Jan Harney's blog

Yes I know the song lyrics are actually "Always a Bridesmaid, never a Bride," but our Book Club opted to read an autobiography this time and (because I'm a Vicar of Dibley fan) I suggested Dawn French's book 'Dear Fatty'.

It's very easy to read because she has written her memoirs in the form of letters to various characters in her life, but one of the things that jumped out at me was her desperate desire to be a bridesmaid... read more »

If the words 'Marriage Preparation' have you running for the hills, then let me encourage you to reconsider. One of the best ways to make sure someone doesn’t fall at the first fence in any walk of life is to train and prepare for it - to sit and think about worse possible scenarios while they are only hypothetical, and plan how you might deal with that situation. read more »

This might not be a good time to sing the praises of Barcelona, and not all of you will feel remotely like blessing their football team... but we've just returned from a wedding in that fabulous vibrant city and I have to say that they have a superb idea of how to have a celebrity style wedding without breaking the bank! Interested? read more »

I read recently that an airline wants to offer in-flight weddings. They are calling it the 'Mile High weddings club'. I can't see it catching on. There's no room for a meringue dress in the gangway let alone for the Father-of-the-Bride to walk alongside. And what if you run into turbulence? Who in their right mind wants to say their vows amidst a rustle of sick-bags? read more »

One of our most popular leaflets at Wedding Shows is the 'Suggested Hymns and Readings'. It's really difficult to choose appropriate hymns (my husband wanted 'We Plough the Fields and Scatter', and 'Fight the Good Fight!'. But I heard one today that made me chuckle. read more »

Last night - awaiting the arrival of my daughter, Kate, at Liverpool Airport - I was reminded of that fantastic airport scene at the beginning of the film "Love Actually". All around me people were hugging, but I couldn't take my eyes off a handsome young guy holding a single red rose behind his back and I was determined to stay and be nosy, in spite of my husband's protestations that we'd get charged more in the car park. read more »

Is it just me, or is the whole dating thing becoming Big Business? I suppose in years gone by there were the Lonely Hearts columns with code like GSOH and NS to decipher. But now there are a whole host of websites willing to advertise you for £20 a month. read more »

The Bible is full of very potent sayings, and one that sprung to mind this week is: “A nagging wife is like a dripping tap”. You’d think a self-employed builder would be able to sort out his own ‘dripping tap’, especially if they’d only been married a year. But 38 year old Garry Bates decided to simply advertise his wife, Donna, for sale in Trade-it magazine, along with some of his fishing tackle. read more »

As a firm believer that we should re-invent ourselves at regular intervals, I’ve recently embarked on a career change - running a ‘Confidence and Self-esteem’ course for Adult Learners. Today I had ‘tutor observation,’ and the feedback report says that I know my stuff but spent too much of the hour talking. Gutted!

My husband will probably joke that they got off lightly with an hour – after all he’s lived with that problem for 35 years - but clearly I’ll need to learn from this when I’ve stopped sulking into my coffee. read more »

I was intrigued by a comment that popped up on the side of my computer screen this morning saying “Adultery is not the end of marriage.” The link led to an American MSNBC news article about a website called Ashley Maddison, which is causing a few ripples across The Pond. The website is the brainchild of Noel Biderman, an American businessman who is making a crock of gold out of a crock of … Well, out of promoting serial infidelity. Enough said. read more »