Free Republic

In my previous exposition, Ten Reasons Why a Christian Should Never Attend a Homosexual “Wedding,” I cataloged a series of arguments, painting a picture of how such events are an abomination in the eyes of God. The list, although somewhat extensive, only skimmed the surface of this deep-seated issue, which is rooted primarily in spiritual defilement, but also in societal moral decay. This discourse was intended as a guide for those navigating the precarious waters of familial and social pressures, offering a biblical perspective to stand against the tide. Each point, though briefly touched upon, is a doorway to a...

The New York Times took eco-sensationalism to a new level by making couples planning summer weddings out to be victims of … climate change. The Times’s headline read like a piece of poorly written satire: “‘It Was Pretty Miserable’: Planning a Wedding Amid Climate Change.” Couples planning summer weddings, according to The Times propaganda, “have had to contend with a slate of extreme weather conditions, from flooding and unrelenting heat to poor air quality.” The leftist rag made it seem like couples got hitched with Judgment Day right around the corner: “This summer’s record-breaking weather has tested the entire wedding...

In 2021, the median salary for Americans 25 to 34 was $52,156 per year. Meanwhile, the cost of the average wedding was around $30,000. What’s wrong with this picture?You have young couples getting together, struggling to pay their bills, maybe with college debt to pay off, probably getting ready to work on a kid – which we all know is insanely expensive these days – and they’re going to spend $30,000+ on a one-day ceremony. Let’s also not forget that a man is supposed to spend a “two-month salary” on an engagement ring. That’s another $8,692 of that median salary....

Dear Amy: Four months before my daughter’s wedding, she told me that her uncle (my brother, “Dave”) would make her feel unsafe if he was a guest. She asked me not to invite him. My daughter is very politically progressive, as are many of her friends, and although she and Dave have always had a good relationship (I thought), he is a conservative voter and has supported candidates we all abhor. Dave has always been very nice, so my daughter’s request surprised me.

An Oregon state agency has dramatically reduced the penalty it issued to a Gresham bakery that refused to sell a same-sex couple a wedding cake nearly a decade ago. Oregon Labor Commissioner Val Hoyle announced Tuesday that she had slashed the penalty for Sweet Cakes by Melissa from $135,000 to $30,000 in response to a Jan. 26 ruling by the Oregon Court of Appeals.

Catholic church weddings continue to be the most popular type of marriage ceremony in Ireland according to the latest figures released by the Central Statistics Office. According to new CSO figures, 39 per cent of all marriages in 2021 were Catholic ceremonies, a rise from 34.6 per cent in 2020 but lower than 2019. Civil ceremonies accounted for 34 per cent of ceremonies. In 2021, a total of 17,217 marriages took place compared to 9,523 in 2020. The 2020 figure was much lower due to the Covid-19 pandemic which saw significant restrictions on weddings. However, the new figures also show...

Their “Love in the Time of Covid” cards in each save-the-date envelope spelled it out clearly: This October wedding would be a vaccinated-only event. After all, the groom’s father, who is vaccinated against covid-19 but immunocompromised, needed to be sure he could safely attend... The couple didn’t expect...someone who hadn’t been vaccinated showing up anyway. But then a family member disclosed some shocking intel: Michelle’s father and stepmom were planning to lie about having gotten the vaccine. “That obviously threw everything completely for a loop,” she says. Not only are Michelle and her father very close, but he’s also helping...

Muriel Bowser, mayor of Washington, DC, announced at a press conference Monday that dancing at weddings — both indoor and outdoor celebrations — is now banned as part of the capital city’s strategy to reduce coronavirus transmission. Bowser, whose Twitter profile depicts her wearing a mask, said, “Standing and dancing at receptions are not allowed.”

Here, life has felt incredibly normal. It's also revealed how abnormal the lifestyle I followed in Virginia really was.OCALA, Fla. — Last Sunday I plopped a steaming hashbrown casserole and a bowl of freshly sliced oranges down on one of a row of endless folding tables covered in those flimsy plastic tablecloths you get at the dollar store. The casseroles were outnumbered only by the pans of homemade cinnamon rolls, and the fruit section was meager: it was a good Southern Baptist potluck. Church ladies buzzed around, removing tin foil from tin pans and putting serving spoons in each dish,...

The Judiciary Committee unanimously approved a bill that expands the state marriage statute to allow citizens to perform marriages. Current state laws show that a religious leader, judge or mayor has the ability to marry people. Representative Larry Farnese sponsored Senate Bill 833 that would allow citizens to perform marriage ceremonies after taking 120 hours of education on planning and performing civil ceremonies. This move is aimed at creating more flexibility for couples amid the COVID-19 pandemic who are having less traditional weddings. “Pennsylvania’s marriage statute is extremely limited in who may perform these ceremonies, and there are even fewer...

Gov. Andrew Cuomo promised to crack down on large social events in Brooklyn after The Post reported three banquet halls in Borough Park appeared to be hosting Hasidic Jewish wedding parties on just one night this week after Mayor Bill de Blasio warned that a similar gathering there led to an “uptick” in coronavirus cases. “In the case of New York City, if there’s any evidence, or plans of weddings that would violate the law, they should forward those complaints to the NYPD or the mayor. If the mayor is not doing any enforcement actions, then the state will,” Cuomo...

New York’s TDS-addled governor Andrew Cuomo (D) vetoed a bill that would have permitted federal judges to officiate at weddings because Trump. The bill was innocuous and passed both NY state’s senate and assembly with overwhelming and bipartisan support. Cuomo’s veto memo specified that Trump-appointed federal judges should not be allowed to perform weddings in the state . . . because Trump appointed them.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has vetoed a non-controversial bipartisan bill that would have allowed all federal judges to officiate weddings in the state because some might have been nominated to the bench by President Donald Trump. "I cannot in good conscience support legislation that would authorize such actions by federal judges who are appointed by this federal administration," Cuomo's veto message stated, the New York Post reported. "President Trump does not embody who we are as New Yorkers," the Democratic governor added on Friday. "The cornerstones that built our great state are diversity, tolerance, and inclusion. Based on these...

Five major websites often used for wedding planning have pledged to cut back on promoting and romanticizing weddings at former slave plantations. Pinterest, The Knot Worldwide — which owns The Knot and WeddingWire — and Brides announced Wednesday that they would make a variety of changes, including removing all references to plantations on their sites and prohibiting adjectives like “charming” to describe venues where many Americans’ ancestors were once enslaved, tortured and raped. And on Thursday, Zola said it would remove plantations from its venue listings. The developments, a number of which were reported by BuzzFeed News, came in response...

A Michigan couple says in addition to celebrating their love, they decided to use their wedding day as an opportunity to celebrate President Donald Trump. The bride, Audra Johnson, says the idea for the “Make America Great Again” wedding came when the couple decided on a patriotic-themed celebration. “We both love our country,” Audra says. Audra and her husband, Jeff Johnson, tied the knot in front of friends and family on July 4 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Audra’s wedding dress was sure to capture everyone’s attention. The bride wore a white dress with the words "Make America Great Again" in red...

A small wedding business in Austin is taking a huge blow due to the government shutdown. Lorelei Starbuck, owner of "Elope in Austin" says federal employees trying to get married through her company have had to back out because of the lack of money. Starbuck says her business has seen a 50-percent drop in calls and inquiries in the last two weeks. The slow bookings have impacted everyone that takes a part in the wedding including caterers, officiants, photographers, and florists. “It's going to take some time to rebuild the business we've lost. But it will definitely impact our bottom...

Maybe it’s because it was the third of three weddings since May; maybe it’s just because we’re getting old. The night was a whirl of deafening music, wild little children chasing laser lights on the dance floor like a herd of cats while young adults and near-adults danced to the oldies (it’s amazing how many really old songs, recycled by new artists, make their way into the modern wedding repertoire) well into the wee hours.Of course it was lovely, all weddings are: the bride was radiantly gorgeous, the parents understandably misty-eyed (she is their first, he is their last) and...

“We’re engaged!” The phrase can cause excitement … or fear. Once the joy wears off after hearing your pals are getting hitched, you realize your bank ­balance is about to take a massive hit. Georgina Childs, 30, has had enough of forking out as a result of being a wedding guest… The PR account manager from Essex, England, got herself into £2,000 (almost $2,900) of debt and had to move back in with her with her parents after attending 20 weddings and 12 hen dos (bachelorette parties) in four years.

PITTSBURGH -- Barb Yavorcik's husband jokes that when he called his mother to tell her they were engaged, she hung up the phone and turned the oven on to preheat. Why? "To bake the cookies for the wedding, of course," she said. In certain parts of the country, particularly in Pittsburgh and Youngstown, Pennsylvania, where the Yavorcik family came from, if you do not have a cookie table at your wedding reception -- actually, several tables ready to greet your guests -- you may as well expect nothing short of a revolt. Or at least lifelong judgment and gossip about...

It's natural for any bride to feel stressed in the run up to their big day but walking down the aisle can often turn women into demanding bridezillas. And one lady, thought to be from the US, believes her sister is the biggest bridezilla of them all - after revealing she made her friends bid in an auction to secure a spot in her bridal party. Writing on Reddit, the 33-year-old dubbed her sister 'self-absorbed' as she revealed the bride-to-be was holding an auction for her potential bridesmaids to compete in for a place in her wedding. The sister explained...