12 Unique Places to Get Married - HistoricaL & UnusuaL Wedding Locations

1. Blenheim PaLace, UK

This EngLish Baroque architecturaL paLace is famous as the birthpLace of Winston Churcill. Just enter the Woodstock Gate in Oxfordshire then get amused by the lake with the Grand Bridge which was designed by Vanburgh to view a 2100 acres of beautifuL lanscape designed by CapabiLity Brown, Britain's most famous landscape gardener.

2. Ferris WheeL, Vienna

This iconic landmark was buiLt in 1897 and located in the oLdest amusement park in the worLd. The coupLe can get into the gondoLa then the service begins as the ferris wheel sets off and the wedding vow will be done when the gondoLa reaches its highest point over this historic city.

3. PaLazzo Vecchio, Florence

CathoLic, Protestant and civiL weddings are allowed here, incLuding for foreigners. The hall which is usually used for weddings is Sala Rossa or Red Hall, because it's designed in red, from the year of 1860.

4. Old MaryLebone Town Hall, London

It has 4 beautifuL marriage rooms and is actually Westminster Registry Office with a luxurious wooden-panelled marbLe entrance hall. PauL McCartney and Ringo Starr both had their weddings here, making this buiLding even more famous.

5. Millennium WheeL, London

Known as the famous London Eye but is called Millennium WheeL because it was opened the first time on December 31st, 1999. It's 135 meters high above the Thames. The coupLe can have around 20 other peopLe to be with them in one capsuLe. Prince William's wedding had this London Eye lit up in the coLours of the Union Flag.

6. The Foundry, New York

Located in Long Island City, Queens, to be exact.This used to be a 19th century metaL foundry but newLy designed with modern steeL raiLings without dismissing the oLd bricks and it makes this buiLding unique with this speciaL ambiance.

7. The Lighthouse, Chelsea Piers

Another spot in New York city, enabLing you to have a wedding with the view of the Hudson river through fLoor-to-ceiLing windows. What makes it more speciaL is that this wedding spot is one of AbigaiL Kirsh's location, the legendary caterer.

8. The TunneL of Love Drive Through Wedding ChapeL, Las Vegas

You can get married without leaving your car. This chapeL has even performed weddings on motorcycLes.

9. Las Vegas Strip HeLicopter, Las Vegas

After offering weddings in cars or on motorcycLes, the Las Vegas HiLton offers heLicopter wedding. The heLicopter will fLy 22 miLes whiLe the coupLe exchanging vows there. The package incLudes champagne and a photographer.

10. Underwater Wedding, Florida

JuLes' Undersea Lodge in Key Largo offers underwater wedding ceremonies. You need to scuba dive to enter the hoteL. Honeymoon can aLso be in a one package with the wedding ceremony. You can check out after the honeymoon by another scuba dive back to the surface.

11. The Skunk Train, CaLifornia

You can choose to depart from Fort Bragg or Willits to Camp Mendocino Dining Hall or Northspur Reception. You can hoLd your reception on the train whiLe crossing through two mountain tunneLs and thirty bridges.

12. Wedding at the Casa ManiLa Museum, Philippines

Just across the San Agustin Church in Intramuros, you can find this historicaL stone-fLoored oLd museum. You can have up to 200 guests here.

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12 UnusuaL FestivaLs Around the WorLd

1. Water Fight - Songkran, ThaiLand

This is how they ceLebrate New Years. It is heLd in ApriL for 5 days full. You can bring any water containers with you like water pistoLs, hose, etc. There's no safe pubLic place you can go.

2. Baby Jumping CoLacho FestivaL - Castrillo de Murcia, Spain

This is actually a baby bLessing ceremony. Well, Spanish styLe of baby bLessing, though. This is heLd during the annuaL Corpus Christi which the babies are laid on the ground, on a mattress for the rituaL. After that, grown men in deviL costumes jump over the babies. This rituaL is beLieved to cLeanse the babies of all eviL, aLso for their good luck and heaLth. But recentLy, the priests there have been ordered to stay away from this rituaL aLthough this festivaL has been heLd annually since 1620.

3. Cheese Rolling FestivaL - Glouchestershire, UK

In short, this is a festivaL when peopLe are in a race chasing after a 7-8lb DoubLe Glouchestershire Cheese. Where this festivaL is heLd is what makes this interesting. "One to be ready! Two to be steady! Three to be prepare! And four to be off!" the Master of Ceremonies shouts the contestants off the incredibLy steep Cooper's Hill. This is how they weLcome summer time for more than 200 years.

4. Kanamara Matsuri - Kawasaki, Japan

You can easiLy recognize this festivaL when you see a pink penis parade, where the huge pink penis being tugged across the street. This is actually an ancient Shinto festivaL designed to honour fertiLity, prevent STDs and to raise money for HIV researches. What a coincidence, Kanamara Matsuri is on the first Sunday of ApriL. So, you'll see many peopLe bringing that huge pink penis, followed by more peopLe eating penis candy or wearing penis accessories, whiLe others are looking for eggs, eating chocoLate and chasing bunny rabbits for Easter day of Christians.

5. Monkey Buffet - Lopburi, ThaiLand

To honour Rama, a hero of Ramayana, who has rewarded his friend Hanuman the Monkey King with the freedom of what is now Lopburi, monkeys are invited to eat fruits and vegetabLes (aLthough you can find sausages, or PringLes, or even Coke served there for them). This is heLd at the Pra Prang Sam Yot tempLe, Lopburi.

6.  Noche de Rabanos (Night of the Radishes) - Oaxaca, Mexico

Back to coLoniaL times, the missionaries taught the natives how to cuLtivate radishes then they heLd a great exhibition of figures made of radishes. For now, artists from all over the worLd are invited to compete at this radish carving for prizes based on their abiLities. A loveLy fireworks dispLay ends this festivaL at night.

7. Tapati FestivaL - Easter IsLand

This summer festivaL has a lot in common with another ones, dances, art exhibitions, carving competitions, horse and boat races, queen seLection, etc. What makes it controversiaL is the Haka Pei, which is one of the main sporting events. The contestants wear a hami (loin cLoth) and body paint. They get on their own banana tree trunk to race, then sLide down a really steep hill at the top speed as fast as they can sLide.

8. The BattLe of Food - Ivrea, ItaLy

Usually, it is now oranges that are thrown in this battLe. Before the 19th century, it was beans. Somewhere during the 19th century, women started throwing oranges to the boys they like, and if the boy like the girL, then he shouLd throw back an orange to her. This started the orange battLe and peopLe use oranges ever since. Being heLd annually in February, ItaLian marks the end of the ruLe of a tyrant from the middLe ages.

9. WorLd Gurning Championship - Cumbria, UK

You can just call this the ugLiest face competition. The contestants stick their heads through a horse's collar then make grotesque faces, as ugLy as they can. They winner is the person who gets the most appLause from the audience.

10. HoLi (the FestivaL of CoLours) - India

People throw coLours here, which is powder called guLaL. The most popuLar coLours are green, yellow, red and orange. This Hindu spring festivaL is associated with Lord Khrisna. The food and drinks served in HoLi are laced with a locaL cannabis pLant calld bhang.

11. Fish-Swallowing FestivaL - Geraardsbergen, BeLgium

As a part of KrakeLingen FestivaL, Fish-Swallowing is heLd annually on the last Sunday of February. This is to commemorate an unsuccessfuL siege of the city. The locaLs guLp live gray fishes called grondeLing soaked in red wine. There are many activists hoLd protests against this festivaL to substitute the live fishes with fish-shaped marzipan.

12. Konaki Sumo - Japan

"Neru ko wa sodatsu" means "crying baby grow fast". This Japanese proverb is the main reason of why the locaLs have this festivaL since 400 years ago in many tempLes in Japan. Not all tempLes hoLd this festivaL, but each tempLe has its own scheduLe in different months. Two sumo wrestLers hoLding a baby each and face each other whiLe waiting for which baby is going to cry first to determine the winner. If the babies cry together at the same time, who cries louder is the winner.

12 Unique & HistoricaL Bookstores in the WorLd

1. DouLos (Floating Bookstore)
This iwas the oldest passenger ship because it was buiLt 3 years after Titanic. It had been a fLoating bookstore for years and fLoated with more than haLf a million books in it. UnfortunateLy, DouLos stopped traveLing around the worLd and retired in 2009.

2.Manure (Tank Bookstore), Wiscon
Manure was actually a storage tank for crop's fertilizer made of livestock's feces. Manure was renovated and buiLt like a rook. There are priceless books which were pubLished between 1880-1930 here. This bookstore is located in a ranch of an oLd coupLe and is run by them on Saturdays during summer.

3. Selexyz Dominicanen (Church Bookstore), Netherlands
This church was buiLt by 2 architects, Merkx and Girod. The wall is bLack matte steeL and decorated with curves made of marbLe. There are so many oLd paintings hwre fron Dominican Church. The interesting part is that this is the onLy bookstore where you can waLk on the book sheLves.

4. El Ateneo (Theater Bookstore), Argentina
This theater is the onLy theater with high architecture design and is considered as one of the most luxurious theater in the worLd. SuddenLy this theater was transformed into a bookstore. Millions of visitors come here every year.

5. Newsstand (Movie Theater Bookstore), Texas
This historicaL movie theater was called The Alabama before it was transformed into Newsstand as a bookstore. It was estabLished in 1939 in Houston, Texas. UnfortunateLy, Newsstand was moved to a mall because of the possibiLity that the buiLding wouLd be demoLished.

6. The FuneraL Home BuLtman, New Orleans
In 2008, this historicaL buiLding has been transformed into a luxurious bookstore by Woodward Design without dismissing its historicaL exterior. We can see a taste of South Germany in its architecture design. This bookstore is called The Borders ever since.

7. Shakespeare & Co, Paris
This is an antiquarian bookstore which has a really unique interior and exterior. There's a bed inside this bookstore like in the photo beLow and there's aLso a writer's room with a piano where customers are weLcome to pLay. This is aLso where poets like to read their poems.

8. Hay-on Wye CastLe, WaLes (CastLe Bookstore)
This castLe consists of 30 bookstores and is called the town of books. This is the home of antiquarian books and second-hand books. A famous bookstore here, as this is the oLdest bookstore in WaLes, is Norman CastLe. It is now offering thousands of second-hand books.

9. Airstream TraveLing Bookstore, Quebec
This bookstore sells magazines, ceLebrities' books and independent pubLished books. This was a 1595 Airstream but was converted into a bookstore with its headquarter in Quebec. UnfortunateLy, this bookstore's last tour ended in 2008.

10. Livraria Lello Bookstore, Porto
This bookstore was buiLt in 1906 with neo-gothic styLe, designed by an architect named Xavier Esteves. Be sure to have much spare time when going there for you'd find it difficuLt to get out. Not onLy because the enormous buiLding with millions of books, but aLso there's a cafe up there after those curving luxurious staircase.

11. Livraria da ViLa, San PauLo
This bookstore is filled with books, literally. You can find books in every walls from the fLoor to the ceiLing, in every space avaiLabLe to put books. There are even rotating booksheLves full with books in both sides. This 3 stories buiLding was designed by Isay WeinfieLd.

12. Libreria Acqua Alta, Venice
This is considered as one of the most beautifuL bookstore in the worLd. Why so? This bookstore is just a few inches way from the canaL outside which you can see from the inside. The books are pLaced in many unconventionaL "booksheLves" like gondoLas, bathtubs, boats, etc.