When you’re planning a wedding, you don’t want to forget the gift table. Not only will this be covered with your presents and money gifts, but it will also be out in the open. And although you don’t want to think that anything could happen, you might want to put a few precautions in place.
Better to be safe
The gift table is best kept safe by being out in the open, where everyone can see it. You might want the deejay next to it, or at least nearby, because people will be going up that way all evening.
However, you also want to keep the gift table somewhere where your guests can find it to deposit their gifts or cards. A nice slit top box works well for cards (maybe you could put a locked tin inside so that no one can peek except you) and a card table with a table cloth is fine for the wrapped gifts.
You may also want to have the guest registry next to the gift table so that you have an idea of how many presents should be there when you finally get to opening them. If there seems to be a discrepancy, then you will be able to find out if something was lost or stolen.
What to do with the gifts at the end of the night
You will need to have a plan or someone in place to take care of the gifts once the reception is over. You may want to enlist one of the members of your bridal party to load them into their car and drive them to the hotel, or perhaps, a parent can take them in order to have a brunch the next morning-where you open the gifts for everyone.
Either way, you will want to store them somewhere safe. It’s generally not a good idea to leave them in a car overnight. First of all, a car is easily broken into and two, you don’t know if the gifts are sensitive to temperature changes. You don’t want to ruin anything.
The gift table is just another detail that you want to be aware of. Most of the time, there are no problems with people upsetting the gifts or raiding the envelopes, but if it makes you feel better to have a back up plan in place, go right ahead.
“It’s a Hallmark holiday” claim the skeptics. You need a card, a present, a meal in a restaurant. You’re obliged to spend, spend, spend.
But Valentine’s Day precedes consumerism, corporations, greeting cards, civilisation and even Christianity. It is an expression of what it is to be human. While every day pressures squeeze the romance out of life, Valentine’s day is an island of corny indulgence in a giant sea of cynicism.
One early attempt at valentine romance, saw me commit several days to preparation. Roses, a three course meal, as exotic as a slightly green eighteen year old could muster and on top of that a singing waiter (an extroverted mate dressed up) to serve the food.
In retrospect the menu was bizarre. Raw cauliflower and carrots with a mayonnaise and curry powder dip. For the main course a slightly watery stir fried rice dish (I didn’t have a strainer to strain the rice). This was laced with an over generous helping of chilli peppers, all teenage boys first learn to cook with chilli peppers. For dessert strawberries and bananas with a chocolate dip. Ah the deep hormonal motivations of eighteen year old boys. Everything was in place and my mate, the singing waiter completed my love trap.
Maybe the fascination and intrigues of being in love and particularly the physical side of it are not the preserve of eighteen year old boys. Valentines day has its origins in ancient Rome and it has survived centuries of religious interference and censorship to return to resemble what it originally was - a celebration of love and pairings.
The Lupercalia was a Roman festival celebrated on the 15th Day of February. In the Roman calendar February was later in the year and so the Lupercalia was a spring festival.
This festival was even old to the Romans, they were unsure of which deity it honoured. It emerged from the days when Rome was a small shepherding community on a hill called the Palantine and could have honoured Lupercus, who protected flocks against wolves, Rumina whose temple overlooked the place where the she-wolf suckled Romulus and Remus or Faunus the god of shepherds and agriculture.
Before the times of the great city of Rome the Lupercalia was a very joyous occasion. The foreheads of two youths were smeared with the blood of a sacrificed dog and goat. They then made their way around the perimeter of the city of Rome followed by priests lightly tapping women on the way with strips of the goats skin. This act was to protect them against infertility.
As Rome became the dominant civilisation of the era, the Lupercalia continued as an important part of the calendar. The seeds of the modern St. Valentine’s Day were sewn by Roman soldiers who took the Lupercalia customs with them to countries they conquered and occupied. One such custom was the pairing of men with women whose names they selected from a bowl. The pairing continued for the length of the festival and sometimes beyond.
As Christianity gradually advanced through Europe the church replaced pagan festivals with festivals more suited to the new faith. They kept the days of the festivals the same to ease the introduction of the new religion but they changed the name and the reason for the festival. The Lupercalia’s pairing of men and women went against the teachings of Christianity. In 496 AD Pope Gelasius ended the festival of Lupercalia and replaced it with St. Valentine’s Day. St. Valentine was declared the patron saint of lovers. The pairing of couples was replaced and people were, instead, paired with a saint. The name of a saint would be drawn from a bowl and the person who chose it would then learn about, and try to emulate that saint for the following year.
Pairing with a saint and the churches concept of St. Valentine’s Day lasted hundreds of years, but the spirit of the Lupercalia lived on in hearts, minds and spirits of the people. By the 15th Century eligible singles began pairing again. Medieval knights drew the names of their valentines from bowls and wore the names on their sleeves swearing to honour and protect them. They would sing love songs and profess their love with poetry. Eventually it became customary to write the verses down for your lover to read and by the 1600’s Valentine cards had become quite elaborate. Possibly due to the fact that most people were unable to read or write intricate handmade paper valentines became a normal mode of exchange between lovers on Valentines Day and the first of what could be recognised as a valentines card appeared.
Their popularity was sufficient that by the early 1800’s commercially produced Valentines were available. Initially they were hand painted by factory workers but by 1900 valentines were made entirely by machines using woodcuts and then eventually lithographs.
Today’s Valentine cards are frequently anonymous. They emphasise either a sense of humour, reputed to be the greatest aphrodisiac, or a sense of romance - and occasionally both. Modern valentine cards can be rude, suggestive, funny and cheeky as often as romantic. There anonimity adds to the intrigue, hopes and fantasies. Love and romance are a deep part of the human condition, despite the church’s early attempts to change its meaning the spirit of the Lupercalia lives on today. It has survived thousands of years and it is likely to be around for many more.
As for the success of my early romantic dabblings. Well the waiter was flat; the food was uncomfortable on the palette, and my date? Well, she was polite, ate as much as she could stomach and made her excuses and left, probably for home and a pint of Gaviscon.
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We all know that relationships can be difficult. One of the best methods we have for making every relationship less stressful and more enjoyable is to show a little patience. Patience has been defined as what we lack for the driver in front of us and demand from the driver behind us.
In truth, patience is nothing more than time.
Time before we say something: Think of a time when someone was not patient with you when you needed them to be. Think of how you felt. Think of how deeply you might have been hurt. The next time you find yourself losing patience with another, take a moment to remind yourself of how you felt when someone had no patience with you.
Time before moaning and groaning: Patience takes time, but no more time than the showing of anger; of stomping or yelling or whining or complaining. A little patience can often resolve a conflict that a loss of patience will only escalate.
Time to just let things run their course: Arnold H. Glasow said, “The key to everything is patience. You get a chicken by hatching an egg, not by smashing it.” Some things require a certain amount of time. Losing patience only hurts ourselves and won’t speed up the process.
So take the time to smile instead of frown; the time to wink instead of snarl. How much time does it really take to give someone a small nod or a pat on the back? We never stop to think about how a little of our time can make such a big difference in how we make another feel.
Benjamin Franklin said, “He that can have patience can have what he will.”
The lack of patience is the key to so much unhappiness and grief in this world, when all it requires is a little time on our part. One of the simplest ways to build stronger relationships and bring more happiness into our lives is by becoming a little more patient. Showing someone patience is really giving to another that which we wish to receive, while a lack of patience is nothing more than a reflection of ourselves.
Ask someone why they had, or are having an affair and you may hear something like this: “I have a lousy marriage. My marriage is dead. There is no intimacy, no sex, and no excitement. The love is gone. We’ve grown apart. I can’t stand the marriage. There was nothing happening in the marriage and the affair just happened.”
These statements are rationalizations and fail to “get at” the underlying issues.
Key points:
1. It’s as if a marriage is an animal gone bad. A marriage does not have a life of it’s own. In reality, there is no such thing as a “marriage.” One is “married” as a result of making some promises and signing a paper at one point. After the paper is signed, two people continue communicating and acting toward one another in particular ways that they hope will help them get what they individually want. Just as there is no “marriage,” there is no such thing as a “relationship.” There are, however, ways of relating for which each person is responsible. Remember the comedian Flip Wilson (that dates me) and his “The devil made me do it” skit?
2. We idealize “marriage” or “romantic relationships” with the expectation we will get what we want, without much effort to boot. The movies, popular public press and romance novels/stories don’t help much here. A “marriage” is behind the eight ball from the word go. “IT” can’t win.
3. From day one most of us don’t have a clue about how to get, build, nurture and maintain healthy and intimate ways of relating. We need ‘love 101′ and it’s not there. We rely upon experimentation or bad models.
4. If the “marriage” is dead, why in the world would one choose to have an affair? Talk about jumping from the frying pan into the fire. It really is stupid. You add a whole layer of deceit and shame that eventually will result in consequences more dire than approaching your spouse and saying, “I’m really unhappy. What I’m doing with you obviously is not working. I want out.” Oh well, maybe some people need more problems and suffering.
5. If the “marriage” is bad, obviously, I don’t have to look at me. I can blame “it” or the other. Some of us find it difficult to look at me. Some of us don’t know how to look at me. Some of us never think of looking at me.
Tip: If your partner/spouse is having and affair and blames it on the “marriage,” don’t buy into it. The “marriage” is not the problem. You are not the problem. Your spouse/partner chose the affair out of ignorance, fear or inadequacy.
The “My Marriage Made Me Do It” is just one of 7 affairs outlined in my E-book, “Break Free From the Affair.” For more information on the issues behind the other kinds of affairs and tips for dealing with them, visit my site.
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Millions of people are online everyday trying to meet someone new. For some they are just trying to make new friends, others are looking for romance and others are seeking their soulmates. But how many of them are killing their chances by making the same mistakes thousands of singles do everyday?
If you browse through the personals on any number of sites, there are thousands of ads that are just plain bad. Bad writing, bad photos and they sound like thousands of others. It doesn’t take much to stand out among the crowd and edge out the competition. In the new guide to online dating “I’m Not Barbie and You’re Not Ken” there are dozens of tips on creating successful personal ads that will help you meet more eligible singles. Most of us are not Barbies or Kens, we are just everyday, normal people who would like to meet someone to spend time with.
One of keys to creating a compelling profile is to make it unique and not sound like all the others. It starts with defining what you are looking for–romance, long term or just friends and from there you can create a profile that is uniquely yours. When it comes to posting photos, most people really blow it on this one. If you think posting a picture of you talking on the phone with a cigarette hanging out of your mouth is showing you at your best think again. Listed are a number of tips to post the best photos.
Online safety is a whole chapter in itself and before you place your ad or meet someone in person this is a must read. There are chapters for single parents who are getting back into dating, tips for those over 40. Online dating is ideal for those over 40, even more so than the tech savvy 20 something crowd. Tips for women only including how to weed out the jerks and game players. Tip for men only. If they read this chapter they are almost guaranteed a response.
Stop killing your chances of meeting someone. Do it right and start meeting more eligible singles today.
Communication between partners often gets confusing, and there is a very good reason for this. Most of the time, the words we use have far less impact than the energy behind the words. Therefore, what you say is often not what the other person hears.
The energy behind a communication is determined by our INTENTION. In much of the communication between partners, there are two different intentions that can motivate any given communication: we are often either intent upon controlling the other person, or intent upon learning about ourselves and our partner. The difference in energy between these two intentions is what frequently creates the confusion in communication.
For example, in one of my phone counseling sessions with Joshua, he complained about the fact that his wife, Joan, often gets upset with him over seemingly minor issues. A recent conflict had occurred over a book she was reading. He had asked her why she was reading that particular book, and she had responded to him with irritation.
“Joshua,” I asked, “why were you asking her about the book?”
“I was just curious.”
“Go deeper,” I said. “Was there anything about the book that was threatening to you?”
“Well….yeah. It was a book about women and codependency.”
“And what was threatening to you?”
“I’m afraid of Joan pulling away from me.”
“So, which intent do you think was operating at that moment - the intent to control her or the intent to learn about yourself and her?”
“I guess to be honest, I have to say that I was wanting to control. When I think back on it, I think my tone of voice may have been blaming. Joan always tells me that she hates how much I try to control her, and I always think she is wrong about that. But I think I was trying to control her.”
“And she responded to your intent to control with irritation, which is what is happening frequently in your relationship, right?”
“Right. So what would I have said if I was open to learning?”
“It’s not so much the words as it is the energy behind the words. The energy behind the words, ‘Why are you reading that book?” is totally different when the intent is to control than when the intent is to learn. The same words can be said with a blaming, shaming edge, or with real caring and curiosity. It is your intent that determines the energy behind the words. Joan was not responding to the words themselves, but to the blaming and shaming behind the words. This is what is causing the confusion for you regarding your communication with her. The exact same words can communicate two totally different things, depending upon the intent. And the chances are that if you had not felt threatened by the book, you might not have even questioned her about why she was reading it.”
“Yes, I can see where that is probably true. Okay, I got it. I’ve been trying to control her and that is what she is responding to, not to the words I’ve been using.”
Joshua started to notice his intent. Every time Joan got irritated or distant from him, he noticed that his intent was to control. It was a big challenge to shift out of trying to control her, since he had been doing this most of his life in all his relationships, but Joshua was very motivated to change. He knew that if he didn’t, he ran the risk of losing his marriage. He started to focus on taking loving care of himself and his own feelings instead of trying to change Joan.
As Joshua became more aware of his intent, he was able to consciously shift his intent from controlling to learning about taking care of himself. As his intent shifted, the energy of his communications with Joan shifted, and their relationship greatly improved. Joshua was thrilled with the deeper understanding and intimacy that was growing between them.
The 7 Killer Dating Mistakes
In your search for a great relationship, you shouldn’t just leave things to luck. There are many things that you can do that can enhance your dating experience. Unfortunately, though, there are also an awful lot of things that you can do to make sure that you’re a dating flop.
The following are the most common mistakes made by daters. Take the time to read and learn them so that you won’t make these mistakes too.
- The False Front - though it is important to look good when you’re dating, remember that you should always be realistic. If you do meet someone you like, you will be seeing that person a lot. In that case, you won’t be spending several hours getting ready every time. There is a difference between looking nice, and setting your date up for disillusionment. When you get ready, remember to be yourself. Look your best, look good, but make sure that it’s you in there! No false fronts.
- Availability - when you’re dating, it’s important to make yourself available when you find someone you like. After all, you’ve gone to an awful lot of effort to find a person who may qualify for a relationship. That person won’t stick around forever if you don’t put in some effort.
- Realistic Fun - relationships are often a lot of fun when they first get started. Everything is so fresh, exciting, and new. However, it doesn’t take long to discover that fun can only go so far. Make sure that you have other things in common, such as goals and values, if you want something long-term. Other than fun, you need to keep your eyes open for companionship, respect, love, and commitment. With those characteristics, you’re bound to have fun and a great relationship.
- Perfectionism - we all have our own fantasies about the right person. After building up this fictional Mr. or Ms. Right for so long, it can be hard to let a real person in. After all, real people are flawed. There is nothing wrong with having a dream. Just don’t let your dream block out a perfectly good person for a great relationship. Remember that it is our quirks and idiosyncrasies that make us special. Instead of rejecting them, treasure them when they come in a great person.
- Immediacy - a relationship isn’t something that happens instantly. Though you may want a relationship immediately, unless you give it time to grow, you’ll only be disappointed. Give yourself the opportunity to meet people, get to know people, like people, and find the right person. By rushing into a relationship, you’re setting up for a fall.
- Needs - though love is very important in a relationship, there is a lot more to it than just one emotion. The Beatles song “All You Need is Love” is sweet, but isn’t the key to a long-term relationship. You (and your partner) have many needs, and they all need to be met for things to work. Love is only one of those needs. You also need to remember responsibility, appreciation, trust, intimacy, and many other important factors.
- Time - one of the hardest things to admit to yourself is that a person you’ve been seeing for a long time isn’t the person for you. You may have known it from the start of the relationship, but didn’t want to hurt any feelings. The thing is, the longer you wait, the harder it will be. While you’re dating, you’re testing out different people to find the right one for you. If you discover that you’re with the wrong person, the best thing you can do is stop. It’s only fair to yourself and to your partner.
By avoiding these most common mistakes, you’ll be much more certain to have a happy relationship. It will meet your needs and those of your partner. It will also last much longer, and through many more obstacles. Happy dating.
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The most heavily populated city in Nevada, Las Vegas is considered not only as a major vacation and shopping destination but also the center of gambling in the United States. Although it is often called Sin City because of legalized gambling and prostitution, availability of alcoholic beverages, and various forms and degrees of adult entertainment, its glamorous and enchanting image has made it a popular setting in the movies and television programs.
Dubbed as “The Entertainment Capital of the World,” Las Vegas is not only known for its tourist attractions, but also for its infamous ‘Las Vegas Weddings’.
Las Vegas is by far the most popular destination-wedding spot in the United States (and perhaps the world). About 120,000 weddings are held in Las Vegas every year, and it is a perfect place for couples (especially celebrities) who want to get married in a quick and different (or unusual) way.
A lot of couples prefer to have a Las Vegas wedding because of the following advantages:
- It is affordable. Las Vegas weddings cost less than traditional wedding ceremonies.
- It can be held on short notice. Most chapels in Las Vegas allow couples to book for their wedding right away - others even accommodate walk-ins!
- It is convenient. Hotels in Las Vegas usually have their own wedding chapels, with a wedding coordinator that takes in charge of all the preparations - from the flowers and music to the officiant and the souvenirs - and can get in touch with the couple on the phone or even online.
- It is fun. Las Vegas weddings offer couples with a fun and amusing way to get married - even with an Elvis impersonator as their officiant!
- It allows couples to start their honeymoon early. After the wedding, there is no need for couples to board a plane and head out of town - Las Vegas is a great honeymoon destination in itself!
To Continue Reading This Article Go Now To http://www.weddingtipsguide.com/Information-On-Las-Vegas-Weddings.html
Every bride wants her wedding to be unique, so she will go to great lengths to make sure her dress is an original and her centerpieces are unlike any she has ever seen.
But what about her wedding invitations? Brides are continually searching for quality wedding invitations that have an original theme and aren’t generic.
Carlson Craft and Birchcraft are considered the Wal-Mart of wedding invitations and every bridal shop and wedding invitation site seems to be an affiliate. However, new wedding invitation sites are entering the market and they seem to be becoming Carlson Craft and Birchcrafts’ worst nightmare even with little or no affiliates.
VegasWedlockInvitations.com is an example of this. VegasWedlock Invitations sells Las Vegas Wedding Invitations and the owners were practically bombarded with desperate brides before their site even went live.
Simply put, these brides didn’t order from Carlson Craft and Birchcraft because their wedding invitations were too generic. These brides were getting married in Las Vegas and wanted Las Vegas themed wedding invitations. Even though Carlson Craft and Birchcraft have a few Las Vegas wedding invitation choices, brides told VegasWedlock that Carlson Craft and Birchcrafts’ Las Vegas themed wedding invitations were were “cheesy” and too general.
VegasWedlock Invitations have taken the term “gniche wedding invitations” seriously. Not only do they have the largest selections of Las Vegas wedding invitations in the world, but they go the extra mile and create Las Vegas themed wedding invitations for nearly every wedding location on the strip, including the Little White Wedding Chapel.
While searches for general wedding invitations is still popular, over 200,000 searches per month, gniche wedding invitation searches are quickly gaining speed. The term “Las Vegas wedding invitation” alone has over 2,000 searches per month. The term “Beach wedding invitation” has over 6,000 searches per month. These might not seem like a lot, but when Carlson Craft and Birchcraft only have half a dozen invitations to accommodate these searches, brides are craving a gniche site with more variety in their specific area. These are just two search terms out of the thousands of gniche wedding invitation sites out there. Every state in the United States has nearly 200 brides searching per month for wedding invitations related to their home towns.
The owners of VegasWedlock will soon be starting another site for Beach invitations and will move onto other gniche areas in order to satisfy brides’ tastes for more specifics.
To view VegasWedlock’s Las Vegas Wedding Invitations, go to their site at http://www.vegaswedlock.com.
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Love gives life and a break up takes away a life. Why a lover can not live normally after a bad break up? What if one also feels betrayed after the breakup? These questions are as ancient as the civilization.
Exploring romantic love-
Let us explore some more about romantic love and break-ups. A person who becomes totally involved with love loses his/her identity. The whole being revolves around the love. All the ambitions, all desires, all pains, everything in life gets related to love. Such lovers feel destroyed after the break up. If love is only a part of life one can survive easily after the break up. But will any poet call such kind of love as true love? The definition of true love means you give your self totally away to your beloved. You dream, eat, enjoy, and cry, laugh, work, what ever you do is all centered around your beloved. You live in that love. And hence you die once you are betrayed . If you are in true romantic love, you can not live for a day without your lover, hence it becomes impossible to live for a life time. The pain of separation and of betrayal becomes so bad, that the sadness kills the essence of living.
Betrayal -
For those who have been betrayed in love, it becomes impossible to understand about how their lover could betray them? It is like a child stabbing the mother. Imagine the pain of the mother who brought up her child with nothing but love, care and took every pain to see that her child was happy. The betrayed lover feels something similar and even more. So what is to be done?
Remedy -
Is their any remedy for such people? Turn to God for help. Pray. Look at the most suffering section of the society, such as children suffering from cancer and try to do something to help them. Find out those who are facing unimaginable hardships and do something to make their life better. Take your thoughts away from your own pain and look at others undergoing much worse pain. Contribute in some way to help this world become a better place. That is the answer for betrayal and a bad break up.