While waiting in an early morning line dozens of brides mapped out their strategies.  Each bride came up with a plan on how they planned to get that dream wedding dress for a deal.   

"I have four friends with me and my mom," bride-to-be Jayce Farmer said.

"Every person that comes up I'm like what size is she," said Lidia Sanders

Some worked in teams, while others had time on their side.  Sanders and her sister made it first in the door. They tried-on dress after dress, never taking a break.

"If we could have run any faster we would have," Sanders said.

This is Goodwill's Second Annual Wedding Dress Gala.

"It's really exciting. I didn't sleep at all last night. I was up all night watching wedding shows," said bride Kayla Hamm.

Some of the dresses were overstocked items.  Some were last year's designs, but they were all donated by local bridal shops, and are now being sold at deep discounts.

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Dan and Maggie Miller's guests arrived for an engagement party, but they got the whole wedding.

Believing they'd arrived to celebrate the couple's recent betrothal, guests were greeted by a wedding cake in the hallway, Maggie in a long white gown and the news surprise!  that they were there to witness the marriage.

Surprise weddings turn the traditional surprise party on its head by keeping guests in the dark and hosts in the know. While still rare, they are growing in popularity among couples looking for a unique yet low-key way to tie the knot, industry professionals say.

"My best friend and I had always talked about what our weddings would be like: who would be the maid of honor, the bridesmaids, what kind of dresses we'd have," said Maggie, 25. "By the time I got to the point I was actually going to get married, I didn't want to deal with all that stuff."

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British Muslim lawyers said Thursday they had decided to take matters into their own hands with a radical plan to combat the forced marriage "crisis" in their community.

Backed by heavyweight sheikhs and muftis, the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal (MAT) proposed setting up their own system to tackle the widespread culture of forced marriages between British Muslims and spouses from South Asia.

Sheikh Faiz Siddiqi, a barrister and a leading community figure, said the resentment and alienation created by forced marriages drove young British Muslims towards extremism.

Combating extremism has dominated the British political agenda since the 2005 London suicide bombings, perpetrated by British Islamists.

The MAT claims that more than 70 percent of marriages in the Muslim community involving a foreign spouse have some element of coercion or force, while the incidences are minimal between British Muslims.

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A platinum wedding dress that costs 10 times more than most entire weddings goes on show in London Monday as part of the Hatton Garden Jewellery Week.

The £240,000 dress is made of 40 metres of fabric spun from silk and platinum thread.

It was designed by Italian Mauro Adami, who once made Keith Richards a platinum jacket.

He is the lead designer of Domo Adami, whose couture wedding dresses can be bought from its show room in Milan.

Adami learned his craft in different ateliers in Italy and abroad, and says he has had a 'passion for brides' since childhood.

'I couldn't help running when an adorned car was passing by, following my childish dream made of joy and deep emotion that the bride represented and still represents,' he said.

The wedding dress is in the window of the Wedding Ring Shop in Hatton Garden and is the centrepiece of the festival, held every year to celebrate the street's history of artistry and craftsmanship.

There are over 800 jewellers and manufacturers in the area,  accounting for more than a third of all jewellers in London.

The festival also includes a treasure hunt to win a £15,000 platinum ring and pendant.

Want a second wife? Then simply get your first wife’s consent and prove you can financially support another family. A new draft law in Kazakhstan would allow any man who is able to meet those two requirements to take a second, third, or even a fourth wife.

Proponents of legalizing polygamy say the new bill will help improve the demographic situation in the country. They cite Islamic customs, which allow Muslim men to marry up to four wives. And they say the new bill would give more rights to the wives and children of polygamous husbands.

Tangribergan Berdyungarov, a Kazakh parliamentarian, says the legislature is likely to hold a session soon to consider the issue. “The proposed bill is named ‘On Marriage and Family.’ There have been unofficial talks to legalize polygamy in Kazakhstan," he says. "I believe every deputy has his or her own opinion on the matter, and it will be reflected in the voting.”

If Polygamy, Then Polyandry

Berdyungarov tells RFE/RL that he opposes the new bill. He has many supporters in parliament -- mostly women like deputy Bahyt Syzdykova, who calls the issue “nonsense.”

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In many Jewish communities, young couples who need help with their wedding expenses can rely in part on one of several aid organizations, but in Cedarhurst, N.Y., a group of 25 elementary schoolchildren decided to personally help a bride and groom have the wedding of their dreams.

The girls of the Chai Five youth group run by Chabad-Lubavitch of the Five Towns held a charity box drive and fundraiser.

“What started out as a nice gesture to minimally partake in the enormous expenses of making a wedding resulted in Chai Five collecting enough to cover basic, yet major, costs,” Chani Rubashkin, one of the coordinators of the group, told the Five Towns Jewish Times. …

The theft of a wedding dress, jewellery and other items from their car in Kaikoura overnight on Sunday has not spoiled German tourists Kathrin Schwarzhoph and Thomas Ebers' positive impression of New Zealand

"It could happen anywhere, in Germany as well," said Ms Schwarzhoph, 28, an environmental scientist.

"It's one of these stupid things that happen.

"I don't feel I will never come back."

Mr Ebers, 30, an economist, said the theft was a dark shadow over their honeymoon but it had nothing to do with the land or people.

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White is no longer the only color of choice featured at weddings. In Austin, ceremonies and receptions are starting to "go green" as brides and grooms carry their sustainable lifestyles all the way down the aisle.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in South Austin is the perfect setting for a green wedding. The invitations are on recycled paper and energy efficient LED lights brighten the night skies. Also, the food is from local producers, including the Farmers Market, and succulents replace cut flowers even on the cake. It's the latest trend among eco-conscious brides and grooms.

"It's kind of like thinking outside of the box as well as being responsible and it's bringing about a whole new aesthetic look to weddings," said Monique Capanelli, Root Design Company.

Capanelli creates decorative greenery and landscaping. "Green" was also the theme at her own wedding last year. Rather than use disposable plates and flatwear, she solicited china place settings from friends which were, in turn, donated to SafePlace.

"We did some Sweetish Hill cookies," said Gina Whittington Wilson, Austin Wedding and Event Coordinators.

For guests, reusable gift bags contain all kinds of locally produced goodies. Even the favors given to departing guests are eco-friendly.

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The wedding cake is an essential part of any wedding ceremony. The first bites of the cake by bride and groom is also believed to be the first meal between husband and wife.

With an increasing demand for wedding cakes for the huge number of wedding receptions held everyday, Weena Sucharitkul started her “Sweet Art Centre” 12 years ago, offering made to order wedding cakes and show cakes for rent.

Sweet Art Centre claims itself to be the pioneer and only wedding cake decorator in Thailand. Its designers can artistically create a cake which seems to have leapt out of the customers’ imagination.

“This couple, they met each other in Germany. Their love story begins at this German castle. So we designed the wedding cake from the picture of the castle they showed us.”, said Weena.

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Fred’s Thai Bride returns to Coronation Street on Monday January 30. After rushing Ashley to hospital with a cut finger, Fred is stunned to see Stacy, played by Casey-Lee Jolleys, being brought in on a stretcher.  It appears she's been badly beaten, but nothing is ever as it seems with his former 'Thai bride' – who, if you remember, worked on the market and tried to scam Fred. Anyway, Fred makes a few discreet enquiries and returns to the hospital to check up on Stacy who explains the assault was the result of a scam gone wrong.  Although Fred keeps Ashley in the dark about Stacy's reappearance, he does tell Rita. And later that week, Rita is persuaded to give the young woman a safe haven from her violent ex. Aha… now that explains Rita’s shop attack.