Planning Your Outdoor Wedding ReceptionWritten by Randy Wilson
An outdoor wedding reception can be host to an almost unlimited number of guests and has aura of nature that can never be duplicated in an indoor ballroom. Some of following outdoor wedding reception ideas should help to get you started with planning this special day, including avoiding some of dangers involved with an outdoor setting.One of great advantages of outdoor wedding receptions is cost. If you have your own suitable parcel of land, you can save thousands of dollars over rental of a reception hall. Even renting someone else's private land for event is generally cheaper than a ballroom. Hosting an outdoor wedding reception at a public park is not recommended because public parks are just that: public. It can be difficult to control who will and will not end up wandering around eating hors d'oeuvres. There is plenty of private acreage for rent just about anywhere, quite suitable for a large outdoor wedding reception. This allows you more managed access to event. A great thing about outdoors is that you can have games and entertainment that wouldn't be possible indoors. Outdoor games such as horseshoes and croquet are always a hit and can help to keep younger guests occupied and out of trouble. The one thing you simply can't control is weather. Outdoor wedding receptions are always at risk of being caught up in a storm. Plan for rain, hope for rain, even pray for rain! This way, worst streak of bad luck will result in a beautiful, sunny day. Set up plenty of sheltered space to ensure adequate coverage from elements. Even if weather stays clear, large canopy tents provide your guests with some relief from sun.
| | Finding Your SoulmateWritten by Kenneth A. Sprang and Carol Sprang, MA, RNC, LCPC
Loves mysteries in soules does grow. --John Donne I have been thinking about soulmates a lot lately. Recently a fellow relationship coach told me story of Heather, a woman in her early 40’s. She has never married, though she has had several lengthy relationships over years. Then late last year she met Andrew. There was something different about Andrew. The conversations were richer, walks in park more romantic, time together more comfortable and more vibrant. Heather is pretty intuitive, and this relationship felt different than any other she had experienced. She knew she had fallen in love and found someone with whom she could make a life commitment. Andrew, however, was resistant. He acknowledged that their time together was special, that he loved Heather and that he really felt energized being with her. But, he said to Heather, “I don’t think you are my soulmate.” Andrew recalled a past relationship in which he and his partner would often find themselves simultaneously thinking same thing. He also said that he envisioned a “soulmate” as being very much like himself, thinking that such similarity would help assure success of relationship. Andrew also pointed to differences between them. He was from South, while Heather was from Boston. Heather’s parents had graduate degrees and were upper middle class, while Andrew’s parents were working class folks. In addition, he noted, his company required him to relocate periodically and to travel a lot. He feared Heather would resent those moves, though she insisted she would not. Despite Heather’s pleas to reconsider and her attempt to persuade Andrew that his resistance was contradictory to his description of their relationship, Andrew insisted that they end their relationship, though insisting he wanted to remain “friends.” Heather was heartbroken and puzzled. Did Andrew have it right—were they not really soulmates? But if that were true, why did her time with Andrew feel so right. What does it really mean to “find your soulmate?” Thomas Moore, author of Soulmates, suggests that a soulmate is “someone to whom we feel profoundly connected, as though communicating and communing . . . between us were not product of intentional efforts, but rather a divine grace.” My wife and I have often referred to ourselves as “soulmates.” Thinking about Heather and Andrew has caused me to reflect more on what that really means. It certainly does not mean that we always agree—we don’t. Nor does it mean that we are exactly alike. We’re not. What then does this elusive term “soulmate” mean?
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