You were in your High School class today and I know what’s on your mind and the decision you need to make.

I know what you’re thinking because everyone has this same thought and needs to make the same decision at some time in his or her life. It is a very important question, one that could have life and death consequences.

Should you drink alcohol at the party this weekend? Or should you try “the drug”? After all, just about everybody you know is doing it, and seemingly without any serious problems. And to tell the truth, you would like to know what it feels like. “Just once, then I’ll know.”

You have seen all the films in class regarding alcohol and drug abuse. You have looked at the commercials on T.V. telling you to “just say NO.” Your parents have been telling you since you were a young child about the dangers of alcohol and drugs. You may have had a Police Officer come to your school to show you what these drugs look like, and to tell you to stay away from them. And all the things they told you are true.

But in a few days, you will be alone to make the decision for yourself. No films, no commercials, no parent, no cop. Just You!

Before you go, let me just tell you the Number 1 reason NOT to try a drink or a drug.

YOU MAY LIKE IT!

Yep, you whoever you are may like the feeling and effect of being high or drunk. Your brain may like it; your emotions may like it. You may like the way it makes you feel. You may fall in love with it. It may make you feel that good!

Now stay with me here!

That’s what drugs do; they make you feel different than you normally do. Put that with a teen that doesn’t feel good about themselves at that age anyway, and it is not a far stretch to see how you may actually like the way it makes you feel.

I know, because I was one who did. And because I liked it, I did it the next day and the next, and the next. And so will you. I know you don’t think it can happen that fast but it does…and it will.

I went from making the wrong decision one weekend to missing part of my teen years. I had only one thing in mind. To try to catch the feeling I had that first time. And it doesn’t happen! I needed to try different drugs, or drink more to get the same feeling. The good feeling I was seeking kept moving away from me so I needed to take more or take something different to catch up to it. The more drugs I did, the more it moved away from me. I began to chase my tail.

I began to do things I would never have thought I would ever do. The pain of living that way is indescribable. You will become friends with people that today scare you. You will lie and cheat and steal just to get more drugs or more alcohol. The things that interest you today like a hobby or sports or your family will be an after thought.

Trust me and trust the countless other people who have made the wrong choice. It’s just not worth it.

Oh, and those around you who seem to be doing drugs and drinking today for fun without any problems? Don’t they seem just a little bit different than they had been? Can’t you already tell that they are not what they were? And just watch them begin to chase their tails. They are different because you are on different paths. And theirs is a path to pain and sorrow.

So I ask you? What if you like it? Then what?

Do NOT take the chance of liking it! Do not even give your mind the reason to compel you…to do it again! If you find you didn’t like the feeling of being under the influence of a drug then there’s no reason to have tried it, and if YOU DO like it, what then? It doesn’t make sense to even try it!

Recovery from Substance Abuse and Alcoholism - You have permission to use this article at your site - just be sure to include this brief footer.

As the wedding reception gets rolling (and drinks start flowing), your wedding guests will begin to loosen up. Often, this is when the wedding toasts begin - a potentially bad combination. When you consider that the celebration is usually 75 percent complete and the alcohol is normally running freely, sometimes the toasts can turn into more of a roast!

To avoid a potentially embarrassing situation, it’s best for the bride and groom to identify the loose-lipped guests beforehand and then let the DJ or a band member know who they are in case an intervention is necessary.

The key is doing it gracefully. Have the DJ move the toasts on to the next guest with as little disruption as possible if one speaker gets out of hand.

The best man is typically the toastmaster and organizes who will give toasts. There is a traditional order for the speakers, but the bride and groom should decide if they want to follow etiquette. Generally, the best man makes the toast to the bride and groom, then the groom toasts the bride and her family, the two fathers toast the couple and finally the bride and groom toast each other.

Here are some pointers for delivering the perfect wedding toast:

* Make sure that all glasses are full before the speeches begin.

* It is appropriate to use champagne, wine, a mixed drink or non-alcoholic punch for toasting, but coffee, tea or water should not be used.

* The speaker always stands, but the person receiving the toast remains seated.

* When toasting, always raise the glass with your right hand and hold the glass straight from your shoulder.

* Try to keep the toast brief and sprinkle it with humor.

* End the speech with a statement like “To Rich and Nancy!” that lets guests know what they should repeat.

* Clink glasses after the toast has been proposed but before drinking.

Finally, you don’t have to give the best wedding toast ever, or be the funniest. If you intend to give a toast, but are having trouble figuring out what to say, speak from the heart. It’s the easiest way to find the perfect words.

L Hayes is a wedding professional and owner of Wedding Favors Emporium. They carry an extensive line of unique wedding favors as well as bridesmaid gifts, groomsmen gifts, and bridal shower gifts. For more information about wedding planning and wedding reception ideas, visit their website at: WeddingFavorsEmporium.com

Platform beds are fast becoming one of the most popular trends in interior design. Most of these sleek, understated beds employ a decidedly contemporary style that can add a modern flare to bedrooms with outdated chests, dressers, and nightstands. If none of that grabs you, how about this-platform beds can save you some serious money. The reason for this is with a platform bed, there is no need for a box spring or foundation.

For those still in the dark about what is a platform bed exactly, here is a brief description: A platform bed consists of a raised, flat, horizontal surface, meant to support a mattress without a box spring. In most platform beds, multiple slats of wood or metal running the width of the bed provide the support. Oftentimes, a thin, flat surface such as masonite or plywood sits on the slats and the mattress, in turn, rests on this surface.

Many platform beds are very low profile, giving them a European or perhaps a Japanese aesthetic. This is one of the many perks of owning a platform bed, setting yourself and your bedroom decor apart from the millions of Americans with boring, old fashioned standard beds. Use your bedroom space to create a peaceful sanctuary where you can unwind with a book after a long day at work or sneak away for a much needed nap on a hectic weekend.

Box springs and foundations can cost upwards of $500. Save yourself this needless expense and join the millions of forward-thinking Americans who have chosen to modernize their bedrooms with a beautiful new platform bed.

For a HUGE selection of affordable platform beds and bedroom furniture follow these links to eco-furniture.com:
http://www.eco-furniture.com/docs/sub_platformbeds.html
http://www.eco-furniture.com/main_bedroom.html

Let’s see if I can name your problem: sluggish, slow, locking up, freezing, blue screens, restarting for no reason, mouse just moving on it’s own, you out typing the computer (and you type with only 2 fingers), and programs just experiencing the “serious error” and wants to report it to Microsoft. Any of those sound vaguely familiar? I know they do to me, and I have experienced them all, and have fixed them all. So, let’s see how we go about troubleshooting a computer problem.

First, did you just install, update, or upgrade something? If you did, that is the problem. You will need to restart your computer and uninstall, or roll back the driver for your component. If your computer will not start up normally, then you need to start it up in safe mode. To do this, press one of the “F” keys when it is starting up. This key varies for the different machines out there. Then tell the system to start up in safe mode. You can then uninstall the software or drivers you just installed, and start back up in normal. That will take care of the problem.

If you did not install anything, the first thing I would do is to fix my registry files. These little files tell the computer what to do with the programs installed on your computer. They tell how the program should operate. If any of these get messed up, corrupted, or even deleted, it can cause some serious headaches for you, the computer owner.

Do not try to fix this yourself. Download a registry repair software, and run a scan of your computer to see if you have any errors. If you do, the software will tell you what the errors are, and will then fix them for you. This can actually be done in les than 15 minutes. I will guarantee you have errors on your computer. Once you have these fixed, you should really be running well again.

Spyware can slow a machine, and viruses can cause crashed, but I am assuming you at least have a virus scan on your computer. But, most of us don’t do anything with the registry files. And most likely have never even heard of them. So, the above 2 tips should get you on your way to troubleshooting a computer problem.

Michael Baker is a Computer Optimization Technician, and recommends getting a Free Computer Scan to fix any problems such as computers freezing, locking up, restarting for no reason, and getting the blue death screen.

Blueprints are frequently archived as digital records for safekeeping and future reference, which on the surface makes perfect sense. Unfortunately, this method of storing large format records has substantial risks for the document owner.

The biggest risk is not in a hard disk crashing or a fire (although theses are real risks, too); the greatest risk is with the constant technological innovation in the software industry. As we have witnessed, software applications have short lives and are quickly replaced with newer, faster versions. The older software versions quickly gather dust, are discontinued, and are no longer supported.

This is inconvenient on many levels, but for blueprints and other complex files stored digitally, the consequences are catastrophic. In a nutshell, the new versions of the software are not designed to be a 100% compatible with the older versions. With a simple “Word” document, you might notice a loss of functionality or an occasional loss of data as you attempt to open old documents with a new version of Word.

For a blueprint, the impact could be loss of the intricacy of the drawing itself, which is the inherit value of the blueprint: all the details are in the blueprint. Unfortunately, these details don’t necessarily get translated with accuracy with the new software versions, or at all.

Studies have shown that digital files are being stored at 100 times the rate of paper files today. While digital blueprints are being stored at a similar rate, the risk of data loss is far greater than with simple e-mail or word documents. The complexities of blueprint documents make them more difficult reproduce and read. The possibility of data corruption and loss makes digital storage of blueprints inadequate without paper backup.

Long term storage of blueprints and other large format documents may be best done with vertical file storage systems, which use plastic covers for dust protection and keep the documents safe from injury from document retrieval. Additionally, this form of storage allows for better organization and access, when compared with traditional flat file cabinet systems, which store blueprints in a horizontal position.

The software industry has yet to come up with a solution to this challenge with digital records. Given the risk of data loss from digitally archived blueprints, long term paper storage seems a prudent option.

Brad Barrett is President of the Irvine, California-based storage and filing systems company Easi File. Easi File manufacturers and sells vertical steel filing cabinets for storing engineering and architectural documents, maps, film, printed circuit artwork and tape-ups. Various styles are available from sizes 11 inches up through 6 feet with all accessories to meet individual needs in industrial, commercial, and federal government applications.

Easi File is a qualified GSA Supplier. For information on Easi File storage and filing systems, visit online at http://www.easifileusa.com or call 1-800-800-5563 or contact Brad Barrett at Email: info@easifileusa.com

Some may wonder what is marriage? To some marriage means belonging to one person and one person only. Others look at marriage as something much more sacred that just belonging, it is when it brings two souls together as one. Marriage might mean that they finally just can’t live without the other in their life and want to spend every minute of the rest of their lives together.

What is marriage and how is it different from the past? Today marriage is different from what it used to be like. Long ago getting married meant getting married at a young age, or saving your virginity until marriage. Today, you may wait until your 30 or 40s before ever attempting to tie the knot. As for being a virgin, most people are no longer virgins before they wed, but there are still some virgin brides. The courtships seem to last many years before you actually set a date and marry. Young lovers want to know they can live together and see what marriage will be like, they want to make sure they’ve finished college and started jobs.

What is marriage like with and without religion? This can be different for many people, if you’ve grown up with religion in your home and it was a very big deal it still will be and it is something you’ll definitely want in your marriage. However for those that never grew up with it they may not see the importance of having religion in the marriage or even in their life. Make sure you know what type of person you are marrying; if this is a key thing it will become a big issue for the wedding and after. Before getting married many may have a different view on the type of wedding ceremony you have. Someone may want a catholic wedding while others may think a protestant wedding is best, to avoid all conflict one may even choose not to have any type of religion at their wedding. If you plan on having a religious ceremony make sure you follow all procedures, sometimes a priest will want to meet with the happy couple for counseling before ever performing the wedding.

What is marriage like when it is legal? Some couples wonder if they should even make their marriage legal or just stay living together. To some marriage is only something that is a piece of paper saying they are legally together. For those they may not want to have just a paper to tell them how important it is, especially if they’ve already lived together for a few years. In a few states, couples that live together a certain amount of time, normally seven years or more, are considered to have a common law marriage. A marriage that is legal is one that is performed by a minister or someone that is qualified to perform the ceremony. Once the ceremony is complete the bride and groom will sign a piece of paper and a few weeks later get a certificate in the mail, in the meantime you will be given a document to show proof of marriage.

So before you take steps to get married think about marriage think about what is marriage. You don’t want to jump into a marriage because you thought marriage meant one thing and ended up being something entirely different, that’s where divorce ends up coming in. Think long and hard about what is marriage and what it means to you. Don’t forget to ask your loved one what is marriage going to mean to them. You wouldn’t want to find out that the two of you have different views on marriage. Make your marriage a lasting one, after all that’s what marriage should be - one that lasts forever.

Getting married you won’t regret visiting the Steps to Get Married Web Site

Steve Last is a regular contributor of articles especially dog breed related articles.

There are more essential details for this dog breed and many others at The Dog Breeds Compendium Tibetan Terrier page

I can not stress enough the point of feeding your hardworking crew well as your budget can afford. Good food will go a long way to keeping your crew busting ass for the 12 hours or more a day it will take to get your indie film done. I always dedicate a nice bit of my production budget to quality craft services. It’s not the fare you’ll find on a Hollywood set, but everyone that has eaten on one of my film sets has never complained about the food. i know some filmmakers that say screw wasting any money over what is the bare minimum needed to keep the crew fed. I can put the money saved into another area of the movie more important. In my opinion their is no more important area than your film crew. It doesn’t matter if they are paid or volunteering their valuable time. The crew is the lifeblood of your production. i am in no way discounting the major importance of the cast, but the crew is their an hour or more before the first shot goes off and an hour or more after the last breaking down the equipment for that days shoot. Talents times vary from a couple of hours to an entire day depending on what’s on the days shooting schedule. Crew is always there working. Setting out good food shows that you respect your crew as people and appreciate their efforts. When days run long they’re much more likely to keep working past the 12 hours to make the day if they have been well fed.

I was on a shoot in Northern California that helped lead me down the road of discovery to realize feeding your film crew well is always a good thing. It was a well funded short being shot on 35mm. Production had sprung for a fully loaded 4 Ton Grip Truck, John Deere E & E Movie Quiet Generator, the rental of an incredible farm as the primary location, and hired a rock & roll German camera crew. The producer and director, who were married, gave a pretty damn good speech to the troops about how important the crew was to the production. Call times the next morning were 5:00 AM for crew and 6:30 AM for the cast working that day. I get to the set to find a lot of the crew is ticked off. The crew craft service table was set up with generic brand decaffeinated coffee, generic store bran powdered donuts, and gallons of an orange colored punch. Even though I don’t drink coffee I know it’s the eye opener for many a film crew. This was not the best start for production. We broke for lunch 2 hours late. Craft services was worse than the morning. You have a hungry crew that busted ass 2 hours past lunch to try the make days shot list and their shown to a table with a completely generic make your own sandwich set up. Production set out the exact same thing 3 days in row. This must have loaded up on generic stuff at a discount warehouse store.

That night at a local bar a lot the crew decided to let off some steam with a healthy session of drinking, pissing and moaning about the crap the crew was being fed. People were already spending money out of their own pockets to buy their lunch when anyone would go on a food run. I felt that was bad, but it worse when college kids working for free as grunt production assistants had to buy their own lunches or be stuck with the cold sandwich routine. We had a late call time the next day, so we stayed out drinking until the bar closed down. i kept listening to the rest of the crew vent about how much bullshit it was to expect us to work long days without showing the respect of putting out some decent food. On day 4 it all came to ahead. Crew pulled a 15 hour day. Production offered to buy everyone a dinner for their efforts. Dinner was pizza, which is cool if you haven’t been given a steady dose of cold sandwiches three days in a row. The German DP went ballistic and walked off the job with the entire camera crew. I had much respect for what they did. Production was shut down on day 5. It wasn’t a problem for cast because there were only four actors on set at any one time, plus they were given a per diem for lunch. Crew had to, for the lack of better term, eat shit sandwiches. Production finally woke up, put out real coffee, juice, and a mix of pasteries, and ordered take out to be delivered for lunch the rest of the production. Cutting corners on the craft service budget caused a wasted day of shooting that cost them extra on rental time. If you spare no expense on equipment make sure you’re taking care of your crew too.

I was hired by a low budget indie movie to shoot behind-the-scenes footage for the making of featurette they were going to add as a bonus to the DVD. Even though this was a indie flick with an unknown cast production felt it necessary to have separate craft services for cast and crew. I was by the the craft service table for cast when a dolly grip cruised by taking a cookie from the table on his way to grab some gear. The lead who at one time was a semi-regular on a popular daytime soap told the producer one of ‘carnies’ took cookies that he had brought for cast only. I could not believe how f@#cking petty this guy was. I see everyone from the production assistant to the lead in an independent film as a part of the team. I believe everyone should eat from the craft service spread. I learned a valuable lesson about the politics of craft services.

You don’t have to spend a fortune to put out decent craft services to keep your crew and cast relatively happy. I’ve learned you won’t please everyone with the food and beverages you put out each day, but if you show a genuine effort you’re trying to take care of the people on your film set it will go a long way in getting the most out of everyone. I have done my best on my movies CONSIGNMENT and IN WITH THIEVES to fed everyone well as my budget will allow. If I’m calling the shots on a film shoot I will never have different craft services for crew and cast. i feel the people that have been on set the longest hours should go to the head of line. I can’t say enough about the members of the crew on both film shoots. Everyday they gave their all. I’ve also been fortunate to have worked with a tremendous casts that brought no primadonna attitudes or egos to the set. i felt the least i could do is put out the best craft services I could afford. Always feed your crew and cast as well as you can.

I don’t want to go into specifics and plan a menu for your film shoot, but I do have some things to share that can help you with your craft services that I did on my two independent features CONSIGNMENT

1) Send an email out to crew and cast asking if anyone is vegetarian or allergic to anything?

2) Always serve quality coffee (regular & decaf) that is fresh and hot. If the coffee has been sitting change it out.

3) Don’t just offer sugary foods (candy, donuts etc.). Mix in whole wheat bagels, a veggie platter, and some fruit.

4) An industrial coffee maker is a must!

5) Always have more water than soft drinks.

6) Splurge for hot lunches as much as possible.

7) Do not buy expensive energy drinks, most of them end going home with people.

It’s always better to have too much than not enough

9) Don’t believe the hype that if you stuff your crew at lunch they won’t be worth a shit the rest of the day. That’s bull. On my shoots that one meal has to keep people going long hours.

10) If you can get someone willing to cook homemade meals do it.

A Sid Kali film is known for it’s provocative characters, authentic dialogue, and conflict filled plots. Sid Kali’s goal is to produce four in-house films a year while exploring joint efforts with producers and production companies that do not shy away from creating films that are intense and entertaining.

When a flea hitches a ride on your cat or dog, you have big problems about to happen. The life cycle of a flea takes no time for the little pest to produce eggs that soon have your home infested with the biting insects. Your pet is miserable and covered in the little creatures, and you and your family might even find yourselves with flea bites on your ankles or stomach.

Then it’s on to Project Deep Clean. Your whole house is going to have to be treated, with special attention to the areas that your pet loves the most. Your sofa will need to be sprayed, your bedding washed, your carpets steam cleaned and your pet washed and treated with insecticidal products. The house will end up being spotless, but you’ll have spent a great deal of time, money, and effort and there will probably be a lingering odor of chemicals. Joy.

Spot-on treatments can be the best, easiest prevention method to these flea headaches. These small vials carry a product that you apply to your pet’s skin once a month. The liquid covers a small spot and then your pet’s natural movements distribute the product over the animal’s body for flea prevention. If your pet has long hair or lives in an area prone to fleas, spot-on treatments are the way to go.

The packages are color coded so you can choose the one right for your pet’s type and weight, reducing the risk of misapplication. However, spot-on flea treatments are in fact chemicals so it is important not to be complacent and to exactly follow the manufacturer’s guidelines. If you do not, you could give your pet an overdose making him very sick.

As pesticide treatments go, spot-on flea treatments are more effective than flea collars which just tend to treat the fleas around the neck and work for a limited time only. Powder can be messy and there is no way of avoiding it becoming airborne and breathing it in, which to say the least is unhealthy. Sprays also are breathed in by their very nature and animals can resist spraying, particularly cats.

However, pesticides are still pesticides and if they can be avoided they should be. Spot-on flea treatments are recommended for animals with severe flea allergies if nothing else has worked because the consequence of the allergy is worse than the risks associated with chemical exposure. Topical flea treatments enter your pets’ bodies through the skin and go to the liver and kidneys before the intestines. Exposure such as this to chemicals has the effect of weakening an animal’s immune system and they may be more vulnerable to health problems as a result.

Sometimes simple, effective and easy is still not the best way. It is important to choose a flea eradication method that is also safe. Take some time to learn about the alternatives available to you before exposing your pet unduly to chemicals.

Visit these web sites for more information about getting rid of fleas and http://killfleasnow.com

When you trade stock picks for any length of time you learn very thoroughly that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. In other words, you are always making trade-offs. What are the trade-offs between day trading and swing trading?

For one thing, in day trading, you close your positions at the end of the day, whereas swing trades usually take a few days to complete. When you day trade, because there is no overnight risk, there is a greater potential for profit. Additionally, when you close your position at the end of the day, you can use higher leverage. This means you can make your money work harder for you.

So, what is the down side of day trading stock picks? For one thing, by the nature of the short duration of the trade, you need to pay attention to your positions continuously. This also means you can only manage a very small number of positions. For many people, this means just one position at a time.

This means you need to concentrate on and pay attention to your position the whole day. However, by far the biggest danger in day trading is that you have very little time to react if the position starts to go against you.

Assuming you have the margin to hold positions overnight, you must be ruthless at getting out of losing positions. Day trading margin can be up to 4 to 1, but overnight it can only be up to 2 to 1.

Of course, you never want to go right up against your margin limit. If you do, and the trade goes against you, the brokerage will either force liquidation of the position, or worse, give you a margin call.

So, what are the advantages of swing trading? You have more leeway about how carefully you watch your position when you swing trade. Also, you have a bit of time if the position should start to go against you. Finally, you can handle more positions because you don’t have to pay such acute attention to each one.

The danger of swing trading is that if the position does go against you, you may end up with a “position” trade. Be careful to not let this happen to you because in doing so you’ll eat up valuable margin. Speaking of margin, as previously mentioned, swing trades don’t let you work your money as hard because of overnight margin requirements.

Ultimately, whether you choose to swing trade or day trade will depend on where you can be the most successful. Usually you can tell because you will enjoy or develop an affinity for one or the other. Either way, remember that the purpose of trading is to maximize profit at minimum risk.

Douglas Newberry is the founder and Director of the Investing Systems Network. Investing Systems has more than 20,000 customers in more than 70 countries using their tools and services to become better, more disciplined investors. You can learn more about day trading versus swing trading at Stock Picks

Wedding fiascos can be hilarious - as long as they happen to someone else. The last thing you want is for your wedding to end up on America’s Funniest Home Videos. Here are 25 tips that will help make sure your wedding scenes don’t win a contest.

THE PEOPLE YOU HIRE

1. Ahead of the big day, remind all those providing services exactly what you want and don’t want. For extra reassurance, put it all in writing.

2. Two or three days before the wedding, call the people providing services to verify your wedding booking.

3. Do not ask friends or family members to provide food, flowers or official photography, even if you’re on a tight budget. Think how dicey it would be if you weren’t happy with their services.

4. Never enlist a friend to act as bartender. He or she may pour too much liquor - which could exhaust a limited supply long before the party’s over, up your liquor bill into the stratosphere or get your guests drunk.

5. Have the baker give you a sample of the kind of wedding cake he or she will be providing in advance of your wedding day.

YOUR WEDDING GOWN

6. Make every effort to protect your dress. Never iron it or attempt any kind of touch-up. If it gets wrinkled badly, take it to a bridal shop.

Do not eat, drink or smoke after donning your gown. Do not apply makeup, even blush, and keep all pets locked safely away.

7. Go through one practice dressing session in advance at home or at the bridal salon with the person who will dress you for the ceremony so she can figure out the buttons, snaps, zippers or other closures.

THE CEREMONY

8. At the rehearsal, pin a sheet to your waist so the person escorting you down the aisle can practice navigating your train.

9. If possible, it’s safer to avoid having children younger than 4 from taking part in the ceremony.

10. Secure the rings on the ring pillow so they won’t roll off. Pin them on with corsage pins rather than tying them on with ribbons.

11. If you plan to use a side door to enter the church just prior to the ceremony, make sure someone knows in advance so you won’t get locked out.

THE WEDDING ATTENDANTS

12. Go to the first fitting with your bridesmaids to be sure their dresses will be altered to your specifications - not too long, too short, too tight or too loose.

13. Engage a friend who is not in the wedding to pick up out-of-town guests who arrive the day of the wedding on public transportation.

14. Ask out-of-town members of the wedding party to arrive at least one day in advance so they don’t get held up and miss or delay the ceremony.

15. Request that all men try on their tuxedos, along with their shoes, well in advance of your wedding day.

NOT-SO-INCIDENTAL INCIDENTALS

16. Have a spare tape player on hand in case the one you’re planning to use at the wedding or reception breaks down or acts up.

17. Make sure you marry in the same county in which your marriage license was issued, and before it expires, so you’re not surprised on your wedding day to discover you have an invalid license.

18. Delegate a trusted friend to answer phone calls on your wedding day, handle problems that don’t absolutely require your involvement and do last-minute “gofer” jobs.

19. Have your hairdresser try out your hairstyle several days in advance with your veil so you know you’ll like your wedding day hairstyle.

20. Give yourself more than ample time to get to the ceremony in case you have car problems or get into a traffic jam.

21. Have a neighbor or security guard at your home while everyone is away at the ceremony to prevent burglaries.

22. Prepare a “goody bag” to carry with you to the wedding site which includes white bobby pins, needle and thread, safety pins in several sizes and extra pantyhose for yourself and at least one bridesmaid.

YOUR HEALTH AND SANITY

23. Consider hiring a bridal consultant who can hold your hand through all last-minute phases of the plans and be there the day of the wedding to orchestrate everything.

24. Get plenty of rest prior to your wedding so you’ll be fresh and better able to handle any sudden glitches.

25. If something does go wrong, keep it in perspective. You may be the only one who notices the ribbons are the wrong color on the bridesmaids’ bouquets.

Finally, don’t let little problems ruin your day. Accept the fact that your wedding will probably not go absolutely perfectly. Few do. So, if in spite of all your careful planning, scenes of your wedding do end up in a contest….hope you win lots of money!

L Hayes is a wedding professional and owner of Wedding Favors Emporium. They carry an extensive line of unique wedding favors as well as bridesmaid gifts, groomsmen gifts, and bridal shower gifts. For more information about wedding planning and wedding reception ideas, visit their website at: WeddingFavorsEmporium.com