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Society

Labor Of Love — What It Takes to Make Intercultural Relationships Work

Choosing a partner from another culture often comes with a fight to make the relationship work. The challenges are unpredictable, and the emotional toll — as well as the effort required — can be immense.

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Society

Bachelorette Parties, That Modern Ritual That Can Wreck Even The Closest Friendships

Since the 1990s, bachelorette parties have become a bonafide tradition before getting married in France. But organizing this event can sometimes bring out irreconcilable differences even among best friends.

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This Happened

This Happened — July 29: Wedding Of Prince Charles And Lady Diana

Updated July 29, 2024 at 10:35 a.m. Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer were married on this day in 1981 at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, England. How did Prince Charles and Princess Diana meet? Prince Charles and Lady Diana met in 1977 when Charles was dating Diana’s older sister, Sarah. Their paths crossed again […]

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Society

In Traditionally Catholic Ireland, Alternative Clergy Take The Altar

In traditionally Catholic Ireland a different kind of clergy is emerging, one which is making weddings, funerals and other ceremonies more inclusive and personal.

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This Happened

This Happened – April 19: ​Grace Kelly Marriage Into Royalty

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Ideas Society

India’s Legal Age To Marry And Shackles Of The Patriarchy

As India debates raising the legal age of women to marry to match the age for men, one women writer asks what it means for her.

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In The News

Iran Registers Record Number Of Child Brides

Numbers are rising of girls aged 14 and under getting married, as well as births from very young mothers.

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In The News

A Village Wedding On The Militarized Indo-Pakistan Border

Despite decades of violence and tension between opposing army outposts, villagers caught in between have no choice but to keep living their lives.

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Society

Female Sexuality, Still A Victim Of Egypt’s Patriarchy

CAIRO — A friend of mine lived alone in downtown Cairo. She was single when she moved in but after getting into a relationship, her boyfriend joined her. One day in 2012, her neighbors saw her heading to the apartment with her boyfriend and two friends, a man and a woman. Once they were inside, […]

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In The News

In Beijing, Sham Marriages To Bypass Government Policies

BEIJING — “Goodbye,” Ying told her third husband. “Oh,” he responded indifferently. Through their legal, but dishonnest, marriage, Ying earned 40,000 yuan ($6,000). Her “husband” was allowed to buy an apartment in Beijing, which in turn, nets him about one million yuan ($150,000) a year. Ying and her real husband Wang are a couple who […]

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In The News

Modern Lives And The Virginity Myth, One Muslim Woman’s Saga

Many young Muslim women in the West have a modern lifestyle, yet want to be a virgin on their wedding day. But what if they aren’t? One woman’s story from Germany.

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blog

Wedding Kiss — Video Quote Of The Day

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Geopolitics Migrant Lives

With Refugee Influx, Germany Struggles To Outlaw Child Marriage

Germany suddenly faces hundreds of young girls who have disappeared from schools because their parents have found husbands for them. Lawmakers appear powerless to face the new phenomenon of child brides brought by the arrival of immigrants.

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blog

Iran’s Divorce Rate, A State Secret?

TEHRAN — Iranian officials may restrict publication of the country’s latest divorce statistics so as not to distress the public, which has long been taught that early and lasting matrimony is a key to social harmony. “There have already been enough divorce statistics. Citing more won’t solve the problems,” Ali Akbar Mahzun, of the demographics […]

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blog

Twins Marry Twins, Seek Plastic Surgery To Tell Who’s Who

It sounds like the makings of a bad sitcom. In China’s northern Shanxi province, twin sisters married twin brothers, but uncomfortable mix-ups have led them to seek minor surgery to avoid confusing their respective partners, China News reports. According to the newspaper, a matchmaker fixed up the two Zhao brothers with the Yuan sisters over […]

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blog

Extra! Colombia Court Says “Si” To Same-Sex Marriage

El Tiempo, April 8, 2016 “Court says “yes’ to gay marriage in historic decision” reads the Friday front page of Bogota-based daily El Tiempo, a day after Colombia’s highest court ruled to legalize same-sex marriage. Members of the Colombian LGBT community, pictured on the daily’s front page, gathered outside the court in Bogota’s historic center […]

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blog

Rupert Murdoch Uses Own Newspaper To Announce Engagement To Jerry Hall

No need for Twitter if you are a media baron. Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch placed an announcement in the Births, Marriages and Deaths page of The Times, the storied London-based newspaper he owns, to share the news of his engagement to American actress and former supermodel Jerry Hall. Murdoch, 84, is the executive chairman […]

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Society

Where Seniors Are Getting Married Like Never Before

LAUSANNE — After living together for seven years, Guillaumette Sauvé and Pierre Boizot wed on June 30 in a civil ceremony in Lausanne. They are 62 and 59 respectively, and have both been married twice before. The bride didn’t wear white. And only a few friends were invited. “At first, we weren’t too excited by […]

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blog

The Groom Wore Red

Weddings in Canada’s New Brunswick province get really colorful when the groom is a “mountie,” a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

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Society

My Bogus Marriage To A Refugee Friend

Germany is tracking the growing number of so-called “protective” marriages, arranged among friends to avoid an immigrant being sent back to poverty and peril in their home country.

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blog

Romanian Ride

Romania was one of the largest automobile producers in Central and Eastern Europe during the Communist period. But that doesn’t mean horse-driven carts were entirely discontinued, especially on a traditional wedding day like this one.

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Society

A Brave Couple Shuns Pakistan’s Antiquated Wedding Dowry

KARACHI — Khushboo Rafiq is the first person in her family not to pay a dowry, or bride price, to her husband Usman’s family. Khushboo works for an organization that advocates women’s rights. It was very important to her that her wedding represents the ideals and convictions on which she spends her professional efforts.” We used the wedding invitation to tell guests they should not bring any gifts,” she says. “We also made it very clear that no dowry was being paid. We also are donating our wedding dress to a charity for another couple to use in the future.” […]

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blog

Dehydrated Vs. Inebriated

How better to recover from the spookiness of a Transylvanian burial than with a Transylvanian wedding? It was incredibly hot on this July day in Romania, and I remember one of these wedding-goers offered me a sip from what I assumed was a bottle of water. I took a big gulp, and quickly found out […]

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blog

Matchmaking Scams Are New Enemy In Saudi Arabia

RIYADH — With more than 257,000 unmarried women in the country, and strict religious codes, traditional matchmaking is a lucrative business in Saudi Arabia. Yet with the rise of social media and online marriage websites, the industry is coming under pressure to stay financially viable, which has led to several recent reports of scandals that […]

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Geopolitics Syria Crisis

Syria’s Marriage Brokers: Matchmakers Of Love Or Wartime Traffickers?

In rural Idlib, marriage offices are fixing people up, but some say they’re exploiting the lonely during wartime by selling desperate women to overseas men.

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Society

Over-The-Top Korean Weddings, Gangnam-Style

The neighborhood in Seoul known to Westerns from Psy’s mega-hit single is also the place status-conscious South Koreans go to get married. But something is lost in all the ritz.

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Society

Kitsch And Kate: Shopping For A Dream Wedding In China

SHENYANG — Zhang, who runs a wedding planning service, was doing her best to convince me over the phone to come in to visit what she describes as a “giant reception showroom.” It has been a week since my future mother-in-law put down the deposit for our wedding venue, a newly opened five-star hotel in […]

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Society

No More Big Fat Tajik Weddings? The Economics Of Traditional Nuptials

Marriage in Tajikistan, a Central Asian country of 8 million, is celebrated over days and far over budget. A new law tries to change ancient ways for the sake of modern economics.

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Society

Supreme Court Ruling And Other Global Gay Marriage Milestones

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court has delivered a landmark victory for gay rights, by striking down the California law defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman. This ruling forces authorities to recognize same-sex weddings in states where it is authorized already, though it stops short of forcing the remaining 30 […]

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Society

After Game Of Thrones, Our ‘Weddings Gone Bad’ Global Edition

A wedding ceremony should make for the happiest of memories. But the now infamous closing scene of the latest Game of Thrones episode (referred as the “red wedding”) reminds us in a whole new way how quickly nuptials can turn gnarly. We have tracked down some of the funniest, quirkiest and just plain disastrous wedding […]

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Society

Polygamy Fading Out Of Fashion For African Muslims, Men And Women Alike

GOMA – Young Muslim men in the Democratic Republic of Congo are less interested in having several wives than their fathers were. Facing rising prices and feuds over inheritance, the new generation doesn’t see how the benefits outweigh the costs of having multiple spouses in the same household. As for the women of the current […]

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Ideas

In Morocco, A Call For Polygamy To Reduce Ranks Of Unmarried Women

–Analysis– RABAT – Recent estimates from the Moroccan High Commission For Planning (HCP) found the median age for marriage in Morocco was 31 for men and 27 for women. There are many reasons for this – more years spent studying, and the high cost of housing and wedding ceremonies being the most obvious. Some, it […]

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Society

Call The Khatba – Traditional Matchmaker Back In Vogue In Modern Egypt

CAIRO- The khatba has made a comeback in the last few years. A modern and polished version of the modestly dressed middle-aged matchmaker from the movies who visits families with a collection of pictures of prospective brides and grooms, a few Cairo women are looking once again to facilitate marriages and help people find their […]

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Society

Skype Down The Aisle – Traditional Weddings Go Virtual For Rwandan Diaspora

KIGALI – In Rwanda, getting married has always been a complicated affair. Before anything, the families of the bride and groom sit down for a long negotiation. Once they have exchanged gifts and agreed that the couple should indeed marry, and of course settled on what the dowry will be, the traditional wedding can start. […]

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