The February issue of Pink, out with tomorrow’s The Sunday Times of Malta just before Valentine’s Day, features weddings that have broken the rules and been anything but traditional; websites designed to make their preparation a piece of cake; and love in various shapes and forms.

From children’s crushes and how to help them cope, to the story of a Maltese woman who relocated to Africa with her Ghanaian husband and daughter – leaving her eldest from her first marriage behind – Pink looks at the good, the bad and the ugly side of love.

Brides in black and crimson, veering off from the typical white wedding, or wearing cowboy boots, instead of stilettos, dance the night away to the beat of the heavy metal and country music that have dictated the themes of their big day.

How couples first met and why they actually stick together is also the subject of The Virginia Monologues, while this month’s recipe is a chocolate and mint tart, ideal for a Valentine’s dessert.

Meanwhile, fashion finally gets more than a pop of colour in the February issue, which sets the stage for the next season, bringing in the brights and blocking out the backs.

Pink is Malta’s leading women and fashion monthly magazine, produced and published by Allied Newspapers Ltd.