Marriage advice

Marriage is a beautiful relationship. Unfortunately, during the current years, more marriages are getting broken than ever. People are not able to co exist together in marriage. What are the possible reasons? Why marriages are breaking faster, why are we not getting what we want from marriage? Are our expectations wrong? Or our choice of partner is faulty? Let us find out.

The major factors that contribute to success in marriage are - Knowing what we desire in the marriage, selecting the right partner for fulfilling those desires, defining marriage goals and getting approval about them from the partner, discussing all the issues that hurt the relationship, changing your own style of relating so that marriage becomes stronger and not giving up so easily if cracks develop and try to save the marriage. a broken marriage is not pleasant for any one and hurts.

A marriage is like a cart on two wheels. Both the partners are the wheels. If one wheel becomes weaker or if the wheels are different in size, the cart stops moving. It is similar with marriage. If one partner over dominates or demands more only for himself/herself, the marriage will suffer. For a marriage to succeed, the partners have to take care of each other's desires, emotions, physical needs and intellectual needs. Both the partners have to support each other to grow and not criticize each other. For example, if a partner knows that his/her spouse is weak in a certain area, it is the duty of the other partner to compensate that and not criticize. Another factor is fear of conflict. Sometimes, the conflicts become so pain giving that partners avoid talking to each other fearing that a conflict may arise. This fear of conflict will kill all communication. Instead what is needed is - healthy communication and peaceful resolution of conflicts in a spirit of give and take. Why should a partner be afraid of talking to other partner in a marriage? That sounds ridiculous, but this is true. This phase spells near death of a marriage. Marriage is a beautiful phase of life. The secret lies in how to carry on for a lifetime.

A bridesmaid gift for your best friend

‘Will you be my bridesmaid’? The all-important question you may ask your best friend or even your sister, who you want to be your bridesmaid or maid or honor. You would want the important person in your life to be there for you and be a part of your most memorable day. It is a special moment when you are surrounded by your loved ones, taking care of you before the wedding and during.

How would you show your love and affection to this special person and how will you show your gratitude to her, for being there with you through all those childhood years and being there for you and standing there with you on your wedding day. That’s how the tradition of bridesmaid gifts came into being. Apart from the maid of honor, there are other bridesmaids too that you would want to thank for by giving bridesmaid gifts.

Preparing for your wedding is an tedious task for these bridesmaids, especially the maid of honor who has a lot of preparing to do. A bridesmaid gift given with love will make all the difference and makes them feel appreciated.

There are several things that can be given as bridesmaid gifts. Usually all bridesmaids are given the same bridesmaid gifts, except for the maid of honor, who gets a special gift for her extra effort. You can also buy a different gift for each one of them or buy the same gift with different colors etc. These days you can even get something personalized made for each one of them. You can give them necklaces and earrings as bridesmaid gifts, for them to wear with their bridesmaid dresses. You can even individually see that you meet their personal tastes. A good wine box along with a bottle of her favorite vintage wine is a great bridesmaid gift. There are toiletry bags to take care of beauty supplies. You can buy a good one with a mirror and enough space to put all toiletries. How about pearl necklaces if you are wearing pearls too, so that all of you look synchronized together and they get a beautiful gift of a lifetime too.

There are several things you could give as bridesmaid gifts, bath robes, make up kits, gift pouches, chains, perfumes, and anything at all that you would give as a gift on any special occasion. Only thing is, you will need to keep each ones personality in mind while buying bridesmaid gifts. Don’t buy things you cannot afford. Be within your budget and buy something that you know they would love. It is the thought that matters, that you care for them. Whatever you buy as the bridesmaids gifts, make sure to get something more expensive or an extra gift for your maid of honor.

By giving bridesmaid gifts, the bride is thanking them for their effort in putting her wedding together. Bridesmaid gifts are a token of appreciation and love. Don’t forget the thank you note. A beautiful bridesmaid gift along with a thank you note does wonders for a long lasting friendship.

A stag night planning primer

The stag night is a tradition that goes all the way back to Ancient Greek times when the boys in Sparta gathered for a last blowout before one of their mates stepped off the abyss into married life. While we don't have the films from those early stag do's, we've got a hunch that not a lot has changed since then. The idea is to get piss-drunk, stuff your face with the best food you can get and get your fill of all the things you'll be missing once you tie the knot (read: all the other birds in the bush that you're trading in for the one in the hand).

The honor of planning the stag do traditionally falls to the best man - the fellow you can count on through thick and thin, rain and shine, night or day, drunk or sober.. the chap who knows where to find the strippers, booze bars and paintball courts. If that's you and you haven't the foggiest notion where to start, here's some handy tips to help get you started on the path to perdition - or at least the road to the boozy blast you know you can plot.

1. First things first. Know your mate. The stag do is meant to be HIS night of ignominy, not yours. Before you make arrangements to hire the 40 Salomes with seven veils between them, be sure it's the type of thing he'll appreciate.

2. Once you've got that part out of the way, it's time to start figuring out where to find those Salomes... or something like that. If you've chatted it out and decided that nothing will do for your mate but a full-blown stag weekend, you'll need to get right on the horn to start making arrangements. Stag weekends are big business, and many of the more popular activities and venues are booked up to six months in advance. Get those enquiries out, and be prepared to put down a few deposits to hold dates open.

3. One Month Ahead (Two if you're doing an overseas stag weekend) - run the guest list past your stag, even if you don't tell him that's what it is. It's only fair for him to actually LIKE the folks he's spending his last free party with. Then... send out the invites to give everyone plenty of time to make plans to attend the stag do.

4. Two weeks ahead - confirm all the reservations for your stag night, just to be on the safe side. While you're at it, either designate a driver for the night, or reserve a limo to do the honors. You want everyone at the wedding - not sitting in a lonely jail cell.

5. No matter how tempting it is, don't accept too much help from your buds. The more hands there are on the wheel, the more likely it is that someone will drop the ball - or something like that. You're most likely to get everything done and in place if you see to it yourself.

6. OR - get professional help. If you hire a professional tour organiser to put together the plans for your stag weekend, you can just see to it that everyone shows up with their embarrassing jokes and gags - and sit back to enjoy the best stag do you didn't have to plan.