Latest news with #weddings
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
This Wavy Bangle Is the Perfect Summer Wedding Accessory
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." I am in the stage of my life where every summer, it feels like I attend one million weddings. I'm not complaining: I love celebrating my friends, and I feel so lucky to be able to attend as many weddings as I can. However, finding what to wear to each event can be a challenge. But I'm here to report that after pulling together so many different wedding guest outfits for different dress codes, locations, and temperatures, I can confidently tell you that my absolute go-to piece for nearly every one I attend is this braclet from Jenny Bird.$228.00 at The Ola bangle (which comes in gold and silver, depending on which metal you gravitate towards) opens and closes with a hinge and tab lock closure, making it fit easily around my wrist. The bracelet isn't too heavy, and you don't notice it on your wrist. It's more interesting than just a normal circular bangle—I love the wavy, curvy design—and it can be stacked with other bracelets, or worn solo. Whenever I wear the Ola, it feels like my outfit immediately comes together, whether I'm attending a black tie affair or a more casual cocktail party. Plus, it quickly elevates more casual outfits, too. Don't just take my word for it— reviewers on Jenny Bird, Amazon, and more have gushed about it. 'Wore this for my wedding day and absolutely loved it. Completely elevated everything,' one bride wrote. Another purchaser added, 'Super cute with just enough to make it unique and it has a secure clasp.' If you see me at a wedding this summer, I can guarantee you this bracelet will be on my wrist. Maybe on yours, too? You Might Also Like 12 Weekend Getaway Spas For Every Type of Occasion 13 Beauty Tools to Up Your At-Home Facial Game
Telegraph
6 hours ago
- Telegraph
When is the summer solstice? Date, time and how to celebrate
The summer solstice, otherwise known as the longest day of the year, falls on June 21, this Saturday. Also known as midsummer or the festival solstice, it is the day with the longest period of sunlight – boding well for anyone who suffers from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) or is wanting to soak up some extra vitamin D. Read on below to find out everything you need to know about summer, the solstice, traditions and the significance of Stonehenge. What time is summer solstice this year? In the northern hemisphere, the summer solstice takes place between June 20 and 22 each year. This year summer solstice falls on Saturday, June 21 at precisely3:42am in the UK. The sun will rise at 4:51am. The solstice officially marks the beginning of the astronomical summer, which ends when the autumn equinox falls on September 22. Day and night will be at almost equal length on this date, as the sun crosses the celestial equator and moves southward into the northern hemisphere. What happens during the summer solstice? There are two solstices each year – one in the winter and one in the summer. The summer solstice occurs when the tilt of Earth's axis is most inclined towards the sun and is directly above the Tropic of Cancer. Traditionally, the summer solstice period fell between the planting and harvesting of crops, leaving people who worked the land time to relax. This is why June became the traditional month for weddings. It might seem like a day to celebrate, but it actually signals the moment the sun's path stops moving northward in the sky, and the start of days becoming steadily shorter as the slow march towards winter begins. However, we won't notice the days becoming shorter for a while. The shortest day of the year is not until December 21, which is known as the winter solstice. At the winter solstice, the Earth's axis is tilted furthest away from the sun directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, bringing only a few hours of daylight. In the southern hemisphere the dates of the two solstices are reversed. The winter solstice occurs on the same day in June and the summer solstice the same day in December. The term 'solstice' derives from the Latin word 'solstitium', meaning 'sun standing still'. Some prefer the more teutonic term 'sunturn' to describe the event. Astrologers say the sun seems to 'stand still' at the point on the horizon where it appears to rise and set, before moving off in the reverse direction. Equinox and solstice explainer graphic Summer solstice traditions Over the centuries, the June solstice has inspired many festivals and midsummer celebrations involving bonfires, picnics, singing, watching the sun rise and Maypole dancing. Many towns and villages across Britain still mark the day. One ritual was the lighting of fires, heralding the start of shorter days, although this does not happen often anymore. The idea was that flames would keep the dark away. How to celebrate the summer solstice Stonehenge always welcomes an influx of garland-wearing hippies, druids and curious tourists who head to the mysterious stone circles and wait for the sun to appear. Crowds of around 10,000 traditionally greet the moment dawn breaks, as the sun rises behind the Heel Stone, the ancient entrance to the Stone Circle, with a mixture of cheers and silent meditation each June. The Golowan Festival showcases bright parades with festival-goers dancing the Serpent Dance to the sound of the Golowan Band. There are also Golowan workshops in the run-up to the festival, where those celebrating can engage in various activities such as costume, mask and headdress-making. Other activities to get you in the summer spirit include model boat making to sail at the boating pool event on Quay Fair Day, banner making, practising circus skills, and a photography town trail. Why is Stonehenge so significant to the summer solstice? Stonehenge in Amesbury, Wiltshire, is the most popular place for Pagans to celebrate the longest day because it famously aligns to the solstices. The rising sun only reaches the middle of the stones one day of the year when it shines on the central altar. Built in three phases between 3,000 B.C. and 1,600 BC, Stonehenge's exact purpose still remains a mystery. The stones were brought from very long distances – the bluestones from the Preseli Hills more than 150 miles away, and the sarsens probably from the Marlborough Downs, 19 miles to the north. The day marks the ancient middle of summer. It has significance for pagans who have always believed that midsummer day holds a special power. Midsummer's eve was believed to be a time when the veil between this world and the next was at its thinnest, and when fairies were thought to be at their most powerful. What is the connection to midsummer? Midsummer is a separate event to the summer solstice. This year, midsummer is to be held on Tuesday June 24. Referencing the time period between the middle of the summer, this celebration predates Christianity and is primarily held close to the summer solstice. Traditionally a quarter day - when servants were hired, school terms started and rents were due - midsummer bonfires are still lit on some hills in Cornwall. Bonfires were also typical of Golowan, the festival now celebrated in Penzance, Cornwall, as they signified the Feast of St John (Gol-Jowan).
Yahoo
a day ago
- Lifestyle
- Yahoo
I'm 39 and never wear makeup. I want to be accepted the way I naturally look.
Shubhangini Prakash is a 39-year-old whose mother never encouraged her to wear makeup. She dabbled with eyeliner and eye shadow in college, but has chosen not to wear makeup anymore. She thinks that going makeup-free makes her feel like her real self all the time. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Shubhangini Prakash, founder and CEO of skincare line Feather and Bone. When I was around 6, my mom told me lipstick would stain my lips. I had asked her to help me put some on for the school play, and she refused. Instead, I asked my neighbor's mom to do it for me. The next morning, I looked in the mirror and remembered thinking my lips had changed color. I'm not sure whether they had, but it confirmed that my mom had been right. I never wore makeup again until I left the UK to start college in the US. In the UK, I felt confident without makeup, but not in the States. To fit in at college, I started wearing eye shadow and eyeliner. It felt like I was becoming a different character, not myself. I also found the products irritated my eyes. Since then, I've rarely worn makeup, including for my two weddings. When I entered the workforce at 22, I stopped wearing makeup unless I was messing around and being silly with my friends. I wore nothing except a little lip gloss at work, out socializing, or on dates. I wanted to be accepted and respected for who I was, not because of the makeup put on my skin. On nights at bars with my friends, I didn't get the same attention as other women with dolled-up faces. I couldn't compete, but I would not wear makeup — I didn't feel 100% like myself with it on. I wanted to find a romantic partner who liked me, not some made-up version of me. If men don't have to wear makeup to attract a woman, why should a woman spend hours on her makeup for a man? I wanted to be seen as equal to a man, and not wearing makeup has become a way to channel that desire for equality. At 30, I was getting ready to launch my business, and a makeup artist offered to provide me with a full makeover for a commercial I was working on. I'd never had a full face of makeup in my life. Walking around afterward, with concealer, foundation, blush, eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick, I got all the looks from people I passed. It confirmed what I knew to be true — that makeup could get me noticed. Rather than making me want to wear it more, the makeover made me want to wear makeup even less. That boost of confidence I had from a face full of makeup was the confidence I wanted with my natural face. Shortly after, I met the man who would become my husband at a rave. He was attracted to me without makeup and liked me for who I really was. I was the first woman he dated who didn't wear makeup. He never gave me slack for it, even though he was occasionally surprised that I didn't wear it when we were going out. At our Christian wedding, I barely wore any makeup, and even at my traditional Indian wedding, I kept telling the person doing my makeup it was all too much. I wanted to look in the mirror and see myself on one of the most important days of my life. As I get older, I know I won't change my mind about makeup. Antiaging culture takes away the beauty of aging, even though it is just a normal process of life. I am wiser now. I know more. I make better decisions. I am proof of a life lived, and my skin shows that. I don't have to accept what media and society tell me growing old looks like. My skin will sag and become wrinkly, and that's OK. We're not immortal. I now have two sons, but if I ever have a daughter, I want to pass on what I inherited from my mom — a confidence and acceptance of my own, raw self, makeup-free. Read the original article on Business Insider
CBC
6 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
Here comes the MPP: Ontario bill could let politicians officiate weddings
Cut the red tape and cue the white dress. Two Ontario Progressive Conservative members of provincial parliament are proposing to remove a layer of bureaucracy and let MPPs such as themselves more easily officiate weddings. A private member's bill from Matthew Rae and Dave Smith would automatically grant an MPP the authority to solemnize marriages after they give written notice of their interest, without having to go through a municipality as with most non-religious officiants. "Not every single municipality actually has their clerk do weddings, so if you want a civil marriage, you have to go through a justice of the peace or a judge," Smith said. "When you look at some of the more northern, more remote, more rural ridings, you don't have as easy access to a justice of the peace or a judge and I just saw this as one of those things that's almost a red tape thing. We have the ability to make that change. It really doesn't have a negative effect. So why not do it?" Rae said engaged couples sometimes reach out to elected officials — including himself — to request that they solemnize their marriage, thinking they're granted that ability automatically, like judges. "Some are family and friends that live in my riding," he said. "Obviously, they think it would be kind of neat to have their local MPP perform the ceremony ... [it's] just another provincial service that a local member can choose to offer their constituents if they choose to do so. And so it really is just having that little extra special component to your happy day." Former MPP says he's done more than 70 weddings Rae personally availed himself of that extra special component when he got married last year, using Bill Walker, the former member of provincial parliament for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, as his officiant. When it comes to politicians and weddings, Walker is the guy, both Smith and Rae said. Walker went through the whole regular process for becoming a civil marriage officiant, which includes a designation from a municipal clerk, and estimates he has done more than 70 weddings in just a few years. "It's humbling, for anybody, to be part of their special day, but especially if you've worked with them, or my goddaughters," Walker said. "It was pretty hard to top those." Walker's side gig as an officiant — he doesn't take any payment — began with a request from one of his goddaughters. "[She] thought that we had the right as an MPP to be able to do weddings, because Bill Murdoch, who was my predecessor [as the MPP for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound], had done them up here forever, and I think she just thought it was one of those things you got to do," he said. "My other goddaughter said, 'Well, if you're marrying her, you've got to marry me."' It snowballed from there — including other friends, family and Queen's Park staffers — and Walker has about a dozen weddings on tap for this year. Bill to be further debated in fall The bill would allow provincial politicians who ask for the authority to perform marriages to keep that power for a full year after they leave office. That way, a snap election as the province saw earlier this year and an unexpected defeat doesn't leave an engaged couple with no officiant. Most private member's bills that get tabled come from opposition parties, and since this one is from within the government caucus it may be more likely than most to get through, but Rae and Smith said further discussions and debate are expected to be held in the fall. If the bill does become law, Rae said he isn't sure if he will set out to officiate weddings, but Smith is game. "I'll probably reach out to the minister if this passes, and ask for permission to do it," he said. "Any time you can break down barriers for people who want to spend their life together, then why not do that?"
BBC News
6 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
New Brighton: Wedding bid blocked at 'seemly and dignified venue'
A landmark described as "seemly and dignified" by planning inspectors has been denied permission to host weddings. Fort Perch Rock, a coastal defence in New Brighton which dates back to just after the Napoleonic wars, is home to a cafe bar, function rooms and owners wanted to use it to hold marriage ceremonies, but a lack of disabled access to its upper floors meant its bid was denied by Wirral Douglas Darroch told planners on Friday he "could have turned [it] into a casino or a strip club but that is disrespectful to the building", adding: "We are trying to find ways to generate cash to take the building forward." Mr Darroch added that people had asked in the past about using the venue for said: "It's part of our business plan to bring life to the building which we are trying to do now... with the escape room, cafe, and the museum opening next year."Councillors raised concerns about the walkway into the fort, disability access and fire risk management. The building, which is 32 ft (9m) high, was completed in 1829 and is due to celebrate the 200th anniversary of its foundation stone being laid next year. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
