Marriage is becoming less and less popular; unless you are a homosexual that is – an Anglican homosexual in particular –  and then you simply must get married, otherwise you would feel excluded. And exclusion is the only sin left in the Anglican church; other than telling a bishop he really must believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ, his virgin birth and atoning sacrifice on the cross in order to be a Christian. Oh – and trying to knock his hat off with a snowball.

From here:

The good ol’ tradition of marriage is not extinct, but the numbers certainly are dropping.

Moving up the relationship ranks is the very modern – and considerably cheaper – option of living together, sans the ‘I dos’.

“It’s the first time in Canada there are more unmarried people than married people,” explains Gemini-award winning documentary filmmaker Sue Ridout, producer and director of the new hour-long doc entitled, “Thoroughly Modern Marriage” (Dreamfilm Productions).

But, despite the popularity of common law and even the high rates of divorce, the institution is still likely to survive, Ridout believes.

After extensive research and interviews, spanning from a variety of couples, singles and experts, Ridout suspects future generations will still be booking cake testings, finding perfect dresses and exchanging vows.

“Personally, if I had to bet on it, I’d bet on the institution continuing,” she says.

“But I don’t think we’re going back to the high numbers. Common law is here to stay.”

According to Statistics Canada, in the past 25 years, common-law unions in Canada have more than tripled.

Nowadays, particularly in cultures where women have equal rights and earning power to their male counterparts, something other than economics and family standing is driving forward the desire to walk down the aisle…….

– In the past 25 years, common-law unions in Canada have more than tripled

– At 70%, Hanover, Manitoba has the largest percentage of married adults in Canada (20% higher than the national average)

– The lowest rates of marriage in Canada is Joliette, Quebec, at just 27%

– In less than a decade, mixed race couples have increased by 33%

Having redefined marriage to mean almost any human, animal or inanimate object union in any combination, some are now on a quest to find a way of further distorting it in order to plumb new depths of absurdity. In this case, a homosexual man has “married” a heterosexual woman and they are calling it “art”; for all the meaning that it has, they might as well have called it a plate of egg and chips.

From here:

CREATIVE students proved that opposites really do attract when they took their wedding vows – and turned marriage into a work of art.

Nora Battenberg-Cartwright, aged 21, and Paul Cartwright, 20, married in Germany a few days after Christmas to show their commitment to each other – artistically.

However, while they are legally married, live together in the centre of Worcester and are very close friends, Mrs Battenberg-Cartwright is straight, and Mr Cartwright is gay.

The pair, both studying fine art at the University of Worcester, decided to make themselves into an artwork as part of their coursework they are undertaking in their second year.

They make sure they co-ordinate their outfits every day and also make their own clothes – including Mrs Battenberg-Cartwright’s gold wedding dress.