Guide to prenuptual agreements

A prenuptial agreement, antenuptial agreement, or premarital agreement, commonly abbreviated to prenup or prenupt, is a contract entered into prior to marriage or civil union by the people intending to marry. The content of a prenuptial agreement can vary widely, but commonly includes provisions for division of property and spousal support in the event of divorce or breakup of marriage.

prenuptial agreements set out before marriage how the wealth and assets of both parties will be split in the event that the relationship goes down the toilet.

Many countries, including Canada (Quebec), France, Italy, and Germany, have matrimonial regimes, in addition to, or some cases, in lieu of prenuptial agreements.

As of 2007, England and Wales do not enforce prenuptial agreements, but agreements may be upheld at the judge’s discretion. These countries also do not have a provision for marital regimes.  But this is all changing.  There has been a “sea change”

The Crossley case  in the UK now highlights the fact that premarital agreements are being recognised in the English courts and, if properly constituted, are difficult to wriggle out of.  In the past prenups were perhaps entered into in the hope, rather than belief, that they would be binding. Now they offer real protection.

Courts “are looking closely at prenuptial agreements and want good reasons — such as children or significant changes in a person’s circumstances — to depart from them”.

So who should go for a prenup? They are suitable for a wide range of people, including:-

• second-time rounders, in their forties and fifties, who want to provide fully for children of the first marriage and protect their own assets (sometimes against gold-digging former husbands when they meet someone wealthy)
• professionals, young City entrepreneurs in their twenties making money through work, skill and some luck 
• business men and women used to binding agreements in their working lives
• international clients used to prenups in their home jurisdiction
• gay and lesbian clients who may have cohabited for years and now enter civil partnerships
• and those not necessarily “mega-wealthy” who favours “self-determination” and taking control of how financial issues might be resolved on divorce.

So if prenups are such a good insurance policy, why not make them legally binding? 

With hundreds of millions of dollars at stake, Hollywood stars are not inclined to risk it all on what might be a very short and misguided marriage followed by a very expensive divorce.

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes signed a £22 million prenuptial agreement before they married. The decision for a ‘prenup’ was hardly a surprise as Cruise’s failure to sign a similar deal with ex-wife Nicole Kidman was cited as the main reason behind a very messy and protracted divorce.

Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas; Liz Taylor and Larry Fortensky, Jane Fonda and Ted Turner are just a few of the A-list couples who have demanded prenuptial contracts.

So before you get married get up to date legal advice from a specialist family lawyer.  Get it all sorted and nailed down before last minute stress sets in. 

Most foreign couples getting married in France need to have a civil ceremony in their home country first and then their religious ceremony in France as the legal requirements for a civil wedding in France are exhaustive - 6 months (not 40 days as it was before thank you Sarkosy) residency requirement with proof of address and they now check it too.  Most guests at a french destination wedding do not even know that the ceremony is not a civil ceremony.  Sorting out a  pre-nup agreement before you leave home does not detract from a fairytale wedding in France.  If you are not mega wealthy you way want to consider a french wedding package at a romantic castle that will not break the bank.

father of the bride speeches

When it comes time to let go of your little girl by giving her away at the altar, there is no doubt that it is a pivotal time for the whole family. It is also the day when father of the bride speeches will come into play as the wedding reception proceeds.

Father of the bride speeches can be a very difficult task to try and approach. Often, emotions are very strong and it is hard to even consider giving a wedding speech in front of a large group of people, especially if you are not accustomed to speaking in public.

Some simple advice about starting to write father of the bride speeches is to start keeping a notepad handy. This will help to facilitate getting your various emotions onto paper so that you can begin to sort through them. Take moments to observe your daughter whenever possible and make a note of what you see and how you feel.

The notes can be something as simple and ordinary as washing the dishes or playing with her siblings. In fact, it is often the everyday actions and the feelings surrounding them that can be the most poignant part of father of the bride speeches. Simply recounting the pride and happiness you felt in watching your daughter perform everyday routines can be very touching.

The reason it is important to jot down these notes is that when it is time to sit down and write the speech, sometimes your mind will draw a blank. Having even a few pages of notes will be helpful at this point and if it is a theme wedding, this can also help to direct your thoughts as you prepare your wedding speech as the father of the bride.

When it is time to sit down and compose father of the bride speeches, there are some fundamental things that are almost always good to include. First off, adding a little something about your daughter as she was when she was young always adds a bit of charm and depth to the speech. This also gives people a glimpse of the bride as a youngster. This could be a short story about her if it’s fitting. Just remember that your purpose is to uplift and not to embarrass her on this special day.

Another idea, if there is not a story that you want to share in the wedding speech, is to include what she excelled in at school, her favorite teacher, class, sport and why, or even things from her first time in the work force. These little insights from her youth can be a nice way to point out some of her unique characteristics and also to help her new in-laws learn more about her.

Another component of many father of the bride speeches, is to talk a little bit about how their daughter was before meeting her groom. For example, was she more shy, not as confident, not as well-grounded, or given to a lot of ups and downs? You can then contrast that with how she has been since their relationship progressed more seriously. When this has been perfected and written with kindness, it can be the part of the wedding speech that gives people the most insight about the couple.

These suggestions are the basis for putting together thoughtful father of the bride speeches. Overall, the wedding speech from the father of the bride should be between 800 and 1,000 words and should take less than ten minutes to deliver. Anything longer than that may put people to sleep! Be sure to practice your speech out loud as often as possible before the big day.

Trash the Wedding Dress and Bring Your Hubbie

Choosing the right clothes for the groom is just as important as choosing the dress and choosing your wedding castle venue.  You need to give more thought to this if you have a destination wedding venue as your vision of wedding attire at your destination might not be appropriate or climate friendly.

Without question a well tailored suit or tuxedo is the most popular choice for every type of wedding except the most casual.

Not all tuxedos are the same, and choosing one that will flatter the groom is vital. To help you choose, see our tips below for bringing a style for the men together and for choosing the right style of suit for different body types.

Tuxedo or Not?
While it remains the most popular choice for most weddings, a formal tuxedo can look out of place in some situations. Many destination weddings take place on the beach or in outdoor locations where this kind of formality may not be suitable.

For such weddings, lighter coloured fabrics, light grey or perhaps even cream or white, in cool crease-resistant fabrics look great. However the shapes that work still depend on the groom’s physique and are the same whether or not the clothes are formal.

Coordinating the Men
For formal weddings, the male members of the wedding party should dress in a similar style to the groom, but not identically.

A deservedly popular approach is for the groom to wear a neutral coloured tie, cummerbund or vest/waistcoat while the groomsmen wear the same style tuxedo or suit but use accessories (buttonholes, ties, cummerbunds) in colours that coordinate with the bridesmaids dresses.

Choosing Right Suit
This depends on your groom’s frame. The guidelines below will help you to choose the best suit for him.

Short & Stocky Grooms
Shoulder pads make the waist look smaller, as does a deep V neckline. Avoid pleated trousers and cummerbunds which just make you look round!

Dark grey is a better color choice than black.

Short & Slim Grooms
Tailoring is key, especially choose a very well crafted jacket, 2 or 3 button works best. Pleated trousers are good and if a cummerbund is chosen it should not be deep and one in a complimentary shade works best.

Black or very dark suits are best avoided, white is good for summer weddings or any paler shade of grey.

Tall & Slim Grooms
These lucky grooms can carry off fashionable 5 button jackets or double breasted suits with ease. Higher necklines emphasise a long upper body and can look wonderful.

If you are on the thin side, add shoulder pads and a cummerbund in a contrasting colour to add upper body definition.

Tall & Broad Grooms
Go for a shawl collar and a deep V, it will make your upper body look longer. Trousers with a subtle stripe are slimming and help avoid a blocky look and darker suits are often the best choice.

Avoid a cummerbund at all costs.

Remember to find appropriate shoes to compliment his suit.  Ask your destination wedding planner if it is possible to hire shoes.  They do not hire shoes for weddings in France for instance so all the men in your party have to bring and shine their own.

Other things for your groom to consider are a hair cut, a shave without any slices.

Bleach those teeth nice and white a month before your big day.  Have eye drops to make sure his eyes twinkle on the day. 

Very importantly do not let him have his bachelor party the night before your wedding.   Have a great day at your wedding castle venue.

And if you do a trash the dress photoshoot bring your hubbie along.

How to wear a wedding tiara

When you have selected your destination wedding venue, wedding dress then you need to select your wedding jewellery.  They key to your choice of wedding jewellery is really “the dress”!.

It is important not to go overboard. If every piece of jewellery you wear is stunning, then they will all fight for attention and in the process divert attention away from you - the bride!

Most people build up a “look” or theme around one particular piece of their wedding day outfit. It might take a while to settle on a theme, and it may change several times before the big day, but at some point you will probably see a gorgeous pair of shoes, or an adorable bouquet of flowers that inspires the rest of your outfit, or even the whole wedding. Whatever your inspiration, it’s a good idea to try and get each piece of the outfit to sit harmoniously with everything else.

First of all, you need to fix the budget for the shopping as mentioned before. This would help you to narrow down your search for the right kind of wedding jewelry. Wedding jewelry can get really expensive; therefore it is a better bet to fix upon a certain amount. It would help you to make a better and a faster mode of selection as well.

You do not always have to spend an exorbitant amount on wedding jewelry. Browse through your mother’s jewelry box and wear a family heirloom.

Balance is the key -

Buy for the Future
Pearls, gold, diamonds and other precious stones are expensive but timeless and if carefully chosen can be thought of not an expense but an investment !

Stick to Your Own Style
If your normal style is funky and modern, you are not going to feel particularly comfortable on your wedding day with conservative jewels.

Wedding jewellery is generally fashioned out of crystals, pearls, diamante or a combination of the three, and is available in a vast array of styles and designs. As most brides wear dresses that involve either small or no straps, they choose to wear a bridal necklace, adding a little sparkle to their otherwise bare neck.

That said, I am not convinced that tongue and nose studs are a particularly good look for a bride!

If you are going for a theme at your wedding like baroque for a castle wedding keep your jewellery style sympathetic to this style - Whether it be design or colour.

Introduce Colour
While traditionally bridal jewellery is pearl or diamond, silver or gold, there is nothing at all to stop you from introducing more drama by choosing jewellery with some colour.  Pearls look great at a castle wedding.

It is particularly effective to subtly pick up the colours of your bridesmaids dresses with an accent colour in your jewellery. Here are some suggestions:

A gentle taupe introduces soft colour. Shades like this work great with cream coloured wedding dresses or dresses with an antique style.

You need to consider your wedding dress and the hair style that you want to go with it before you can think about your wedding jewellery.  Think about your venue too.  An up do and heavy jewels would look silly on a beach.

Another consideration is to buy well made jewellery as you will want it to be passed down to your daughter and hopefully your grand-daughter as a family heirloom. 

Baroque Castle | Baroque Chateau

A style that is becoming very popular and extending beyond the dress to an overall theme, Baroque-fashioned weddings are one of the latest trends to inspire brides this season and there is no setting more perfect than a fairytale french wedding venue.

In the 17th century Baroque fashion dominated the French court of Louis XIV. Today baroque style is making a comeback in wedding dress style. The new Baroque fashions boast luxurious and extravagant materials that are elaborately detailed and embellished with crystals, metallics, and fine ribbons and fabrics.

The Baroque-inspired fashion of today’s wedding dresses, have intricate bodices and pristine yet full gowns, some of which come complete with overskirts in the fashion of Marie Antoinette.  Wedding Corset styles are very popular.The best thing about corsets is that you do not need to worry about achieving a specific size for your wedding day. 

On the other hand if your method of dealing with wedding strss is to take solace in a tin of biscuits and you put on a few pounds, there is plenty of extra space in a wedding dress designed with a corset top.

Also wedding corsets open up a whole load of wedding photography possibilities.  You must instruct your wedding photographer to take a photo of you getting laced up.  Sepia tones particularly lend themselves to this style of photo and if you have the french wedding venue with chaise longue, mirrored armoires, cherubs and chandeliers, these add that special touch and continu that romantic baroque theme. 

Think royalty, think luxurious, think rich; whether in ornamentation, decor, fabrics, wedding accessories, favors or invitation and stationary design. Add some detail and sparkle to your ceremony decor with crystals and metallic ribbons, for church pews or chair decor accessories. As an idea for a baroque-inspired centrepiece, think candelabras dripping with crystals in silver, or platinum, and continue your theme with a silver and chrome-plated cake serving set.

For a venue, nothing says baroque more than a renaissance  castle wedding venue in France rich with velvet drapes, a ballroom-styled reception room complete with grand chandeliers suspended from the ceiling with light reflected in infinity mirrors and antique chaise longue lining the dance floor.

  Brocade is a popular fabric for the baroque bride and brocade velvet is a good choice for a winter bride. 

For food think rich and sumptuous. 

A bride’s wedding day is supposed to make her feel like a queen for a day.