Author Archive: David Partis

Celebrity Weddings | Dan Carter & Honor Dillon

The dreams of thousands of girls are dashed… Dan is tying the knot.

To be honest with you, I never saw the big attraction of Dan Carter – not on the field or even in his Jockeys.

But he started to appeal to me more when I heard he had been dating the same girl for the last 5 years!! That type of commitment says alot in this day and age. And lets hope he didn’t have any Mike Tindall moments in that time.

Plus she looks down to earth and not the usual bimbo type wag you’d expect.

So down to the ceremony – it was held at the luxury Lake Timara Lodge near Blenheim was conducted in the upmost secrecy, with guests reportedly told not to take photos and an aerobatic display booked overhead to prevent nosy media from flying over the venue.

The media black out was part of a deal with the Australian Women’s Weekly magazine which is rumoured to have paid around $50,000 for exclusive rights to the wedding coverage.

Dan and his new bride, former Black Sticks striker Honor Dillon, are now said to be looking forward to a romantic honeymoon.

Although a veil of secrecy surrounded the ceremony some details are starting to emerge through the cracks.

Dillon is said to have looked “stunning” in a ivory-coloured silk satin dress, with her face covered by a light tulle veil which trailed to the ground behind her.

The colour of the dress was said to have set off Dillon’s tan and with a plunging “V” down the back.

The front of the dress is reported to have been modest with a small V-neck and inch thick straps over her shoulders, while a figure hugging bodice opened out into an A-line skirt.

Kiwi singer Hayley Westenra entertained the gathered friends and family before the bride arrived, with All Blacks Richie McCaw, Ali Williams and former coach Graham Henry among the guests.

Dillon was led down a grass aisle to a lakeside altar , with guests seated on white chairs, where she was greeted by Kings College chaplain Warner Wilder, the Sunday Star Times reported.

The service sheet listed Dillon’s bridesmaids as Amy-Kate Snowise, Amber Edgar, Michal Wells and Jessica Bradley, and Carter’s groomsmen as Ben Jones, Jimmy Cowan, Doug Tausili and Simon Walsh.

The service including traditional hymns and Christmas carols and Carter’s sister gave a reading at the 45-minute ceremony.

”Honor and Dan came together as friends. Today they pledge not only their love, but also the strength, warmth and, most importantly, the fun of true friendship,” she said.

The party went on till around 1am with entertainment provided by a four-piece covers band and a lavish fireworks display.

500 Days of Summer

Maybe this should be a blog about pop culture? My inspiration seems to come from alot of movies…

Anyone who’s seen this one will agree it’s gorgeous. The love story, the graphics, the quirkiness – so cute.

Basically it’s all about a boy who has very romantic ideals – love at first sight, thunderbolts and lightning, that sort of thing (usually the kind of role a female plays in a romcom) and he falls for Summer – a girl who doesn’t believe in love. She’s basically a bitch until she finds love – but not with the gorgeous romantic boy.

It’s a story about being totally in awe of someone, giving your heart to them and having them break it for you. But finding the hope to move past the pain so you don’t miss other opportunities which could be even more amazing.

My favourite scene is the one where the boy has just had a blissful night with Summer – and as he’s walking to work he is so euphoric he could be dancing through the streets… complete with dancing workmen, a full marching band and the little bluebird of happiness!

Love…

Romeo & Juliet

We all know the Shakespearean love story/tragedy – whether you’ve seen it or read it, you can’t fail to agree it is the most legendary tale of ill fated, star-crossed love.

Last week I was checking out a bookstore sale and came across Juliet by Anne Fortier, it had an interesting cover (the pic on the right) so I picked it up. It was a story of danger, intrigue, secret pasts and of course, love. All giving the famous play tweaks and twists that make the story even more endearing (and not in ye olde English speak). Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop. Here’s a sentence or two:

There is lust, you know, and then there is love. They are related, but still very different things. To indulge in one requires little but honeyed
 speech and a change of clothes; to obtain the other, by contrast, a
man must give up his rib. In return, his woman will undo the sin of Eve,
and bring him back into Paradise.

And this time… Romeo doesn’t “give up his rib” for nothing… they both live happily ever after!

Famous Screen Kisses

It started with a kiss…

My favourites would have to be, in no particular order:

The Notebook
Wow – have you seen this movie? The amount of tears you’ll shed is a good indicator of how touching this story is. And that kiss… don’t you wish you could be embraced like that by Ryan Gosling??!

Spiderman
You know, the upside down kiss in the rain after Spidey rescues his damsel in distress. This is very tricky to do. Especially for Toby Maguire who said it was quite an unpleasant experience – the rain kept going up his nose and with Kirsten Dunst’s lips locked on his – he could hardly breathe!!

Eat Pray Love
Xavier Bardem… need I say more? That scene where he lovingly looks at her as she’s reading, then puts on some quirky romantic Brazilian song and tenderly embraces her…

A Room with a View
Remember this Merchant Ivory period drama – Lucy Honeychurch and the new boy in town have a love/hate relationship? Lots of misunderstandings take place, but finally they get it together and the end scene is of them on their honeymoon sitting in their room with a view over Florence, kissing.

Only You
This is such a quirky romcom – Marisa Tomei plays a girl who when she was 12 saw a fortune teller at the fair who gave her the name of the man she was going to marry… Damon Bradley…
Fast forward 20 years and Marisa is about to get married, then somehow goes on a wild goose chase for Damon Bradley… in Italy… meets up with Robert Downey Jnr who pretends to be Damon Bradley, and they fall in love… with quite a few hiccups on the way!
The kiss happens after a romantic walk along the streets of Rome, they’re back at Marisa’s hotel and then in the middle of rolling around on the bed she finds out – so the kiss turns into a hilarious struggle where she’s trying to resist Robert Downey Jnr!

Before Sunrise
A couple meet on a train traveling across Europe. They decide their chemistry is enough to get off and have one adventurous night together. You have to see it for yourself. And make sure you watch the sequel Before Sunset which shows you what happens 10 years later!

What are your favourites??

It's all about the bling

 

Wow, the bride blinged out… of course it wasn’t a ‘crystal’ headpiece which I foolishly mentioned before…it was all DIAMONDS!!!! Apparently $10 million worth!!!

I imagined this was some sort of Armenian inspired touch in honour of her heritage… but who knows! What I do know is that she will have started a huge trend. Every bride is going to want one… their budget just may not stretch to diamonds!

Celebrity Weddings | Kim Kardashian & Kris Humphries


Ok! I never thought I’d admit it, but I adore the Kardashians! I was home sick one day last week and flicking through tv channels found E! One of the girls at work was raving about how she was addicted to Keeping up with the Kardashians and all the other tv show spin-offs and I was a bit mortified, but curious to see for myself. Most reality tv show is pretty tacky lets face it (think Jersey Shore and even worse if that’s possible Geordie Shore!), everyone’s just making a quick buck – and really what sort of person opens their private lives to the public?

But I have to say I am hooked – I wasn’t drawn into the glamour lifestyle the gorgeous girls live, but the fact they seem quite nice, down to earth and share some very comedic moments did keep me watching. And I am amazed, and not sure how much is scripted or not, but. there are even some good moral and social messages in there as well. Most of all – I like their idea of family and partnership/marriage. And romance. Unlike The Bachelor/Bachelorette none of it’s staged. At least it looks that way – until they file for divorce in the next episode!!

The latest love story is Kim’s. She’s had a whirlwind romance and last month was given a 2 million dollar engagement ring from her pro sportsman boyfriend Kris Humphries!

Check out her gorgeous bridal shower here!


Then there was the wicked Bachelorette Party in Las Vegas!

And tomorrow is the BIG day!! I’m sure it will be one to remember…I’ll keep you posted!

Flushed ring found 51 years later

Thomas Wray Kidd from North Carolina is being reunited with a piece of jewelry and a part of his past he thought was gone forever.

Kidd, now 67 and retired, has not seen his Jackson High School Class of 1962 ring since he gave it to his girlfriend half a century ago, and she accidentally dropped it into her toilet mid-flush.

The girlfriend, Dianne Shearin, was aghast. Her father had a plumber pull the toilet and snake the pipes. “The plumber finally told them, ‘Hey, that ring is gone,”‘ Kidd recalled in an interview.

It was not gone for good though. When a storm pipe collapsed recently and a repair crew responded, a foreman found the long lost ring. It was just a few blocks from where it had gone into the sewer in 1960.

The ring was taken to a local jewelry store, where three hours were spent cleaning it back to a bright gold.

The ring bore the initials TWK and a hunt began to find the owner. There weren’t many possibilities. Only 25 students graduated from Jackson High in 1962, a few years before the school closed.

Mr Kidd got a call from a former classmate who told him about the ring. Then the jeweler called, offering to mail it or deliver it personally when he visited family in he area.

“Mr Kidd said, ‘Just wait and bring it to me,’ which I’m glad he did because I want to see the look on his face when he’s reunited with his ring after 51 years,”

Mr Kidd is impressed with the honesty in getting the ring back to its owner. He is also happy he will once more be able to give it to the woman he calls his “soul mate and best friend.”

Despite the toilet mishap, Kidd married Dianne Shearin in 1964. They’re still married today.

Royal weddings

Zara Phillips & Mike Tindall
Edinburgh, 30 July 2011

We’ve been talking about royal weddings alot lately – this is the third one now this summer!

But, I think, the marriage of Zara and Mike is the most special. They seem endearingly down-to-earth, I suppose because of their sporting achievements. But I think this review shows their celebration was one where all royals could forget their p’s and q’s and enjoy themselves just like anyone else!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk