The seven-year-old was said to have signed a £1.5 million deal to design a fashion line for young girls, allegedly launching in a New York department store this autumn. Katie Holmes and her co-designer in fashion label Holmes & Yang, Jeanne Yang, were also believed to have been on board. According to reports, the fashion line evolved from an idea to introduce a fashion blog, penned by Cruise.

Interest for brides

Almost as soon as a girl gets engaged, the quest for the perfect wedding dress begins.
With good reason. Between choosing, ordering and fittings, bridal gowns can take up to six months to become reality. Brides often start by visiting shops to see what’s available.
This year, according to Annette Hebel from Doris Bridal in Highwood, they’ll be seeing lots of lace. “Lace gowns with cap sleeves are a hit this year, along with fit and flare dresses.”Between Kate Middleton’s 2012 wedding dress and the elegance of Downtown Abbey, lace, with its whiff of yesteryear charm was bound to be in style.

Back interest is also a top request. Wedding guests see all sides of the bride as she moves up and down the aisle, and takes the dance floor. So, notes Brides.com Fashion Director Rachel Leonard, “One trend we’re seeing is dresses that concentrate detailing on the back — plunges, bows, baring and cut-outs.”

Leonard also mentions some color trends. “We are also seeing some pale pastels and ombre (a graduation of color) dresses,” she notes. You saw that in the pale pink wedding dress Jessica Biel wore when she married Justin Timberlake.

Rachel Alvia, head designer at Evanston’s custom gown shop, has had some unusual wedding dresses requested via the Internet. Steampunk, anyone? But she notes that “The local market is pretty traditional,” though there’s growing interest in pastel gowns.

As for style, “Strapless is still the most popular type of gown,” Leonard says. Avila has found that as well. “The strapless sweetheart remains most popular,” she says. “It’s easy to wear, a classic look.”

Practicality is scoring points with today’s brides. Many want to change into another dress after the ceremony for the reception, and designers are making their wishes come true with convertible gowns — two dresses in one. These dresses have removable trains, removable skirts and removable capes. When I got married many years ago, I actually had a convertible gown. It was a long sheath-fitted dress with a removable tulle full skirt and train. Right before the reception, I unsnapped that tulle skirt and train and was ready to party.

Four Chinese men are facing more than 2 years in prison for digging up female corpses and selling them for ghost marriages, an ancient ritual of burying newly deceased women alongside dead bachelors so that they can accompany each other in their afterlives, according to the state-run newspaper China Daily.

According to the report, the men have been digging up graves in coal-rich Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces since 2011. They reportedly washed the corpses and fabricated hospital documents to push up the prices. The thieves allegedly made almost $40,000 off the 10 stolen corpses before being caught.
The practice of ghost marriage, which may date as far back as 17th century B.C., is rare in modern China. According to the Telegraph, Mao Zedong tried to eliminate the custom after he assumed power in 1949. But some rural families in northern China still try to find spouses for their deceased children out of fear that the ghosts will otherwise come back to haunt them.

According to the state-run Global Times, a female corpse may fetch as much as $21,000 on the black market. Sometimes families head straight to the hospital and seal the deal for a female body themselves. They then find a matchmaker who would choose an auspicious day for the marriage, which involves giving paper dowries that are later burned in front of the graves and holding sumptuous feasts.

This is not the first time authorities have punished the sale of ghost brides. In 2009, police arrested five men for exhuming the grave of a teenage girl who had committed suicide. A father who lost his son in a car crash agreed to pay more than $4,000 for the corpse bride. Two years earlier, a man was arrested for killing and selling six women, according to the Telegraph.

Hollywood stars lose weight for a role, as it shows their commitment to the part. Could that be the same reason so many British brides go on a pre-wedding diet?
To win an Oscar, actors often have to lose a bit of themselves. The meat around their hips, frequently, and the flesh under their chin. The 25lb Anne Hathaway lost – sorry, hang on – “lost” is the wrong word; it implies carelessness. The 25lb she sent away, like old dogs to a farm. The pounds she aborted, burned, shrank for the part in Les Misérables that last month won her an award for best supporting actress, the pounds she excreted by eating only, she told Vogue, “two thin squares of dried oatmeal paste a day”, showed her commitment to the role. And this commitment to the role, in part, won her the award.

Actors change their bodies because it’s the one part of the job they believe they have complete control over. The acting itself, they have little power to change – it flows through them like a bad mood. But the way they look they can mould, sculpt – they can have low-calorie meals delivered by courier every morning, a personal trainer living on set, or they can take pills (Grazia this week reports on the “new £13 diet pill that’s got Hollywood hooked”). Equally they can “bulk up” on bread for small-town realism and pump up their arms to become postmodern superheroes.

They can work with a dedicated team to build the body their character might inhabit, and this transformation becomes one of the key stories they tell in the film’s publicity drive. They will sit with a green tea upstairs at Claridge’s and discuss juice fasts and red meat, or in the case of Matthew McConaughey, who lost 40lb to play a man with HIV in the film Dallas Buyers Club, “fresh fish… small amounts. If anything,” he said, “it’s as much a spiritual journey as it is physical.”

For the women, weight gain wins them plaudits, as it shows a lack of vanity, and weight loss is seen as covetable, so interviews focus on how they got there for dieting readers’s reference. But for the men, we demand details of their spiritual journey. We ask why – why, man, would you want there to be less of you?

I know I’m not alone in finding this disturbing – I know it’s none of my business, really, what my peers do with their bodies. And I know, too, that as the pressure to host an extravagant wedding grows and anxiety builds, like actors on set, brides feel as though their bodies in the wedding photo are one of the few things they have power over. But these moments are meant to be celebratory – the camera is there to document the occasion rather than be the occasion.

It comes from a glossy place, this belief that you should strive for perfection, a place scented with perfume samples where flaws are stories. Everything that’s unhealthy about the weight-loss industry is present in the Oscar diets – the quick drop, the cognitive eating, the control and dampening of desire, all of which trickles down to the trend for wedding-day fasts. But, especially on a day designed to celebrate you, especially when they’re holding a glass of cava, your friends will not draw circles around your upper arms or judge the quality of your skin. The beauty of not being a celebrity, and sometimes we forget this, is that you’re not a celebrity.

Create

Dating in China sounds ever-more depressing, with stories about “leftover women” and lonely male “bare branches” becoming all too common-place.

The sad demographics that create these stories are undeniable — thanks in part to China’s one child policy, China may soon be looking at 12 to 15 percent of its male population being unable to ever find a wife.

For obvious reasons, that isn’t good for any society. In one horrifying example, entrepreneurial Chinese criminals have begun grave robbing to help arrange “ghost marriages” for men who die single.

There are some marginally more sensible options for single Chinese people, however.

A fantastic new article in today’s New York Times from Brook Larmer takes a look at two very different types of Chinese matchmakers who are helping those struggling to come to terms with dating and relationships in China’s changing society.

One of these people is 28-year-old Yang Jing, “one of China’s premier love hunters,” who can earn a bonus of more than $30,000 if she finds a suitable match for her wealthy clients. That’s a lot of money in China (five times the average annual salary), but its a lot of work, and requires Yang go to some extreme lengths.

Mr. Big, as I’ll call him — he insisted that [matchmaking service] Diamond Love not reveal his name — is a member of China’s fuyidai, the “first-generation rich” who have leapt from poverty to extreme wealth in a single bound, often jettisoning their first wives in the process. Diamond Love’s clientele also includes many fuerdai, or “second-generation-rich,” men and women in their 20s and 30s whose search is often bankrolled by wealthy parents keen on exerting control over their marital choices as well as the family inheritance.

But fuyidai like Mr. Big are accustomed to being the boss and can be the most uncompromising clients.
Mr. Big had an excruciatingly specific requirement for his second wife. The ideal woman, he said, would look like a younger replica of Zhou Tao, a famous Chinese television host: slim with pure white skin, slightly pointed chin, perfect teeth, double eyelids and long silken hair. To ensure her good character and fortune, he insisted that her wuguan — a feng shui-like reading of the sense organs on the face — show perfect harmony.

Yang does eventually find a potential match for Mr. Big, but only after he rejects 3,000 women and goes on an awkward, 3-person date at a Sichuanese restaurant.

Others aren’t so lucky. Larmer also profiles Yu Jia, another matchmaker who simply sits in a Beijing park, advertising her 36-year-old son for marriage with a hand-drawn sign (and no photo).She isn’t successful.

David joked: ”I never thought I would see Simon Cowell get married, much like Cliff Richard he’s the eternal bachelor.

”It was actually very moving to see him at the altar.”The sketch will see a series of his famous friends – including Louis Walsh, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden – fighting to tie the knot with the 53-year-old music mastermind.

Louis explained: ”I’m not going to give too much away about my involvement in the sketch but I’m one of the people thinking he should marry me!

”Me and Simon are like brother and sister, you’ll have to work out which one’s the sister but that’s what we’re like.”
Simon admits he felt ”total horror” at the thought of taking part in the skit at first until his partner in crime David persuaded him into donning a tuxedo in the name of charity.

Entertainment at the fictional reception will allegedly be provided by some of Simon’s favourite talent show acts, including Jonathan Antoine, Stavros Flatley, Dennis Egal and dancing dog Pudsey.

Sale

House of Brides released details about their upcoming St. Patrick’s Day Bridal Sale Saturday, March 16th and Sunday, March 17th including storewide savings.
House of Brides posted the announcement Monday for their St. Patrick’s Bridal Sale. The sale is available at all House of Brides locations and offers storewide discounts.
Designer weddings gowns will be $50.00 to $300.00 off original retail prices. The selection includes new Spring 2013 dresses and other popular styles.Special savings are available on all bridesmaid dresses. The salons feature over 700 styles available for special order in an array of sizes and colors.

Discounts are also offered on Mother of the Wedding dresses, Special Occasion dresses, flowergirl dresses, accessories and more.“Customers can save on their wedding dress and dresses for their entire party, “says President Eva Buziecki.

The retailer’s salons feature leading designers and also carry exclusive, one-of-a-kind styles.
The retailer suggests customers schedule an appointment for the sale. Customers work individually with an expert sales consultant in the selection of their dresses. Sales staff is well versed in the latest designs and trends as well as finding the silhouette that best flatters the customer.

The St. Patrick’s Day Bridal Sale ad is viewable on Store Promos on the website. Contact information for the salons is listed on Locations & Hours.The St. Patrick’s Day Sale is Saturday, March 16th and Sunday, March 17th exclusively at House of Brides.

With drought in Maharashtra, ‘selling’ and ‘reselling’ of brides is likely to become an increasingly lucrative business for nefarious elements—the bride agents. It has been known that the agents scour Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu to look for prospective brides for men from gender-skewed regions of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, western regions of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab. Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district, which has been officially tagged as one of the most backward districts in the country, has become one of favoured hunting spots for these agents.

A recent case, in which five adolescent girls went missing from the district, saw the political mercury in the district soar and the police swing into action. It was a 700-kilometre trail that the police had to follow. With the five girls from the slum being sold as ‘brides’ to desperate unmarried men in Madhya Pradesh, a special team of the Maharashtra Police had to pursue the case in Ashok Nagar district in the neighbouring state. Led by Assistant Inspector Yogesh Pardhi, the Maharashtra Police team was determined to bring back the girls, aged between 16 and 20.

What Pardhi and his team learnt during the investigation was quite intriguing. The police had managed to arrest one of the agents who had sold one of the minor girls to a man from Shadora village in Ashok Nagar in Madhya Pradesh. Police team found out that the agents who sold off those women got Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000 for every woman sold. However, one of the five girls from Chandrapur, who had been sold for Rs 30,000, had returned to her agent owing to the ill-treatment at the hands of her owner. The agent was too happy to resell her a second time and pocketed Rs 35,000. Pardhi had no answer as to why the girl did not return to her family when she had the opportunity, and instead approached her agent.

The trading of brides also means that the few genuine bride seekers are finding it difficult to ‘stay’ married. When a 50-year-old businessman from Jaipur in Rajasthan had married a bride from Maharashtra, he thought it was coincidence that the two brides that he had earlier purchased from agents had run away. In two months the man has spent Rs 2.50 lakh on three brides. However, his third bride from Maharashtra too ran away. Subsequent police investigation revealed that agents and the brides were hand-in glove and were sold again. The agents are finding selling brides more lucrative than dealing in brothels. And more than the buyers, the agents are more keen to sell brides owing to demand in northern states. Khan fears that with drought in Maharashtra, agents would have a field day recruiting new brides as poor families are happy to have one less mouth to feed.

Though Khan believes that it is difficult to put a precise number on the quantum of bride trafficking, he estimates that there are about dozen such brides in every village of Haryana. As agents come up with offers of new brides, the time spent by the bride in particular household is also limited. “The old brides are sold to procure new ones. It is very similar to the cattle market. The market for brides as per our study is growing steadily at the rate 20 per cent every year,” said Khan.

The soft, flowing material of hundreds of wedding dresses line the walls of Hyde Park Bridal. Light pink furniture and mirrored tables add a distinctly feminine touch to the brightly lit boutique.

Amanda Topits, 26, opened Hyde Park Bridal on Sept. 8, and has since outfitted about 500 brides in the dresses of their dreams. Topits says she has always had a passion for fashion and knew she wanted to work in the bridal industry. She graduated from UC’s DAAP program in June with a major in fashion design, and has worked for Glamour and Elle magazines and bridal boutiques in California and Cincinnati.

Topits’ bridal shop is the only bridal boutique to ever open in Hyde Park. “I knew as soon as I decided to open a bridal boutique that it would be in Hyde Park,” she says. “It’s the perfect place to be, and I wanted to be somewhere different than all other stores.”

Topits and her staff aim to offer brides the best possible experience while helping her find her dream dress. During a bride’s appointment, the entire shop is reserved for the bride and her guests. There’s a personalized parking spot for the bride, and champagne and cupcakes are on hand during the appointment.

“Boutiques can offer a better experience not only for the bride, but for the guests that she brings with her,” Topits says. “A boutique atmosphere gives you a sense of relief knowing that you and your gown are going to be taken great care of from the beginning to the end of the process.”

Hyde Park Bridal carries designers that are exclusive to Cincinnati and the Midwest, including Alvina Valenta, Badgley Mischka, Blue Willow by Anne Barge, Hayley Paige, Jim Hjelm Blush, Justina McCaffrey, Lillen Collection, Somsi Couture, Tara Keely by Lazaro and Winnie Couture Blush. The boutique also sells bridesmaid dresses and bridal accessories to complete brides’ fairytale visions.

A friend was gracious enough to let me stay with her until I found a place of my own, and I immediately signed with a temp agency, hoping to find a job in publishing. One morning, my phone rang. It was Lori from the agency. “I have the perfect opportunity,” she said. “It’s on the sales side, and I know you’re looking for edit, but would you be interested?”

“Sure,” I said. Looking back, I remember thinking that this was the point where I thought I was being flexible. “What magazine is it for?”It wasn’t Lori’s fault that she didn’t know the implications of this. Part of me wanted to tell her. You see, Lori, I was supposed to be married in September, beside a lake between green mountains. I had a dress and a wedding planner, a band and a caterer. I had a house not far from the beach in Charleston, S.C., and a black dog named Riley. What’s more, Lori, I had a fiancé I really loved. I had all of these things, until he changed his mind.

Yes, I’m familiar with the Web site, all of those beautiful photo galleries of flower arrangements. Oh, and that Deco-inspired photograph with the silk gown and the old theater in Miami? I love that retro look. I was going to wear a blusher veil and antique gloves. My dress was Alençon lace with a sweetheart neckline. There were going to be Champagne grapes. It would have been perfect!

But all I said was: “Really? Great. When do I start?”

My first day, I was escorted to a small, white cubicle plastered in Tiffany blue magnets in the shape of engagement rings that read, “Weddings are all we think about, too!” I worked with tech support to set up my e-mail. Then I suffered from it. Each morning, the subject line “Brilliant Idea of the Day” loomed in my in-box. Receptions! Flowers! Registry! I made a note of the ones that made me want to cry and took pride as this number declined with each passing week.

“Make your ceremony more accessible to your guests by facing the crowd as you exchange your vows, or seating guests in a circle instead of traditional rows.” This one bothered me, even in week three — aside from being a very loose interpretation of the word “brilliant,” it reminded me that I was supposed to get married in an old gazebo. Our guests were going to surround the gazebo and we were going to stand inside, together.

What finally did it was an e-mail with a subject line reading “This Week: Well Groomed.” It said: “You’ve been dreaming of planning your wedding for years — your dress, the flowers, the cake, the ring. The fun stuff. But what about your groom? How will he look?”

It occurred to me that, for me, the almost-bride, that question would never be answered. I knew the dress, the flowers, the cake, the ring: Monique Lhuillier, wild, tiramisù, platinum. In all the images that bombarded me, day after day, he was the only part I couldn’t see. I would never know how he’d look. I might never even see him in a tuxedo again. So I did what any self-respecting woman who cries at work does. I hid in the bathroom until it stopped.

Occasionally, I got the silly idea to tell one of my colleagues my story. I always mentioned it lightly, hoping she’d laugh. But no one ever did. Instead they just looked uncomfortable, as if I had casually stated I preferred letterpress to engraving, or that I thought Vera Wang’s latest collection lacked vision.

These painful moments as the almost-bride always made me wish there was a succinct title for what I was. Brides-to-be get fiancée; brides-that-were, divorcée. I wanted an “ée.” Just a simple word to explain myself to all the Loris of the world, something to save us from the details.

Ring

Recently, the internet has been abuzz about the arrival of the 3-D printer, which now makes it possible to print objects, actual things, from your own home. Some folks are saying that it will create a manufacturing renaissance as entrepreneurial types can print their products with ease. Others are concerned with the need for regulations as it may be possible in the near future to print guns from your home. Thankfully, a recent article by Forbes.com brought the conversation back to the things that really matter — like the fact that you can now print engagement rings!

Okay, it’s not as life-altering as the ability to print guns, for sure. But, being able to press print and have an engagement ring appear, illustrates the inherent strangeness and seismic shifts that are happening in regard to the way we Millennials are approaching marriage. In general, Millennials are getting married later than previous generations. According to the Pew Research Center, just 25 percent of Millennials between the ages 18-28 have been married. Compare this to 34 percent of their Gen Xer older siblings at that age, and 48 perent of their Boomer parents. Looking at these stats, it is easy to assume, as many cultural commentators have, that marriage is on the decline and Millennials are the generation least interested in the cultural rite of passage of marriage. Yes, it’s easy to assume, but you’d be (and they are) wrong.

So what does marriage look like in the age of printed engagement rings? It’s highly customized and extremely confusing. Like Burger King orders, Millennials want to have marriage their way. They are picking and choosing traditions, utilizing modern technology, living together beforehand, getting married in barns, and eloping. One woman I know is happily married to a younger guy she met on Chatroulette. Another friend posted on Facebook that he had met a woman that morning and married her that afternoon — it took me three days to understand that it wasn’t a hoax.

Though the wedding-industrial complex may have stolen the hearts, Pinterest boards, and wallets of Millennial women, many of these same girls remain ambivalent about the actual idea of being a wife. It’s not that we aren’t ready for the commitment, we just have the most to lose. With more women in our generation seemingly opting to take their husbands’ names — they want to be team players! — they are losing their Google-able identity and the personal brand they took the time to build. And while married women make more than single women, the minute we start breeding there comes a “mothers wage penalty” where for every kid we have, we lose about 7 percent of our annual pay, according to a study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Additionally, our household chores will likely increase — according to a study by Marianne Bertrand and Emir Kamenica both of the University of Chicago, and Jessica Pan of National University of Singapore — even if the woman is the breadwinner, she will do more than her share of household chores. The reverse is not true. (Side note: I’m pretty sure men not doing the dishes just became a political statement.)

And stepping forward into the future means getting an engagement ring, right? Millennials are increasingly assuming that, like the rest of their wedding, the ring will be customized to their desires. Sure, some women still want the big diamond that shows their fiancé will be able to support them in the future. But others are working directly with jewelers on Etsy to create bespoke pieces, and still others are opting out of the whole diamond thing replacing it with a pearl or some other precious stone. Enter the ability to print a ring from your own home and suddenly you have expanded Millennials’ ability to customize the start of their marriage tenfold. Of, course the ring is just one small example, but going forward it is likely that we Millennials will increasingly use new technologies to customize every aspect of marriage. Get printing!

Officially engaged

“Bachelor” Sean Lowe is officially engaged to Catherine Giudici, and the two have decided to wait until their wedding night to get physical.

In a candid interview with People magazine, Lowe revealed that he and Giudici will wait until marriage to have sex. “From my perspective, I’ve lived life kind of selfishly for a long time,” he told the magazine. “Now, I’m going to try to live it the way I know to be right.” Lowe is a conservative Christian and has been called a “born-again virgin.” Giudici says that she has chosen to “honor him.”

Lowe’s sexual status wasn’t discussed openly on the show, but most on the “Bachelor” set knew that he was saving himself. “It’s well known in the ‘Bachelor’ circle that he doesn’t have sex,” a source who knows Lowe told the New York Daily News back in January. “But he’s so charming and so polite. It’s a different kind of show this time around because he’s super-religious. He does party, but he also does Bible readings.”

When asked about the “born-again virgin” title, Lowe told the Daily Beast, “I’m shocked. I don’t know why every tabloid feels the need to talk about it. I’ve never described myself that way.”

Still, he did admit the gossip was true. “It’s a decision that I’ve made,” he told the Daily Beast about remaining celibate. “But I don’t think it needs to be discussed on the show. That’s my personal opinion … for me, it’s a non-story.”

According to the Seattle Times, Giudici plans on moving to Los Angeles to support Lowe while he is on “Dancing with the Stars.” The bride-to-be has chosen her best friend, Crista Osher, as her Maid of Honor, but she hasn’t begun planning the nuptials yet. “I grew up a tomboy,” she said. “So I didn’t think about my wedding too much growing up.”

While no date has been set for Lowe and Giudici’s wedding, ABC has plans to air the event.

If the two do make it down the aisle, they will join the 12.4 percent of other “Bachelor” and “Bachelorette” contestants who have actually stayed together over the show’s 10-year run, WetPaint notes.

The average price of a wedding reached a new high in 2012.

TheKnot.com and WeddingChannel.com’s annual Real Weddings Study revealed that the average amount spent on a wedding in 2012 was $28,427, with couples dropping more cash than they have in the past four years on all aspects of the event.

The survey also revealed regional wedding differences, the latest bridal trends and, for the first time, same-sex wedding trends. Click through the slideshow below for some of the most interesting findings.

Brides Against Breast Cancer’s national tour stopped in Kansas City this weekend, offering wedding gowns at great prices for a spectacular cause.
Brides-to-be sifted through hundreds of wedding dresses at the Marriott on the Plaza. Many of them left with fabulous bargains.Hailey Erickson isn’t getting married until next April. But when she heard that the Brides Against Breast Cancer organization was in town, find her wedding dress moved up on her “to do” list.

A friend of her family recently lost her battle with breast cancer and this is how Erickson knew she could help
“We wanted to come down and see what it was all about. I heard there was great discounts and I got lucky and found a fabulous dress,” she told FOX 4 News.Diana Baber was married in one of the organization’s dresses four years ago.

“I ended up finding my dress which was really incredible, because I lost my aunt 11 years ago to breast cancer. And then a month and a half after we got married, my husband and I lost my father-in-law to beast cancer,” she explained.

The dress made her wedding day more meaningful.“Especially the day of when I put the dress on and was wearing it all day. It was very emotional for me. On the bottom of one of my shoes, I wore a pink ribbon sticker,” Baber recalled.

The organization donates 71 percent of the proceeds of the dress sale to provide free services for people fighting cancer — any cancer.

“Everytime we have a dress that’s bought that is money donated back. That’s an hour of free support that someone can have to help them through their journey or battle. To me, that’s the most important thing you can do,” said Brides Against Breast Cancer’s Kelsey Anderson.You wouldn’t know it, but some of these dresses are gently used and donated by women that want their memories to make a difference.

Other gowns in the sale are brand new and have been donated by designers from all over the country. The dresses are deeply discounted. It is a beautiful bargain for any bride
who feels a connection to the cause.

And the UN is worried, predicting that 140 million girls will become child brides between 2011 and 2020. That is more than 14 million girls a year it says will marry too young – some 39,000 each and every day.Furthermore, it is warning that of these, 50 million will be under the age of 15.The UN has identified 42 countries where one in three children under the age of 18 are married.
Statistics gathered over the last decade found that in both proportions and numbers, most child marriages take place in rural sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.Niger has the highest rate with 75 percent of girls marrying before the age of 18, and Bangladesh is ranked the highest in Asia – at 66 percent.
Moving down the list, more African countries feature prominently, like Mali with 55 percent and Burkina Faso with 48 percent.
Morocco is one of the countries where child marriage is on the increase.
The latest figures show the number of young girls getting married rose to 35,000 in 2010, up from 30,000 just two years before.

Rights groups are calling for a total ban on the practise, and the government looks set to bow to pressure to change a law allowing those accused of raping minors to escape punishment by marrying their young victims.Research suggests girls who get married when they are young are at greater risk from violence and health problems.

The International Centre for Research on Women says girls younger than 15 are five times more likely to die in child birth than women in their twenties, and pregnancy is now the leading cause of death for women aged 15-19 in the developing world.It adds that girls who marry before 18 are more likely to experience domestic violence and sexual abuse, and child brides affected in this way show feelings of helplessness, hopelessness and severe depression.So how old is too young to marry? And what are the reasons behind the marriage of minors?

Joining Inside Story, with presenter Jane Dutton, are guests: Kakenya Ntaiya, a former child bride, who is the founder of the Kakenya Center for Excellence – a girl’s primary school in Kenya; Sadaf Raza, from the Ideas for Life Trust – promoting, among other things, women’s rights and education; and Naomi Williams, from the global children’s charity, Plan.

The Brides’ Project is a non-profit organization founded by Helen Sweet in 2004 that offers up to 500 donated dresses at affordable prices with the proceeds go towards cancer care and research.
“We accept donated gowns from brides and salons, and new brides come here and they find the dress of their dreams and all the profits from the organization go to cancer charities,” said Sweet.Wellspring Cancer Support Network is one of the many organizations the Brides’ Project supports.

“They’ve been donors since 2010, and they’ve just recently given us a $75,000 donation for our wellness lounge,” said CEO of Wellspring Christina Smith.
Wellspring is a place where cancer patients can go to relax and feel cared for outside of the hospitals and away from the doctors.Bride to be Shannon Patterson is happy to have purchased her wedding gown at this unique bridal shop.

“It just seemed perfect with my story. My mother was recently diagnosed with cancer and she beat it,” said Patterson. “I just wanted to give back and honour my mom through wearing a dress.”The Brides’ Project has a team of 20 volunteers which have become the backbone of the organization, providing each bride with what she needs for a beautiful wedding day.

Aside from volunteering, people can support the Brides’ Project with donating or purchasing a gown. These are fairly priced at approximately half the retail value and range between $250 to $1250.
Brides even leave hand written notes in their gowns giving brides to be some warm well wishes. And this tradition is often passed along through different brides.

“Even though I don’t know a lot about her she just wished me the best on my wedding day,” said Patterson. “I won’t feel like I just bought a dress to buy a dress, I’ll feel somehow, some way, it’s making a difference.”Read it on Global News: Global Toronto | Making a Difference: The brides project.

Another employee, Jo Sykes, is also expecting a baby.”I think its amazing – Ive never known it,” said office manager Carol Anderson.”Considering we are a small firm, I cant believe how many of the staff are planning to get married or have babies – its great. And considering its the year 2013 – it doesnt seem to have put anyone off.”

New recruit Kat Page only joined the firm this week and staff were flabbergasted to learn she too had planned her dream day for this year.”I’m Pagan so we have already had our own wedding ceremony but we are planning to legally marry this year – so we get to have two celebrations,” the gushing bride-to-be said.

Father-to-be David Minchin added: “They are putting the baby boom down to the Olympics. Apparently people had that feel-good factor last year.”The firm is the sector skills council for the gas, power, waste management and water industries.

She’s more than a bride. She’s the art director of her big day.
Taking cues from show’s like TLC’s “Four Weddings” and WE TV’s “My Fair Wedding” and sites including WeddingWire, Pinterest and The Knot, modern brides focus on the details that set the scene they envision, down to hairstyle and accessories.

And when it comes to hair, this season two big bridal hair trends are buns and braids, feminine styles that create a sophisticated yet easy look.
“Brides are going beyond tradition and getting away from the strict formality to a style that still has an element of tradition but includes touches of their creativity,” says Gia Peebles, master stylist and owner of Aura Salon and Boutique  in Durham.

For instance, the thick rope braid, softer French braid and loose fishtail are being worn with a little twist, styled to one side or pinned in circles, Peebles says.Meanwhile, “the bun is a timeless look: You saw them 20 years ago and you see them today, so a bride won’t look back and say, “Why did I have that done?”

She might curl the entire head, then pin the hair up loosely so it’s not “too done.”
“A lot of the bridesmaids I’m seeing, they’re wanting a braid across the forehead and a lot like fishtail braids. Or we can leave the front down, and I pull pieces to the back and add it to the braid. It adds more interest, rather than just a plain braid.”

Some brides are choosing both hairstyles.“They might do something like a braid for their engagement photo and then half-up and half-down on their wedding day,” Navarro says. “A lot say their fiancé likes it down, so they go with half-up half-down for the ceremony.”

Hair accessories are part of the trend, too.“That takes it from everyday or ordinary,” Peebles says. “The hairstyle might be something you see every day, but it’s the accessory that elevates it to something special.”

Some popular choices are brooches for the hair, dainty headbands, hairpins adorned with beading, rhinestones or pearls, flowers (real or faux) and feathers.“Hair accessories are a necessity. Every girl has to have one,” Navarro agrees. “They can be incorporated into any hairstyle.”

Brides-to-be should heed their nagging doubts, a new study shows, as nearly one in five women with cold feet before their wedding are divorced four years later.
When people have premarital doubts they think they do not have to worry, but new research reveals newlywed wives who had niggles before taking the plunge were two and a half times more likely to divorce four years later.
Researchers studied 464 newlyweds within the first few months of marriage and conducted follow up surveys every six months for four years – average age at the time of marriage was 27 for husbands and 25 for wives.
When asked if they were ever uncertain or hesitant about getting married at the initial interview, 47 per cent of husbands and 38 per cent of wives said yes.
Although women were less likely than men to have doubts, the University of California Los Angeles researchers found their niggles were more meaningful in predicting trouble after the wedding.
Among women, 19 per cent of those who said they had pre-wedding doubts were divorced four years later, compared to eight per cent who did not have doubts, the Journal of Family Psychology study revealed.
For husbands, 14 per cent who confessed to getting cold feet were divorced four years later, compared to nine per cent who did not report having doubts.
Doctoral candidate Justin Lavner said: “People think everybody has premarital doubts and you don’t have to worry about them. We found they are common but not benign.
“Newlywed wives who had doubts about getting married before their wedding were two-and-a-half times more likely to divorce four years later than wives without these doubts.
“Among couples still married after four years, husbands and wives with doubts were significantly less satisfied with their marriage than those without doubts.
“You know yourself, your partner and your relationship better than anybody else does; if you’re feeling nervous about it, pay attention to that. It’s worth exploring what you’re nervous about.”
Doubt was a decisive factor in splitting, regardless of how satisfied the spouses were with their relationships when interviewed, whether their parents were divorced, if they lived together before the wedding and how difficult their engagement was.
In 36 per cent of couples, the husband and wife had no doubts about getting married, and of those couples, six per cent got divorced within four years.
When only the husband had doubts, ten per cent of the couples got divorced, but when only the wife had doubts, 18 per cent of couples split, and when both partners had doubts, 20 per cent of the couples got divorced.
Mr Lavner said: “What this tells us, is that when women have doubts before their wedding, these should not be lightly dismissed.
“Do not assume your doubts will just go away or that love is enough to overpower your concerns.
“There’s no evidence that problems in a marriage just go away and get better. If anything, problems are more likely to escalate.”
Professor Thomas Bradbury said: “If you see something unusual on your skin, should you ignore it and go to the beach, or see a doctor?”Be smart and don’t ignore it – and don’t ignore your doubts either.
“Have a conversation and see how it goes. Do you think the doubts will go away when you have a mortgage and two kids? Don’t count on that.”Talk about it and try to work through it. You hope that the big issues have been addressed before the wedding.”

Mum lends hers before vicar finds band in church hours after ceremony.
A WEDDING had to be put on hold mid-ceremony — after the best man lost the bride’s ring.
Matt Aubrey dropped the band shortly after the start of the marriage service for his brother Lewis, 31, and his bride Elizabeth Gray.
Guests pulled apart the flower display, lifted the carpet and removed floor grates to find it — but eventually Elizabeth’s mum offered her own wedding ring so the service could continue.
The pair wed and went on to their reception after further fruitless searching.
But Reverend Nicholas Calver later returned to his church in Redhill, Surrey, armed with a spade and spotted the ring in a crack between a step and the raised dais.
He said: “I couldn’t believe something could disappear so thoroughly.
“I was determined to find it and went back to the church in the evening. In the end there was a crack between the step and the raised dais.
“I thought it must be down there so I levered them apart with a spade to make the gap bigger, shone a torch down and saw the ring.
“I was delighted to find it.”
Rev Calver went to the reception to reunite the bride with her ring. He added: “The best man was standing outside. I poked him in the ribs and said, ‘You owe me a drink.’ He was overjoyed.
“We went in and the groom put the ring on the bride’s finger and I did the little bit about ‘take this ring’ in front of everybody.”
Bridesmaid Kelly Love, 31, of Redhill, said of the best man’s relief: “All of a sudden Matt bowled in looking really proud of himself, holding a ring in the air with the vicar behind him.
“I have never heard a noise like it. The whole place erupted. The vicar was like a hero. “Everything had been going so well when the wedding service began at the church. “The bride and groom were there on time, the weather was lovely, the church was beautiful.
“The vicar had just started the service when all of a sudden I heard this ‘pling’. I think the whole church heard it.
“The vicar turned to Matt and said, ‘Was that the ring?’. Matt said ‘yes’. At that point all eyes turned to the floor. We thought we would find it quickly and get on with the ceremony.
“But the more time that went by the more people came from the congregation to look. There were ushers lying on the floor, people lifting up carpets. We had all the grates in the church floor up. By the end we probably had about 20 people looking.”

Dubai Ladies Club, a member of Dubai Women Establishment, will host its third annual bridal extravaganza on Saturday, 24th November, 2012 from 11am – 9pm. The show will feature bridal fashion shows, extravagant gifts, raffle draws and exhibitors with a diverse selection of products and services offering the newest ideas in wedding planning. Also, a spectacular fashion show will highlight the latest trends in bridal, formalwear and floral design. Whether you have yet to hire all your wedding vendors, or have only a few left to decide upon, this event promises to inspire, inform, and indulge every one of its attendees.

Muna Bin Kalli, Executive Director of Dubai Ladies Club said, “We are pleased to bring back the Modern Bride Show for a third year. Following the success of our previous editions, we are now looking forward to putting together a show that is bigger and better for 2012. We realise that for a bride-to-be, the wedding day represents that most significant and memorable event of her life; which is why our intention behind organising this event is to create a one-of-a-kind luxe bridal show that will introduce ladies to some of the city’s best wedding organisers and businesses. Each and every facet of this year’s show will be designed with unparalleled beauty to transport you to a whole new world of taste and refinement.”

Moreover, because attention to detail, time and budget are paramount when getting ready for the big day, Dubai Ladies Club will also unveil a variety of fitness, beauty and wellness packages specially designed to meet every brides needs. Al Asalla Spa at Dubai Ladies Club will offer a special bridal spa program to help every bride prepare for her big day. The carefully designed top to toe package has been created to leave her reenergised, relaxed and looking her best for the upcoming special occasions. Similarly, The Wellness Centre at Dubai Ladies Club will offer custom designed fitness & training programs to get a bride into the shape for the big day. Complete with state-of-the-art facilities and an extensive network of professionals, Dubai Ladies Club will serve as an all-in-one bridal destination to make every bride can be look and feel her best on the most important day of her life.

The Modern Bride Exhibition and Fashion Show at Dubai Ladies Club is inviting all local wedding industry vendors to be a part of the best wedding event of the year. If your target market is the well-educated bride-to-be with discerning taste, then you have to be seen at The Modern Bride Exhibition and Fashion Show.

The show format and exhibitor layout is carefully arranged to provide exhibitors with the optimal environment to demonstrate their products and interact with brides in a personalized, relaxing manner.

Categories include:

Couturiers and designers.

Florists and stylists.

Hair and make-up.

Cakes.

Catering.

Chocolates.

Bridal showers.

Honeymoon destinations.

Invites.

Jewellers.

Musicians and emcees.

Photographers.

Post-wedding services.

Wedding Decor Specialists.

Reception venues.

Souvenirs.

Videographers.

Exhibitor rates begin from AED 4,000 for a promotional booth (3×2 metres) and AED 8,000 for a fashion show slot for local and international bridal designers; inclusive of hair and makeup, models, setup, stage & professional choreography. There are also sponsorship opportunities available for presenters, major sponsors, and minor sponsors.

The Plumed Serpent Bridal, a bridal shop at 295 Post Road East, is slated to be featured tonight on the TLC reality program, “I Found the Gown.” The program will be shown on the cable television network at 10 p.m.
The show is hosted by Rick and Leslie DeAngelo, owners of Vows Bridal Outlet, who travel around the country to visit bridal salons, close-outs, back rooms, liquidations, factories and warehouses to find the right dress for all kinds of brides and budgets.
Alison Fischer, the owner, has experience in the New York City fashion world with brands like Nicole Miller and Ralph Lauren, and took over the former prom-dress shop in Westport about a decade ago. In 2007, she renovated the space and expanded it by 1,800 square feet, according to a news release.
Design labels in her shop, which carries bridal gowns, bridesmaids’ dresses, dresses for other occasions and accessories, include Monique Lhuillier, Oscar de la Renta, Temperley London, Caroline Castigliano and Elizabeth Fillmore, among others.
In addition to bridal gown trunk shows, the shop hosts regular shows highlighting designer accessories and couture accents exclusive to Plumed Serpent brides. Interested brides must RSVP in advance for trunk show and designer events by calling 203-226-9868.
Shop hours, by appointment only, are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Brides-to-be in a Scottish company are in the midst of their own “Bride Wars” as three colleagues plan to tie the knot within a fortnight of each other.Almost half the staff at Roselle Events in Edinburgh are either newly wed or eagerly awaiting the big day.
Two of the company’s 11 staff are even planning to marry on the same day in separate ceremonies.The dates, in August and September next year, leave colleagues with a tricky choice over where to attend.
Roselle Events’ sister company Thirty Eleven Seventy plans luxurious weddings for clients.
Managing Director Charlotte McIntosh, 30, said: “Our office is wedding fever at the moment with more than half my staff either getting married or having just been married.
“We are all sharing tips and ideas with each other which is great, but I suppose you don’t want to give too much away about your big day as you want it to be a surprise for everyone.”Charlotte and Business Development manager Amanda Kirk, 28, will both get married on the same day in August, and senior events manager Rebecca Williams will walk down the aisle two weeks later.
All three ladies will be taking notes from Tiffany Sharp, another member of the team who tied the knot this summer.
Charlotte added: “Amanda and I are getting married on the same day which we still can’t believe is happening.
“We just keep joking to the girls in the office about who’s going to whose wedding, even saying they should split their time between the two.”
Amanda said: “We are all definitely getting into the spirit of weddings not only chatting to each other about ideas but drawing inspiration from Thirty Eleven Seventy’s plans for some amazing weddings it is planning over the next few months.”
Charlotte is getting married on her parent’s farm in Banchory in a marquee while Amanda will marry at historic Errol Park between Perth and Dundee.Rebecca heads abroad for her nuptials to Tuscany in Italy, where she will be joined by her family and friends.

I’m getting married soon, and I still haven’t decided on my makeup. What are the latest trends I can follow?
When it comes to weddings, the only requirement is that the bride should look fresh and beautiful. Trends may come and go, but it is usually the tried-and-tested looks that endure as brides seek to look their best on their big day.
Just like wedding gowns, where the most popular designs are still the classic and the traditional, makeup remains conventional, immaculate and radiant. If you think about it, we may already have bridal makeup down to a tee. What we usually see on the bride is the typical blooming, blushing makeup with matching carnation pink lips.
As much as we love this type of makeup, we tend to forget there are many other looks that are equally gorgeous. The cookie-cutter bridal makeup works, but it shouldn’t be the only option out there.
Once in a while, we must go beyond the conventional and try a look that is modern and more suited to our personality.
I didn’t have to go far in search of the latest bridal makeup trends. Last Wednesday was Face-Off Filipino Bridal Collection 2012, staged by Inquirer Lifestyle, Look Magazine and Samsung, at Dusit Thani Manila Grand Ballroom. The bridal fashion show and exhibit featured 38 of the country’s top designers. Makeup and hair were done by MAC Cosmetics, Jing Monis Salon, Schrwarzkopf, Osis and F&H Salon.
The fashion show was absolutely breathtaking, as designers showcased their best bridal designs, complete with accessories. Some models carried bouquets, others walked the runway with their “groom.” Makeup looked clean and beautiful, but the show offered other variations that stuck to this year’s trends.

TLC’s hit series RANDY TO THE RESCUE – which premiered in June 2012 – has been renewed for a second season. Season two is slated to premiere in May 2013 with 10 hour-long episodes. Season one premiere episodes averaged 1.4M P2+ viewers.
In each episode of RANDY TO THE RESCUE, bridal guru Randy Fenoli makes brides’ fantasies come true as he goes off the runway and behind the wheel of a big rig – to bring his favorite gowns, his unsurpassed dress knowledge, and his signature “head-to-hem” styling approach to brides around the country. As Randy visits different cities, he creates the ultimate trunk shows and dishes out his top tips on bridal style, do’s and don’ts, and the hottest trends for the season. From dresses and accessories to makeup and hair, he offers the complete look from head-to-hem for lucky brides-to-be.
Inside each space created by The Wedding Guys, Randy has a team of consultants from local bridal salons in each city, working various fitting stations, to help each bride find the perfect dress.
In season one, Randy visited Dallas, San Diego, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Nashville, Cincinnati, Boston, and Minneapolis. Season two will feature 10 all-new cities.
RANDY TO THE RESCUE is produced by Half YaRD Productions for TLC.

About TLC
TLC is a global brand that celebrates extraordinary people and relatable life moments through innovative nonfiction programming. A top 10 cable network in key female demos, TLC has built successful franchises around the Cake Boss and Say Yes to the Dress brands. In 2011, TLC had 28 series averaging 1.0 million P2+ viewers or more including Sister Wives, My Strange Addiction, Extreme Couponing, Toddlers & Tiaras, 19 Kids and Counting, What Not To Wear and Long Island Medium.
TLC is available in more than 99 million homes in the US and more than 227 million households in nearly 150 markets internationally. A destination online, TLC.com offers in-depth fan sites, exclusive video content, and original editorial covering style, home, food, and more. Fans can also interact with TLC via On Demand services, on mobile platforms, including an iPhone App, and through social media such as Facebook or @TLC on Twitter. TLC is part of Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA,DISCB, DISCK), the world’s number one nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in 209 countries and territories.

When it comes to wedding cakes, the creators at Holland’s Second Floor Bakery say brides are looking for the trappings of elegant romance: ruffles, textures and pure white cakes.
But as the business gears up for next weekend’s Fall Bridal Show of West Michigan, it’s preparing displays for every taste from extravagant dessert buffets to faux cakes for couples on a budget.
The bakery’s cake galleries will be on display during both days of the Sept. 21-22 expo at DeVos Place in downtown Grand Rapids.
Brides-to-be can get a feel for what suits them by browsing a selection of real and fake cakes.
Kaylee Glass, marketing director of Second Floor Bakery, said faux cakes are an option for brides planning a small wedding yet still want an elegant cake for photos. The top tier is real and a sheet cake is cut in the kitchen to serve to guests.
Because dessert buffets are becoming more popular, three dessert stations will also be featured at the expo, Glass said.
The drama couture station will showcase everything chocolate, a fruit station will display colorful desserts such as lemon bars and tarts, and the vintage station will provide a romantic take on desserts, such as mini cupcakes paired with champagne shooters.
Glass said personal desserts can accompany a tiered cake and be used as the wedding favor.
“The variety allows guests to at least find one thing that they like,” she said.
And Second Floor Bakery hasn’t forgotten about the men. Five groom-themed cakes, including superhero, military and hunting designs, will be featured. Sometimes presented to the groom as surprise from the bride, the smaller cake is a way to cut loose from tradition.”It makes the groom feel he’s included, too,” Glass said.
A particularly impressive groom’s cake idea came to the bakery from University of Michigan and Michigan State University alumni. The cake was designed as a stadium with the bride and groom facing off on the football field, and their dog was the referee.
“Weddings are all about the fact that there’s no rules anymore,” Glass said
And if brides are ever short of ideas, Pinterest has made it easy for them to find inspiration. Brides often ask designers at Second Floor Bakery to create their cake based off photos they found on the content sharing website. Lately, brides have been asking for cakes with textures.
“The vintage romantic feel with the ruffles and textures is what’s up and coming,” Glass said. “It’s back to simple, elegant romance.”
The fall bridal show is one of three seasonal wedding expos hosted by Kohler Expos. Other exhibits at the event will feature bridal vendors, planning ideas and runway fashion shows.

Not only brides-to-be called in at the Brigg Wedding Fayre in the Angel Suite on Sunday; some grooms of the near future also put in an appearance.Other people without a happy event on the horizon just went along to enjoy the free event.
Brigg Town Council, which manages the Angel Suite community facility, held a Wedding Fayre in the spring and it proved so successful that a second one followed on Sunday, co-ordinated by venue manager, Karen Deeley.
All sorts of specialists offering a wide range of wedding-related services attended the event, which ran from 10am to 4pm.
Brigg Town Council makes the Angel Suite available for post-wedding get-togethers.

If  Saudi brides are allowed to drive, it will lead to them having premarital sex, a report to a high-level advisory group claims, according to a rights activist.

The ultra-conservative stance suggests increasing pressure on King Abdullah to retain the kingdom’s male-only driving rules. Waleed Abu Alkhair said the report, by Kamal Subhi, an academic, was sent to the Shura Council, which advises the monarchy. It claims that letting Saudi brides drive threatens the Saudi tradition of virgin brides.

Saudi brides have staged several protests defying the driving ban, while the king has promised some reform, including letting women vote in municipal elections in 2015.

Brides les Bains, the traditional small town resort below Méribel in the 3 Valleys has come up with a number of special enticements to attract skiers and boarders to stay there rather than slopeside up in the mountains.

By taking the Olympe gondola lift – which was built for the Albertville Olympics 20 years ago – from Brides-les-Bains, skiers arrive at the foot of the slopes in Méribel, from where they have immediate access to 150kms of ski runs in the Meribel Valley alone and of course 600km in the full 3 Valleys.

Beginners will love the gentle slopes of la Chaudanne, whilst freestylers will enjoy the Moon Park with its many jumps and terrain features. Then at the end of the day there’s a long ski run back to les Allues for a shorter ride back down to Brides-les-Bains.

The downside is that Brides-les-Bains is not ‘slopeside’ like Meribel or the other altitude resorts so it is working hard to offer inducements to those who don’t mind the long gondola ride up and down if there are other benefits.
Perhaps the biggest one is price:

“Brides-les-Bains title of leading ski resort for low cost skiing is confirmed by offering accommodation prices that are up to 50% lower than those found in high altitude resorts.” Says a resort statement, which continues,

“But in Brides, low cost doesn’t mean low quality. The majority of the hotels and apartment residences offer spacious bedrooms, as well as well-being facilities such as spas, Jacuzzis and swimming pools…so that you can get the utmost out of your stay.”

There are some practical benefits too. Every morning, breakfast is available for free in the Olympe gondola so you can enjoy a cup of coffee or a hot chocolate to gently ease you into the day.

In addition Wednesdays are the day when there are extra low prices in the shops, bars and restaurants around the resort and on Mondays new arrivals in Brides can enjoy a friendly welcome to get their stay off on the right foot, with music and mulled wine.

Twenty people were arrested Wednesday in connection to trafficking Eastern European and Russian Woman in New York City.

Russian Woman were allegedly forced to dance at strip clubs and marry men in Binghamton, N.Y.  The defendants are accused of getting fake visas and work permits for the women.

Those accused include five Queens residents and three Brooklyn residents.

The defendants face charges for marriage and visa fraud, racketeering, harboring illegal immigrants, as well as, extortion and transporting illegal immigrants.

The Cheetah Club in Midtown, Gallagher’s in Long Island City and the Rouge Adult Club in Maspeth, Queens were involved with bringing Eastern European women to the U.S. illegally for marriage fraud, according to officials.

“Today’s arrests brings to an end a 10-year criminal enterprise operated by colluding organized crime entities that profited wildly through a combination of extortion, visa fraud and the threat of violence,” immigration special agent James Hayes said. “As alleged, the defendants controlled their business and protected their turf through intimidation, violence and threats of physical and economic harm. Today, that business model has been extinguished.”

Russian runway siren, green-eyed supermodel Anne V has had to abstain from her fave food – fruit – entirely, to get her washboard stomach ready for the latest Victoria’s Secret fashion show in New York.

­The strict diet lasted three weeks, but the result proved mind-blowing.

The leggy blonde beauty showed off not only a flat stomach to die for, but also her fun-loving boyfriend Adam Levine, frontman and guitarist for the pop rock band Maroon 5.

The American singer and his “Russian angel” took the stage by storm as Levine performed Moves Like Jagger live, while the seductive models unveiled tiny Victoria’s Secret pieces on the catwalk.

In fact, Levine recently owned up that he is a big fan of nudity. The latest Russian edition of Vogue features Levine and his sexy girlfriend posing stark naked.

25-year-old Anne Vyalitsina, known simply as Anne V, recently appeared in several videos for Maroon 5, including Misery and Never Gonna Leave This Bed. She met her charismatic beau last year, when the band performed at the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition release party.

The bombshell made her name as one of the most sought-after Russian models, known for causing a splash in her appearances in the popular Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

Russian brides supermodel Natalia Vodianova has earned herself a place on a list of the most stylish Brits.
“Harpers Bazaar” magazine listed the 29-year-old Russian as Britain’s 12th best-dressed woman of 2011.
Russian brides Vodianova lives and works predominantly in the UK, hence her qualifying for the list.
The magazine says she is defined by her combination of innocence and sex appeal.
Number one on the list was Kate Middleton, followed by Florence Welch of “Florence and the Machine” and up-and-coming actress Andrea Riseborough.
Dubbed the “Russian Cinderella” by the media, Natalya Vodianova is widely known for her “rags-to-riches” story. Brought up in an extremely poor family with a disabled sister, Vodianova enrolled in a modeling academy at the age of 15 and has gradually become one of the world’s highest paid and most successful supermodels.

For the first time in the Open era (since 1968), four Russian girls have advanced to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament. Fourth-round winners included second seed and defending champ Russian girls Maria Sharapova, No. 5 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 8 seed Nadia Petrova and No. 9 seed Anastasia Myskina.

All but Russian girls Petrova won majors last year: Sharapova at Wimbledon, Myskina at the French Open and Kuznetsova at the U.S. Open. It’s the fifth time in the last six majors that at least three of the eight quarterfinalists hailed from the former Soviet Union. With Sharapova and Petrova facing off in the next round, as many as three could reach the semifinals, which would be another first.
Fashion statement: Venus Williams, no stranger to fashion, is big on scarves. The 14th-seeded American strode into her news conference after beating compatriot Jill Craybas 6-0, 6-2 with a colorful wrap around her head that dangled down to her waist.
“I love scarves mostly because I don’t like to comb my hair that much,” explained the 25-year-old American, who joked her Medusa-like curls could “turn you all to stone right now.”
“My hair is kind of hard to comb, it’s so curly and crazy. Other than that, I’m just a scarf collector. This is my longest one.”
Williams couldn’t say how many were in her collection. That’s because her sisters are always making off with her favorites.
“I had four scarves lifted that I just bought,” she said, “so now I have to change the location because I always have some really nice ones.”
More Martina: Martina Navratilova is in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, in doubles. The nine-time Wimbledon singles champion advanced to the final eight Monday when she and partner Anna-Lena Groenefeld beat Shinobu Asagoe and Katarina Srebotnik 6-3, 6-3. Navratilova, who has 31 Grand Slam doubles titles to go along with 18 in singles and nine in mixed doubles, will face Vera Douchevina and Shahar Peer.

U.S. federal agents arrested on Thursday 20 members of a criminal gang that allegedly smuggled women from Russia and Eastern Europe to work at local strip clubs, the New York Post said, quoting prosecutors.

Charges brought against the suspected criminals include visa fraud, marriage fraud and conspiracy to transport illegal immigrants, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara was quoted as saying.

The criminal gang is believed to have provided women to owners and operators of strip clubs in Queens and Long Island, and then charged the clubs “protection” money, the report said.

“The defendants procured and sent these women false job offers for waitressing and other positions they would then include on their visa applications,” federal prosecutors were quoted as saying in a statement. “However, once the women arrived in the U.S., they worked as exotic dancers at the strip clubs, in violation of visa rules prohibiting employment in the adult entertainment industry.”

The suspected criminals are expected to appear in court later in the day.

U.S. authorities say they have broken up a Mafia-related operation that lured Russian women  and other Eastern European countries and forced them to work as dancers at New York City strip clubs.
Authorities said 20 men were charged on November 30 in connection with the bust, including seven purported members of organized crime groups.
U.S. prosecutors said members of the Gambino and Bonnano organized crime families were among those detained.
Prosecutors say the arrests are aimed at shutting down an operation that recruited women in Russia and other European countries and arranged for many of them to enter into sham marriages with U.S. citizens so they could stay in America and work as exotic dancers at adult entertainment clubs.
U.S. Homeland Security Department official James Hayes said the arrests “bring to an end a long-standing criminal enterprise operated by colluding organized crime entities that profited wildly through a combination of extortion and fraud.”
He said the defendants used intimidation and threats of physical and economic harm to implement their scheme.

­The European Curling Championships gets underway in Moscow on Saturday, with the Russian women’s team considered among the favorites.

“There will be a lot of their friends and relatives among the crowd supporting,” Olga Andriyanova, Russia’s coach, told RT. “And who knows how that will affect their performance. I believe, they will manage to handle that emotional pressure and fulfill our task.  We want to win, and we are ready to make this come true.”

“I have always tried to do more than just coach to them. I’ve been guiding them, bringing them up. And I am very pleased with the way they are now. They have grown up, become wiser. Their talent and skills are now backed up with vast experience. Now they have patience and mental stability which is extremely important in curling,” she added.

Russia’s skip at two winter Olympics, Russian women’s Lyudmia Privivkova, is one of the most experienced members of the team.

Officially ranked among the most beautiful athletes at the Vancouver Games, the 25-year old believes, home walls will inspire the team.

“We will compete on home ice and this is extra responsibility for us,” she said. “All eyes will be on our team. Fans will be supporting us and we will be giving our all to make them happy, along with our coaches and management. Plus the popularity of the sport in Russia is a function of our success.  So there’s definitely some pressure on us.”

“On the other hand, we believe that home walls will help us. ًMost often we perform away, with our opponents getting cheered on by their supporters. We’ve been missing that feeling. That’s why we’re looking forward to playing at home,” Privivkova added.

Kira Ezekh has gone through three Olympics and is looking at the upcoming event with confident anticipation.

“Responsibility, pressure – there’s nothing wrong with that,” she said. “In return everything will be so familiar to us. Russian native speakers all around. Support. That will be great!”

Meanwhile, the team’s new skip, Anna Sidorova, has just taken the leading role this year.

“Yes, I’ve become the new skip of our team, but I’m far from being obsessed with it,” she stressed. “I just play. It’s my job and it’s my life. It doesn’t matter much for me which position I play in. I just want to give my best for the team’s performance.”

Regardless of the result in Moscow, the girls from the curling team are one of Russia’s biggest hopes in winter sport at any event and they deserve to be in the spotlight, especially, in their homeland.