A French bride was arrested at her wedding reception in 1995 for stabbing her new husband with the knife they had just used to cut the wedding cake.

The term “best man” dates back to the times when Scotsmen kidnapped their future brides. The friend of the groom who had excelled at the abduction was acclaimed to be the best man.

All of Henry VIII’s wives were related to each other.

Between 1949 and 1981, one man notched up 104 bigamous marriages in 15 countries. The bigamist – who used so many aliases that nobody knew what to charge his as - was finally brought to justice in 1983 and sentenced to 34 years in jail.

A Mexico City couple got married in 1969 after an engagement lasting 67 years. Both were 82 when they finally took the plunge.

Every day, 26,000 couples get married in China.

Prior to the 20th century, Egyptian men preferred not to deflower their brides personally. Instead they hired a servant to undertake the chore.

When ever movie star Joan Crawford changed husbands, she changed all the toilet seats in the house.

The people of the Czech Republic throw peas at weddings instead of rice. And Italians throw sugared almonds.

The wedding tradition in Greece is to write the names of all the bride’s unmarried female friends and relatives on the sole of her shoe. After the wedding, the shoe is examined and those whose names have been worn off are said to be next in line for a journey up the aisle.