you can (and can't) eat or drink at the reception.

Three to Four Weeks to Wedding Day:

·         Healthy Eating: Load up on fresh fruits and veggies -- they help give your skin that bridal glow, says Clarke. Choose foods with high levels of stress-fighting vitamin B and essential fatty acids, like salmon, almonds and whole grains. Avoid sugary treats and salty snacks, and limit alcohol (hard, we know, with all those prenuptial celebrations), which can cause bloating, weight gain and a puffy face.

·         Cut and Color: Get your hair trimmed and touch up your color. Doing a cut too close to wedding day can look overly blunt, and color needs time to settle to have a more natural finish, says Clarke.

·         Don't experiment with a bold new cut or a "fun" new color -- stick to what you know and love. You want to look like yourself.

Two Weeks to Wedding Day:

·         Face Treatments: Have your last facial and exfoliating treatment. You want to look radiant, but your face may need time to get back to normal, warns Clarke. To avoid any allergic reactions in the days leading up to the wedding, stick to products you've used in the past.

·         Get Peaceful: Plan some relaxing activities, such as yoga or meditation, to help bust stress and pump up feel-good hormones that ease your nerves and improve your appearance.

·         Don't schedule a massage too close to the big day, especially if you have sensitive skin -- you don't want to run the risk of bruising, says Clarke. Consider a couples' massage now. You can both relax and spend time with each other while giving skin time to recover.

One Week to Wedding Day:

·         Hair Removal: Have your eyebrows shaped and bikini line and legs waxed, suggests Clarke. It's enough time to allow redness to fade, but skin will still be smooth and sultry for your honeymoon lingerie.

·         Look Tan-tastic: Skip the harmful tanning booth and get a bridal glow with a spray tan. Schedule it three days ahead to allow the color to even out and ensure it doesn't rub off on your gown. If you're doing it yourself, be sure to exfoliate knees, elbow and heels, and consider having a friend help with those hard-to-reach places so they don't look blotchy, says Clarke.

One Day to Wedding Day:

·         Nail It: Have your mani-pedi now to allow polish plenty of time to dry and eliminate worries of getting any on your gown; slick on an extra top coat to make sure it doesn't chip or smudge -- essential for those close-up shots of your ring, says Clarke.

·         Suds Up: Wash hair the night before the big day, suggests Clarke. The overnight buildup of natural oils actually makes it easier to style.

·         Don't use a heavy conditioner or too many styling products, which can make hair fall flat; if you have oily or very fine hair, wash it the morning of your wedding.

Big Day:

Smile, gorgeous!

Wedding planners – here are some great ideas for a simple outdoor country wedding for your brides.

Actress Ashley Williams married producer Neal Dodson at her sister and brother-in-law in Nashville, Tennessee. It was simple and laid-back with a family-style dinner that did not include a wedding cake.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20498299,00.html

Inside Ashley Williams's Wedding at Brad Paisley's Farm

By Alison Schwartz and Ulrica Wihlborg

Ashley Williams and Neal Dodson /Robin Platzer/LFI

No fancy heels, no bridesmaids, no wedding cake – no problem.

Something Borrowed actress Ashley Williams married her longtime boyfriend, producer Neal Dodson, Sunday evening in a no-frills, outdoor ceremony in Nashville.

"We wanted an intimate, farm-inspired wedding," Williams, 32, tells PEOPLE of her nuptials, which were held at the home of her sister Kimberly Williams-Paisley and brother-in-law Brad Paisley. "We basically planned an upscale keg party!"

Keeping things low-key, the couple, who met eight years ago in acting class, exchanged vows they wrote themselves and wedding bands they bought from Overstock.com.

Flip-Flop Party Favors

At the reception, which was held in the sand pit where Paisley trains his horses, guests were treated to a pair of party favors – flip-flops, "so they can relax and have fun," Williams says.

About 50 guests, including Paisley and his wife, danced the night away to a four-member local country band, sipping an assortment of Anheuser-Busch beer, wine and their signature wedding drink, "The Smashed," a whiskey-based swill coined in reference to Williams's nickname, "Smash."

For dinner, the menu stayed true to Williams's "small and simple" vision. Guests passed around pulled pork, biscuits and macaroni 'n' cheese, capping off the family-style meal with banana pudding instead of wedding cake.

It's been about a year and a half since the couple became engaged on Thanksgiving in 2009. Now, Williams says she has married her "best friend."

"He grounds me," says the bride, who wore a classic ivory Augusta Jones gown and blue sandals. "He allows me to laugh at myself and calms me down. He puts things in perspective."

Niecy Nash and Jay Tucker married at Church Estate Vineyard, the same site chosen by Fergie and Natasha Beddingfield for their weddings.

The wedding will air on the TLC network on June 4.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20498707,00.html

Niecy Nash Gets Married!

By Cynthia Wang and Pernilla Cedenheim

Niecy Nash and Jay Tucker

At her first wedding more than 16 years ago, actress and former Clean House host Niecy Nash tied the knot a in a quinceaçera gown and had "a Styrofoam heart in the middle of the table," she told PEOPLE in January. "It was just a mess."

Not today.

After months of planning with family, friends, and experts, Nash and electrical engineer Jay Tucker were married Saturday in an outdoor afternoon ceremony at the Church Estate Vineyard in Malibu, PEOPLE has learned. The reception took place in a tent.

"I have to say, this second time around, it feels custom," Nash said about her engagement to Tucker. "Even after I got my divorce, the ink wasn't even dry on the paper, and I said, 'Ooh, the next time I become a wife, I got this thing down pat!' I always believed that there was someone built for me."

Among the stars in Nash's wedding party were The View's Sherri Shepherd, The Game actress Wendy Raquel Robinson, Holly Robinson-Peete, and actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, who served as the matron of honor. Guests stayed at the Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica.

Sleepless Nights Before

Nash chronicled her sleepless nights and excitement over the past few days on Twitter, hinting at details – "My auntie brought me a custom hankie and my grandma's blue sapphire ring" – and who'd attend: fellow Dancing with the Stars contestants Evan Lysacek and Erin Andrews, former Clean House colleague Mark Brunetz, and renowned interior decorator Martyn Lawrence-Bullard, among them.

Her fans will get to see her wedding from planning to vows on Niecy Nash's Wedding Bash, a two-hour special airing on TLC June 4 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Could the wedding special be the first in a series of shows for Nash? As she told PEOPLE earlier this year, "There's a lot of women out there, some of whom are my age who've never been married and some who have been married and would like to be married again but think their ship has sailed, and I'm like, 'Oh no, honey, let Miss Niecy show you it is never too late for love!' "

Added Nash: "And now since I've got Sherri set up, I've got my sights set on a few more folks. I think I can help Brandy find a man. Let me tell you, if I could pick the project of all projects, it would probably be Kate Gosselin because if I can help Kate find a man? I can help anybody!"