There are quite a few topics you would want to discuss before getting married. Couples all over the world pledge to marry each other with the understanding that their lives will be tied together. Canadian couples understand the concept of “two becoming one.” They know that married life will be one of joint decision-making, compromises, and hopefully, a balanced exchange of ideas. A successful union is more than just sharing a home or a bed. You’ll be sharing more than just a living space, which is why it’s important to see where the two of you stand on certain key issues. It’s hard to know your significant other’s perspective without having these difficult, although critical, conversations before the big day.
Money, Money, Money
Can you imagine marrying a person with no knowledge of their income or assets? Presumably you’ll be living together, so you’ll need to have a conversation about how monthly expenses will be paid. Expand the conversation to other key money-related topics:
Attitudes towards money
Sharing bank accounts or maintaining existing assets
Short-term financial goals, such as saving for the wedding or a down payment for a home
Long-term financial goals, including college planning, retirement, and estate planning
Credit histories and attitudes on debt
Appetite for risk when it comes to investing
Sex and Intimacy
There are many opinions about whether couples should or shouldn’t have sex before marriage. Even if both of you are on the same page, it’s important to talk openly and honestly about sex and intimacy. Are there practices you enjoy? What about your partner? What if you have an aversion to the acts and expressions your partner finds enjoyable? You don’t want to discover on your honeymoon that you and your partner are incompatible when it comes to sex, intimacy, and affection.
Topics WithHealth Issues
Many engaged and newly married couples intend to start families of their own. Every couple should talk honestly and freely about health issues, especially those that run in their families. Are you predisposed to certain medical conditions? For example, if you and your spouse both come from families with a history of certain chronic diseases, you’ll want to know that, especially if you plan to have children together. Even if kids aren’t a part of the long-term plan, you should discuss medical histories. If dramatic lifestyle changes become necessary for one of you, both of you will be impacted.
Topics On Worldviews
If you’ve been dating for a while, there’s a good chance you know your significant other’s perspective when it comes to religion and politics. You might think you’re on board with your partner’s worldview, but you’d hate to be blindsided after marriage. Some people avoid discussing these topics, thinking they’re unfruitful or destructive. It’s critical to know where you both stand. Issues you find trivial may be a big deal to your future spouse. You may be ok with your partner having a different religion or political view, but that may change once children enter the picture.
Conflict ResolutionTopics
It’s safe to say you and your significant other won’t agree on everything. That’s ok. Successful marriages aren’t about avoiding conflict but rather resolving it in a way that is mutually beneficial and healthy. Do you prefer to deal with conflict as it comes up? Maybe one or both of you tend to struggle with small disagreements, which can become bigger sources of contention. Not only do you need to discuss conflict resolution, but it’s also important to recognize how your biases, insecurities, and vulnerabilities may show up in your disagreements.
Sharing life together as a married couple means understanding that some days won’t be as sunny as others. Having open and honest discussions about difficult topics beforehand can help you navigate through and around storms. While it’s important to approach marriage with an open heart, open eyes are also critical.
Selecting the perfect ring has long proven a challenge for couples looking to take the next step in their relationships. While factors like price and style may influence your decision, you might also find it interesting to learn more about gemstones. The color of the rock in an engagement ring can signify many different ideas. If you want to have some more fun while picking a ring, take a look at these common stones and what their colors say about your love.
The Classic White Diamondring
To kick the list off, consider the classic white diamond. Once popular because of its rarity, this type of stone is actually now the most common gem found in engagement jewelry. This has led many couples to shy away from white diamonds and turn to more exciting and unique options. If you still think this is the perfect fit for you, then remember that diamonds are meant to signify strength. Just as diamond is one of the most durable materials found on the planet, so will your relationship withstand whatever is thrown at it.
The Alternative Diamond Shades
Since white diamonds are seen as too traditional by many modern couples, colored diamonds have taken off in popularity. Those with a golden hue, which are sometimes referred to as champagne diamonds, are said to represent the effervescent, joyous side of relationships. Pink options are also a nice choice, the soft color symbolizing romance and imagination. Finally, yellow diamonds are a stone connected with excitement. Choosing a gem in this shade means your years will be filled with wonderful surprises. These are just a few colors available, with each representing a unique facet of your love story.
The Shades of Bluering
If you want to forego the standard diamond option, there are troves of other stones worth your time. Those who have a preference for blue may want to think about aquamarine. The color of this stone captures the cool tone of ocean waters and represents the fluidity of love as it changes over time. Blue sapphires are also a great choice, their bold appearance being the prime option for celebrities and royalty alike. Though a bit more of a deep purple than blue, tanzanite is an appealing option that represents the magic of your love.
The Red Hot
In contrast to the cool-blue tones, stones in red offer a chance to really make a statement. Rubies are a perfect pick for those looking to capture the passion of a relationship. Along the same lines is the almandine garnet. While this gem also represents passion, the deep-red hue of the stone symbolizes the serenity that can be found in a long-term partnership. Though more pink than red, morganite is a great pick for a couple looking to capture the whimsical aspect of love.
The Rest of the Rainbow
Gemstones come in every shade you can imagine, meaning that it can be difficult to cover all the options available to you in one list. Some popular choices to consider include emerald, the deep green said to symbolize good fortune and wealth. The sparkling orange of citrine can also offer a fetching look, the color representing the shining and nourishing light that marriage can bring. If you want to capture all of the colors of the rainbow in a single stone, the iridescent opal is a perfect fit that represents the couple’s desire and beauty.
From the durability of classic white diamond to the unique shimmer of opal, there are countless colors to consider when it comes to your engagement ring. While not the most important factor to consider, selecting your gemstone based around color can add a touch of personal significance. Explore your options and proudly wear a ring that is undeniably you.
When you ask friends and family members to be a part of your wedding party, you are telling them how special they are to you. Of course, being a bridesmaid or groomsman can also be a stressful experience. If you want to make the process enjoyable for all involved, you must take certain precautions when planning your event. Consider these suggestions and see how you can make life easier for the loved ones in your party.
Start Introductions as Early as Possible
A wedding party can sometimes be an eclectic mix of people you have known throughout your life. You may be inviting a sibling, a cousin, a childhood friend, and a college roommate to come together and work as a group. However, these people may have never met each other before. Since the members of your party will need to communicate regularly, you must facilitate introductions as early as possible. One simple way to achieve this is by inviting all participants to a preliminary “welcome” gathering. A simple event like a brunch or hangout at your home will suffice.
If people are scattered in different locations and can’t physically meet early in the process, consider starting a group text. Not only does this provide the group with immediate contact info for each member, it also makes introductions as easy as sending a quick text message.
Clearly Explain Financial Expectations
You are likely spending a lot of money on your wedding. To save funds, many couples ask the wedding party to cover certain expenses, like purchasing or renting their own dresses and suits. Unfortunately, there are couples who expect more from their party members without making these demands known. For example, the wedding party will typically coordinate the bachelor and bachelorette parties. If you want the group to throw these preliminary events and pay for them, you need to make this clear from the start. Surprising the group with extra financial burdens can lead to strained relationships.
Give Everyone a Specific Task For Your Party
One of the biggest mistakes you can make with your wedding party is assuming that everyone knows what jobs they are expected to handle. If you want one person to cover the shower plans and another to focus on booking rooms for the bachelorette party, you need to communicate this request. Delegating tasks is the only way to guarantee that everyone is on the same page. Remember, just because the maid of honor or best man traditionally takes on certain assignments does not mean your friends will automatically know what they are supposed to cover.
Be Open and Honest
Planning a wedding can be stressful, and couples often take their frustrations out on the people closest to them. If someone in your group does something that upsets you, it is important that you are open about your feelings. Keeping your emotions to yourself is an easy way for resentment to build and come out in other ways. When a friend buys shoes that don’t align with your vision, say something in a kind and supportive way. The more honest you are, the less likely it is you will explode over something small as the wedding date approaches.
Show Your Thanks For Your Wedding Party
Finally, don’t forget to show proper thanks to the members of your party. Whether you treat the group to a nice dinner or give thoughtful presents as a token of appreciation, you want to express your gratitude in a direct way. Small gestures can have a big impact and will remind your group why they agreed to take part in your special day in the first place.
Knowing how to treat the members of your wedding party is important for putting together an event that goes smoothly. As long as you show proper care, appreciation, and respect, you should have no trouble keeping everyone involved in good spirits.
Many want a special big day and there is very little new ground to cover when it comes to planning a wedding. Thankfully, this is not an event for which you need to reinvent the wheel. Since countless couples have gotten married before you over the course of human history, it would be foolish to think that you could make your nuptials entirely distinct in every respect. Still, just because an event has happened many times doesn’t mean that you can’t make your own celebration more endearing by focusing on a few personalization details.
From selecting alternatives to classic wedding ideas like flower girls to adding a unique scent into the mix, you can create an ideal arrangement for your big day with a little thought. Consider these concepts and find the right fit for your vision.
Out With the Young, in With the Old
When looking to incorporate family members into a wedding, couples tend to push certain people into very specific roles. One of the best examples of this is the flower girl. If you’ve got a young girl in your family or group of friends, then your immediate thought is likely to be to ask this child to fill the duty of flower girl. However, there is no hard-and-fast rule stating that you need to ask a young girl to step into the role.
Whether you don’t have any children in your immediate family or you just don’t want kids at your event, an alternative choice to play around with is the concept of a flower grandma. Since grandmothers play a big part in many people’s lives and there’s no official duty for a grandmother to perform at a wedding, it makes sense to ask this important person in your life to toss around a few petals on your big day.
A Special Sensory Experience
As they move through the steps of planning their nuptials, many couples will focus on some of the five senses more than others. From selecting the right music to set the mood to choosing décor to add a visual feast for guests, sight and sound tend to dominate a lot of the decisions. However, smell is an incredibly important sense to focus on when it comes to making memories. Scent is the strongest of the senses when it comes to recollection, which is why it is so easy to be transported to a memory when you catch a specific aroma.
One way to capitalize upon your olfactory senses in this regard is by finding the perfect “wedding scent” for your event. This doesn’t mean that you’re going to fill the venue with a noxious cloud of cologne or perfume, of course. Instead, you should put a lot of thought behind which scent you will wear yourself. A little dab behind your ear and on your wrists will be enough to titillate your senses, allowing you the ability to relive your wedding day whenever you wear the scent in the future.
Remembering Those Lost
Though weddings are usually celebrations, there tends to be a twinge of sadness when it comes to all of the family and friends who cannot be present because they have passed away. Some couples will honor these individuals by listing them in the event program or having them mentioned by the officiant during the ceremony. To go beyond this, consider setting up a table in the reception venue with photos and trinkets related to all of the people you wish could be there to celebrate with you.
While it can feel like there’s no way to make a wedding your own, this is far from the case. As long as you get creative and think about all of the different ways you can customize the experience, it should be easy for you to create a wonderful and memorable event.
You may have heard of the rise of micro weddings and for good reason since it is a wedding trend which is picking up some popularity. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 upended wedding plans for scores of couples, and the industry has been working to recover ever since. While there is evidence to suggest that the coming year will see a record number of weddings, there is also evidence that indicates a growing shift in wedding expectations.
Weddings are celebrations that are often characterized by their scale, extravagance, and glamour. There’s nothing wrong with this, of course. After all, weddings are joyous occasions that should be memorable. Still, many couples are realizing that memorable experiences are not dictated by scale alone. Enter the growing trend of micro weddings. Couples are finding that these intimate affairs are a great way to christen their love while also remaining efficient in terms of money and planning.
What Are Micro Weddings?
An average wedding guest list in Canada falls between 150 and 200 people. As one can imagine, a guest list that size can come with a pretty hefty price tag. Food, drinks, and venue alone are enough to push a wedding towards tens of thousands of dollars. Not only is this a hefty upfront cost, but it also leaves little room for future investments like a honeymoon or down payment on a house.
On the other hand, a micro wedding is a wedding celebration that features no more than 50 guests. Weddings of this kind offer a number of advantages. The most obvious among these is cost. An average wedding in Canada costs around C$30,000. Conversely, a micro wedding can be had for C$5,000 or significantly less, depending on what the couple has in mind. Additionally, weddings with smaller guest lists ensure that those in attendance are indeed the nearest and dearest to the newlyweds. Couples that opt for smaller gatherings can christen their love while avoiding financial pitfalls and unnecessary stress.
The Impact of COVID-19
The ongoing pandemic is bound to have a lasting impact on the public perception of weddings. The limitations wrought by the past two years have given rise to new possibilities. For example, micro weddings have always been an option. However, many couples never considered them as viable until circumstances forced them to do so. Health restrictions have reduced the size of most public gatherings, and weddings are no exception. Additionally, the pandemic has led many people to avoid public gatherings of their own accord.
For many couples, this posed a dilemma. They could either delay their wedding celebrations for a more opportune time or opt for a simple legal proceeding at a courthouse. In a scenario where neither option was particularly appealing, micro weddings have emerged as an effective middle ground between the two. Now that smaller weddings are being embraced in the wake of COVID-19, they are likely to grow in popularity even as the public health situation improves.
Micro Weddings The Rising Cost of Living
In the US and Canada, the cost of living was on the rise long before the global pandemic took hold. Stagnating wages coupled with the increasing cost of housing have created an environment where weddings of traditional scale are becoming less feasible. Micro weddings are a reflection of a growing trend of practical minimalism among millennials. Whether due to ethics or economic necessity, many millennials are coming to value experiences more than material things. Micro weddings are proof that the time-honored tradition of wedding ceremonies need not be lavish in order to be memorable. Micro weddings are a testament to the enduring strength of unions between lovers. In a world where the aesthetics of a wedding can sometimes overshadow its true meaning, reevaluating scale gives one the opportunity to reflect upon what is truly important.
The rituals surrounding weddings can change faster than many people can track. If you’ve always pictured having a classic affair that includes many Canadian traditions, you might find it difficult to know which are worth your time. From tea parties to sliding around the dance floor in socks, there are some fun ideas to consider incorporating into your own festivities. Review these suggestions and get a better feel for the customs that have made weddings across Canada special for generations.
The Canadian Tea Party
To keep a guest list from growing out of control, couples have to make cuts. Unfortunately, sometimes the people excluded from the event are good friends and associates. One tradition that has been slowly fading is the “trousseau tea party.” This is a small luncheon held by the couple before the wedding and attended by those who didn’t make the official guest list. Initially, this event was arranged by the mother of the bride. Nowadays, couples who decide to partake in a trousseau tea party will put together the gatherings themselves.
The Canadian Toast
Wedding toasts are one of the more commonplace rituals. Nowadays, it has become custom for the toasts to be given by members of the wedding party or immediate relatives of the couple. However, there has been another popular way to go about toasting in Canada that might be worth considering for your event. Instead of having people talk about you, this toast tradition involves the couple getting up and toasting to the couples who have inspired them.
This tradition is one that can be fun to incorporate because it is unexpected and sweet. Most guests at a wedding get a little bored during the toasts, especially when the person speaking isn’t engaging. When the couple decides to speak, however, everyone in the room listens. This is your day, and toasting to the couples who have shown you perfect examples of love and commitment can be a great way to bring good energy into your union.
The Socks
There is a famous scene in the film “Risky Business” when actor Tom Cruise slides across a wood floor in his socks while dancing and singing. Though this scene didn’t inspire the next tradition, the general idea is the same. The sock dance ritual popular at many Canadian weddings is one that is usually conducted by the siblings of the happy couple. The brothers and sisters will hit the dance floor wearing their socks and commit to sliding and dancing as a way of entertaining the rest of the guests.
The dances can be as serious or silly as the siblings wish, whatever will get the rest of the guests up and engaged. Traditionally, the guests would throw money at the dancers as a way of encouraging them. When the dances are done, the money would be collected from around the floor, stuffed in a sock, and given to the couple as a gift. This is a fun way to get your siblings to act foolish at your behest and make a few bucks along the way.
The Emcee
Hiring an emcee for a wedding is one trend that seems to be rising in popularity in recent years. Essentially, the emcee acts as part entertainer and part coordinator. He or she will announce important moments like the first dance, the cutting of the cake, and the speakers giving toasts. The emcee can also try to hype the crowd when energy is low or interact with the guests in a lively way. You can hire someone for this job or ask a good friend with an energetic personality to take the role.
A wedding can include whatever traditions you wish. Whether you go with classic Canadian rituals or customs from elsewhere, you should always opt for what has the most meaning to you.
Can anyone predict the right time to marry? In recent months, much has been written about the wedding boom expected to unfold this year. Waning pandemic restrictions combined with two years of pent-up demand have set the stage for an explosive year for Canada’s wedding industry. While this is certainly a cause for celebration, it comes at a time when Canadians appear to be rethinking their views on marriage altogether.
Canadian census data indicates a dramatic decline since 1996 in marriage rates among young people. Twenty years ago, nearly 40% of Canadians aged 20–29 were legally married. Since then, the marriage rate among this cohort has steadily declined. The most recent data indicates that around 1 in 5 of Canadian twenty-somethings has legally tied the knot. This data is consistent with a broader trend across the developed world. Young people are marrying later and less frequently than ever before. Economists, sociologists, and religious bodies have all voiced concerns about the trend. While alarming to some, these numbers may simply indicate a shift in perspective rather than a collapse of tradition.
The Other Side of the Story
It is easy to focus on the downtrend in legal marriage alone. However, drawing conclusions based on this alone ignores a broader narrative. The decline in married young couples is complemented by an equally dramatic rise in the number of common-law marriages. Thus, this data does not indicate the desire to forego long-term romantic partnerships entirely. Rather, it indicates young Canadians’ desire to validate their partnership on their own terms instead of through religious institutions or the state.
Cardus, a Canadian research firm, set out to gather more context on the motivations behind the demographic shifts around marriage attitudes. The study included couples who are legally married, couples who intend to marry, and long-term couples with no intention to marry. The findings were eye-opening.
Why Do We Marry?
Since marriage is a pillar of social and economic life, it can be very easy to take for granted. So easy, in fact, that seldom are couples asked about the why behind their decision. The data collected in the Cardus study posed this very question first. The participants who were legally married overwhelmingly cited “proof of love and commitment” as their primary motivation. For couples who intend to marry, “proof of love and commitment” accounted for a whopping 50% of reasoning.
This is striking because this reasoning outperformed “cultural, moral, and religious beliefs” by a 2:1 ratio. In a Western context, marriage has been socially enforced in many instances. Even among young people, there appears to be a shift in that perspective.
So Why Not Marry?
The story for long-term unmarried couples is different. However, it reflects many of the same attitudes. Nearly 65% of unmarried couples indicated that they had no intention to wed because their current arrangement was acceptable as it stood, or that they did not believe in the institution of marriage.
Considering that the couples surveyed are in long-term partnerships, it’s safe to say that they too value love and commitment. Yet they don’t feel the need to validate their love for one another through the traditional channels anymore. Many argue that this could be the pathway to more fruitful relationships between young couples.
Love and commitment are intrinsically beautiful things. For many, though, marriage as an institution can feel attached to coercive power dynamics, social status, and economic advancement. For younger couples, a “back to basics” approach appears to be developing. There seems to be a rejection of the belief that marriage is a necessary task. Rather it is an embrace of the belief that pursuing love and commitment is about spiritual fulfillment above all else. Thus, the decline in marriage rates may indicate an expansion of our understanding of marriage into something more grand than an “institution.”
One of the best ways to plan your wedding is by looking for useful advice. When planning your nuptials there is no shortage of publications online and in print that can provide you with insight. there’s also a lot to be said for searching out input from those with actual authority on the matter. Specifically, there have been a lot couples who have been through the process of planning their nuptials. Therefore they can provide you with a ton of helpful information related to getting your own event off the ground. Take a look at these tips offered by newlyweds, and weed through some of your future challenges.
Inspiration Should Always Be Welcome
From the second you get engaged, your subconscious mind will be thinking about your wedding in some capacity. Most couples warn against diving right into planning, as you want to actually enjoy the engagement period without feeling the pressure of the future. However, there is an agreement among newlyweds that you should take inspiration whenever it comes along. Whether you create a mood board, surf the internet for pictures, or think back on what your childhood image of a dream wedding looked like, letting your wheels turn can be incredibly useful.
If you are excited to get married and want to ensure your event looks and feels exactly how you envision, then starting the preliminary steps of feeling inspired can be invaluable. Despite that it is practical in most ways, it is also a lot of fun and can get you feeling nervous butterflies and other motivational anticipatory sensations.
Your Needs Come Before Any Checklist
When you’re on the hunt for planning advice, you are undoubtedly going to come across the suggestion to create a thorough checklist. There’s a lot to be said for being organized and understanding your timeline. Still, you might find your own needs or desires conflict with what professionals have to say. When all is said and done, this is your wedding. If there’s a certain service you want to book early because it seems most exciting to you, then feel free to take care of this task before any of the recommended steps.
Certain checklist points will naturally fall into place. Most couples set their budgets before anything else, which is usually the first tip that wedding experts offer to the recently engaged. This means that any list you create should be used as a loose guideline so you still feel in control of the planning process.
Remember You Need To Have Fun Too
While booking vendors, a common mistake that couples make is selecting businesses based exclusively on price and the services offered. Though very useful, you should also consider factors like the way the business conducts operations. Some vendors are not as adept at handling big events, constantly interrupting the couple during the festivities to ask questions. Since you want to enjoy your big day and not spend half of your time handling inquiries from vendors, you should seek out professionals who exude self-sufficiency.
Schedule Some Breaks
Once the actual planning process starts, you may feel like it cannot stop until you walk down the aisle. However, newlyweds push the idea of scheduling breaks into the planning period in order to stay sane. If you constantly force yourself to focus on wedding tasks, you may burn out fast. By taking a few days off, you can take a lot of the pressure off and come back to the drawing board with a renewed sense of confidence. This is also true during your wedding, as small breaks can keep you in the best spirits.
While you can easily find a ton of helpful wedding advice on the internet, you should also remain mindful of what married couples have to say on the matter. When you take heed of the suggestions offered by those who know what it is like to go through the process, it can provide insight in a way that delivers tangible results.
It is no surprise to learn that relationships change over time. The longer you are with someone, the easier it can be to predict this individual’s actions and words. While there is a lot of comfort to be found in knowing someone intimately, it can also take some of the excitement out of the relationship. This is because curiosity is one of the most important components of the human spirit. When you are curious about something, whether it be a topic of research or another person, you are more likely to feel engaged and the intimacy alive.
Though curiosity might fade as a marriage progresses, there are ways to keep your intrigue alive. Review these ideas and discover how a few simple steps can help you remain curious about your partner and keep intimacy alive.
Start With Active Listening
How often have you found yourself zoning out while your significant other is speaking to you? When you have had a long day and you enter into a conversation with your partner, you might find yourself struggling to stay engaged. This is because many people are not adept at active listening. Since they have heard their partners tell the same stories a dozen times, they start to listen with less interest and assume they know how the stories will play out. However, actively listening to your partner is absolutely key to remaining curious.
No matter how long you’ve been married, you really don’t know what words will come out of your partner’s mouth. By keeping yourself focused and listening with intent, you are showing your significant other that you care. Active listening will help you hold onto details being brought up in a story. This, in turn, will cause you to ask additional questions about the story. The more you interact with your significant other while he or she is talking to you, the easier it is for a natural ebb and flow of conversation to occur, this can help with keeping intimacy spark thriving.
Intimacy andLearning To Meet Your Partners Needs
Just as a relationship changes over time, so do the needs of both partners. Unfortunately, many couples fail to check in about these topics. If you are operating under the assumption that your spouse has the exact same needs he or she had when you met many years ago, you definitely need to make some changes. Being curious about your significant other is all about asking questions. If your partner is acting off, you should be direct and learn more about why. Acting under an assumption based on outdated needs can be a huge mistake.
When you show your partner that you care about his or her needs, you are nourishing your relationship in a significant way. Since you don’t want to assume and needs are always changing, the best way to gain perspective is to be curious and direct. When your partner seems down, ask why instead of assuming you already know.
Future Talks
Planning for the future is par for the course in most relationships. Still, you might find you really don’t know much about what your partner’s hopes and dreams are anymore. Early in a relationship, it is easy to openly discuss long-term goals and desires. As time moves on, however, such objectives can become more personal and unspoken. By having regular conversations about the future, you can show a vested interest in what your significant other wants to achieve down the line. This can help you plan together and, more importantly, stay open with each other.
While relationships might change and shift over the years, there is no need to throw in the towel. In many cases, a little bit of curiosity can go a long way to keep a relationship fresh. Learn to engage and remain interested in your partner’s thoughts and ideas, and see how a little intrigue can keep your bond strong.
Many of us share our homes and hearts with four-legged companions. The Canadian Animal Health Institute reports that around 58% of the nation’s households have dogs or cats. Felines slightly outnumber canines, with 8.1 million cats versus 7.7 million dogs. If you’re like many engaged couples, you want to include Max or Fifi in your wedding day. With a few health and safety tips, your furry companion can enjoy the festivities along with you.
Food and Beverage Safety Tips
Maybe you’re fortunate to have a well-behaved companion that doesn’t beg. Or your furry bestie steals food off your plate at every opportunity. Either way, food safety is important when it comes to your pets. You’ll have loads of delicious delicacies for your guests, but some can make your pet severely ill. The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association lists several common risky foods:
Chocolate, tea, and coffee
Alcohol
Grape-derived foods
Onions, garlic, chives, and leeks
Macadamia nuts
Salty foods
Raw bones, meat, and seafood
Many of these are toxic even in small quantities, thanks to your pet’s smaller size and body weight. Some, such as onions and garlic, contain compounds that can cause serious illness. Raw animal products may harbor bacteria and parasites. And as for bones, they can break into smaller pieces that can cut soft tissue. The Humane Society of the United States list many more harmful foods and beverages.
You don’t have to redesign your entire menu to ensure your companions’ safety. Quite frankly, it’s an impossible effort. Inform your guests that they should not slip Fido or Fluffy any table scraps. PetMD suggests asking a trusted friend to keep an eye on your pets – just in case their sad-eyed looks get the best of someone. Alternatively, you may want to have someone take your furry friends home after the ceremony.
Flowers and Green Décor
Just as some foods can make your pet sick, so can many ornamental plants. Popular wedding flowers such as lilies, gardenias, dahlias, and hydrangeas can literally poison your cat or dog. Toxic plants also include non-flowering greenery like laurel, eucalyptus, and palm leaves. Your pets may not chomp on your bouquets or boutonnieres, but curiosity could lead them to munch on centerpieces, altar arrangements, and other décor.
So what’s a couple to do? PetMD offers a simple solution: Choose nontoxic varieties. Working with your florist can help you figure out which ones to avoid. The ASPCA provides an exhaustive database with hundreds of entries on flowers, green plants, nuts, and produce.
Door-Dashing Dogs and Cantankerous Cats
Animals can be unpredictable, even if they’re your lifelong friends and you know them inside out. The cacophony of wedding day sights, smells, and sounds can excite or overwhelm your pet. The last thing you want is Spot crashing headfirst into a glass door or Luna cowering and hissing in a corner. Should your pet cause injuries to guests or vendor staff, you’ll be held liable.
Preventing pet-related catastrophes requires a few smart steps. Hire a pet sitter for the day, suggests Wedding Ideas’ Lottie Dainton. Not only will your furry friends be taken care of, but your sitter will also see to their safety and well-being. Dogs should be leashed trained, and if possible, consider leash training cats as well. Cat behavior expert Jackson Galaxy recommends clicker training to ease your feline friend into the practice.
Minding Your Four-Legged Guests
Your wedding is a monumental event, so it’s natural that you want to include your pet. Being mindful of your friend’s safety and needs is key. Keeping pets away from people food and choosing nontoxic plant décor can avoid food poisoning. A trusted friend or sitter can also ensure your four-legged bestie is taken care of. With these safety measures, your pet can stay healthy and happy on your big day.
There are quite a few topics you would want to discuss before getting married. Couples all over the world pledge to marry each other with the understanding that their lives will be tied together. Canadian couples understand the concept of “two becoming one.” They know that married life will be one of joint decision-making, compromises, and hopefully, a balanced exchange of ideas. A successful union is more than just sharing a home or a bed. You’ll be sharing more than just a living space, which is why it’s important to see where the two of you stand on certain key issues. It’s hard to know your significant other’s perspective without having these difficult, although critical, conversations before the big day.
Money, Money, Money
Can you imagine marrying a person with no knowledge of their income or assets? Presumably you’ll be living together, so you’ll need to have a conversation about how monthly expenses will be paid. Expand the conversation to other key money-related topics:
Attitudes towards money
Sharing bank accounts or maintaining existing assets
Short-term financial goals, such as saving for the wedding or a down payment for a home
Long-term financial goals, including college planning, retirement, and estate planning
Credit histories and attitudes on debt
Appetite for risk when it comes to investing
Sex and Intimacy
There are many opinions about whether couples should or shouldn’t have sex before marriage. Even if both of you are on the same page, it’s important to talk openly and honestly about sex and intimacy. Are there practices you enjoy? What about your partner? What if you have an aversion to the acts and expressions your partner finds enjoyable? You don’t want to discover on your honeymoon that you and your partner are incompatible when it comes to sex, intimacy, and affection.
Topics WithHealth Issues
Many engaged and newly married couples intend to start families of their own. Every couple should talk honestly and freely about health issues, especially those that run in their families. Are you predisposed to certain medical conditions? For example, if you and your spouse both come from families with a history of certain chronic diseases, you’ll want to know that, especially if you plan to have children together. Even if kids aren’t a part of the long-term plan, you should discuss medical histories. If dramatic lifestyle changes become necessary for one of you, both of you will be impacted.
Topics On Worldviews
If you’ve been dating for a while, there’s a good chance you know your significant other’s perspective when it comes to religion and politics. You might think you’re on board with your partner’s worldview, but you’d hate to be blindsided after marriage. Some people avoid discussing these topics, thinking they’re unfruitful or destructive. It’s critical to know where you both stand. Issues you find trivial may be a big deal to your future spouse. You may be ok with your partner having a different religion or political view, but that may change once children enter the picture.
Conflict ResolutionTopics
It’s safe to say you and your significant other won’t agree on everything. That’s ok. Successful marriages aren’t about avoiding conflict but rather resolving it in a way that is mutually beneficial and healthy. Do you prefer to deal with conflict as it comes up? Maybe one or both of you tend to struggle with small disagreements, which can become bigger sources of contention. Not only do you need to discuss conflict resolution, but it’s also important to recognize how your biases, insecurities, and vulnerabilities may show up in your disagreements.
Sharing life together as a married couple means understanding that some days won’t be as sunny as others. Having open and honest discussions about difficult topics beforehand can help you navigate through and around storms. While it’s important to approach marriage with an open heart, open eyes are also critical.
Selecting the perfect ring has long proven a challenge for couples looking to take the next step in their relationships. While factors like price and style may influence your decision, you might also find it interesting to learn more about gemstones. The color of the rock in an engagement ring can signify many different ideas. If you want to have some more fun while picking a ring, take a look at these common stones and what their colors say about your love.
The Classic White Diamondring
To kick the list off, consider the classic white diamond. Once popular because of its rarity, this type of stone is actually now the most common gem found in engagement jewelry. This has led many couples to shy away from white diamonds and turn to more exciting and unique options. If you still think this is the perfect fit for you, then remember that diamonds are meant to signify strength. Just as diamond is one of the most durable materials found on the planet, so will your relationship withstand whatever is thrown at it.
The Alternative Diamond Shades
Since white diamonds are seen as too traditional by many modern couples, colored diamonds have taken off in popularity. Those with a golden hue, which are sometimes referred to as champagne diamonds, are said to represent the effervescent, joyous side of relationships. Pink options are also a nice choice, the soft color symbolizing romance and imagination. Finally, yellow diamonds are a stone connected with excitement. Choosing a gem in this shade means your years will be filled with wonderful surprises. These are just a few colors available, with each representing a unique facet of your love story.
The Shades of Bluering
If you want to forego the standard diamond option, there are troves of other stones worth your time. Those who have a preference for blue may want to think about aquamarine. The color of this stone captures the cool tone of ocean waters and represents the fluidity of love as it changes over time. Blue sapphires are also a great choice, their bold appearance being the prime option for celebrities and royalty alike. Though a bit more of a deep purple than blue, tanzanite is an appealing option that represents the magic of your love.
The Red Hot
In contrast to the cool-blue tones, stones in red offer a chance to really make a statement. Rubies are a perfect pick for those looking to capture the passion of a relationship. Along the same lines is the almandine garnet. While this gem also represents passion, the deep-red hue of the stone symbolizes the serenity that can be found in a long-term partnership. Though more pink than red, morganite is a great pick for a couple looking to capture the whimsical aspect of love.
The Rest of the Rainbow
Gemstones come in every shade you can imagine, meaning that it can be difficult to cover all the options available to you in one list. Some popular choices to consider include emerald, the deep green said to symbolize good fortune and wealth. The sparkling orange of citrine can also offer a fetching look, the color representing the shining and nourishing light that marriage can bring. If you want to capture all of the colors of the rainbow in a single stone, the iridescent opal is a perfect fit that represents the couple’s desire and beauty.
From the durability of classic white diamond to the unique shimmer of opal, there are countless colors to consider when it comes to your engagement ring. While not the most important factor to consider, selecting your gemstone based around color can add a touch of personal significance. Explore your options and proudly wear a ring that is undeniably you.
When you ask friends and family members to be a part of your wedding party, you are telling them how special they are to you. Of course, being a bridesmaid or groomsman can also be a stressful experience. If you want to make the process enjoyable for all involved, you must take certain precautions when planning your event. Consider these suggestions and see how you can make life easier for the loved ones in your party.
Start Introductions as Early as Possible
A wedding party can sometimes be an eclectic mix of people you have known throughout your life. You may be inviting a sibling, a cousin, a childhood friend, and a college roommate to come together and work as a group. However, these people may have never met each other before. Since the members of your party will need to communicate regularly, you must facilitate introductions as early as possible. One simple way to achieve this is by inviting all participants to a preliminary “welcome” gathering. A simple event like a brunch or hangout at your home will suffice.
If people are scattered in different locations and can’t physically meet early in the process, consider starting a group text. Not only does this provide the group with immediate contact info for each member, it also makes introductions as easy as sending a quick text message.
Clearly Explain Financial Expectations
You are likely spending a lot of money on your wedding. To save funds, many couples ask the wedding party to cover certain expenses, like purchasing or renting their own dresses and suits. Unfortunately, there are couples who expect more from their party members without making these demands known. For example, the wedding party will typically coordinate the bachelor and bachelorette parties. If you want the group to throw these preliminary events and pay for them, you need to make this clear from the start. Surprising the group with extra financial burdens can lead to strained relationships.
Give Everyone a Specific Task For Your Party
One of the biggest mistakes you can make with your wedding party is assuming that everyone knows what jobs they are expected to handle. If you want one person to cover the shower plans and another to focus on booking rooms for the bachelorette party, you need to communicate this request. Delegating tasks is the only way to guarantee that everyone is on the same page. Remember, just because the maid of honor or best man traditionally takes on certain assignments does not mean your friends will automatically know what they are supposed to cover.
Be Open and Honest
Planning a wedding can be stressful, and couples often take their frustrations out on the people closest to them. If someone in your group does something that upsets you, it is important that you are open about your feelings. Keeping your emotions to yourself is an easy way for resentment to build and come out in other ways. When a friend buys shoes that don’t align with your vision, say something in a kind and supportive way. The more honest you are, the less likely it is you will explode over something small as the wedding date approaches.
Show Your Thanks For Your Wedding Party
Finally, don’t forget to show proper thanks to the members of your party. Whether you treat the group to a nice dinner or give thoughtful presents as a token of appreciation, you want to express your gratitude in a direct way. Small gestures can have a big impact and will remind your group why they agreed to take part in your special day in the first place.
Knowing how to treat the members of your wedding party is important for putting together an event that goes smoothly. As long as you show proper care, appreciation, and respect, you should have no trouble keeping everyone involved in good spirits.
Many want a special big day and there is very little new ground to cover when it comes to planning a wedding. Thankfully, this is not an event for which you need to reinvent the wheel. Since countless couples have gotten married before you over the course of human history, it would be foolish to think that you could make your nuptials entirely distinct in every respect. Still, just because an event has happened many times doesn’t mean that you can’t make your own celebration more endearing by focusing on a few personalization details.
From selecting alternatives to classic wedding ideas like flower girls to adding a unique scent into the mix, you can create an ideal arrangement for your big day with a little thought. Consider these concepts and find the right fit for your vision.
Out With the Young, in With the Old
When looking to incorporate family members into a wedding, couples tend to push certain people into very specific roles. One of the best examples of this is the flower girl. If you’ve got a young girl in your family or group of friends, then your immediate thought is likely to be to ask this child to fill the duty of flower girl. However, there is no hard-and-fast rule stating that you need to ask a young girl to step into the role.
Whether you don’t have any children in your immediate family or you just don’t want kids at your event, an alternative choice to play around with is the concept of a flower grandma. Since grandmothers play a big part in many people’s lives and there’s no official duty for a grandmother to perform at a wedding, it makes sense to ask this important person in your life to toss around a few petals on your big day.
A Special Sensory Experience
As they move through the steps of planning their nuptials, many couples will focus on some of the five senses more than others. From selecting the right music to set the mood to choosing décor to add a visual feast for guests, sight and sound tend to dominate a lot of the decisions. However, smell is an incredibly important sense to focus on when it comes to making memories. Scent is the strongest of the senses when it comes to recollection, which is why it is so easy to be transported to a memory when you catch a specific aroma.
One way to capitalize upon your olfactory senses in this regard is by finding the perfect “wedding scent” for your event. This doesn’t mean that you’re going to fill the venue with a noxious cloud of cologne or perfume, of course. Instead, you should put a lot of thought behind which scent you will wear yourself. A little dab behind your ear and on your wrists will be enough to titillate your senses, allowing you the ability to relive your wedding day whenever you wear the scent in the future.
Remembering Those Lost
Though weddings are usually celebrations, there tends to be a twinge of sadness when it comes to all of the family and friends who cannot be present because they have passed away. Some couples will honor these individuals by listing them in the event program or having them mentioned by the officiant during the ceremony. To go beyond this, consider setting up a table in the reception venue with photos and trinkets related to all of the people you wish could be there to celebrate with you.
While it can feel like there’s no way to make a wedding your own, this is far from the case. As long as you get creative and think about all of the different ways you can customize the experience, it should be easy for you to create a wonderful and memorable event.
You may have heard of the rise of micro weddings and for good reason since it is a wedding trend which is picking up some popularity. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 upended wedding plans for scores of couples, and the industry has been working to recover ever since. While there is evidence to suggest that the coming year will see a record number of weddings, there is also evidence that indicates a growing shift in wedding expectations.
Weddings are celebrations that are often characterized by their scale, extravagance, and glamour. There’s nothing wrong with this, of course. After all, weddings are joyous occasions that should be memorable. Still, many couples are realizing that memorable experiences are not dictated by scale alone. Enter the growing trend of micro weddings. Couples are finding that these intimate affairs are a great way to christen their love while also remaining efficient in terms of money and planning.
What Are Micro Weddings?
An average wedding guest list in Canada falls between 150 and 200 people. As one can imagine, a guest list that size can come with a pretty hefty price tag. Food, drinks, and venue alone are enough to push a wedding towards tens of thousands of dollars. Not only is this a hefty upfront cost, but it also leaves little room for future investments like a honeymoon or down payment on a house.
On the other hand, a micro wedding is a wedding celebration that features no more than 50 guests. Weddings of this kind offer a number of advantages. The most obvious among these is cost. An average wedding in Canada costs around C$30,000. Conversely, a micro wedding can be had for C$5,000 or significantly less, depending on what the couple has in mind. Additionally, weddings with smaller guest lists ensure that those in attendance are indeed the nearest and dearest to the newlyweds. Couples that opt for smaller gatherings can christen their love while avoiding financial pitfalls and unnecessary stress.
The Impact of COVID-19
The ongoing pandemic is bound to have a lasting impact on the public perception of weddings. The limitations wrought by the past two years have given rise to new possibilities. For example, micro weddings have always been an option. However, many couples never considered them as viable until circumstances forced them to do so. Health restrictions have reduced the size of most public gatherings, and weddings are no exception. Additionally, the pandemic has led many people to avoid public gatherings of their own accord.
For many couples, this posed a dilemma. They could either delay their wedding celebrations for a more opportune time or opt for a simple legal proceeding at a courthouse. In a scenario where neither option was particularly appealing, micro weddings have emerged as an effective middle ground between the two. Now that smaller weddings are being embraced in the wake of COVID-19, they are likely to grow in popularity even as the public health situation improves.
Micro Weddings The Rising Cost of Living
In the US and Canada, the cost of living was on the rise long before the global pandemic took hold. Stagnating wages coupled with the increasing cost of housing have created an environment where weddings of traditional scale are becoming less feasible. Micro weddings are a reflection of a growing trend of practical minimalism among millennials. Whether due to ethics or economic necessity, many millennials are coming to value experiences more than material things. Micro weddings are proof that the time-honored tradition of wedding ceremonies need not be lavish in order to be memorable. Micro weddings are a testament to the enduring strength of unions between lovers. In a world where the aesthetics of a wedding can sometimes overshadow its true meaning, reevaluating scale gives one the opportunity to reflect upon what is truly important.
The rituals surrounding weddings can change faster than many people can track. If you’ve always pictured having a classic affair that includes many Canadian traditions, you might find it difficult to know which are worth your time. From tea parties to sliding around the dance floor in socks, there are some fun ideas to consider incorporating into your own festivities. Review these suggestions and get a better feel for the customs that have made weddings across Canada special for generations.
The Canadian Tea Party
To keep a guest list from growing out of control, couples have to make cuts. Unfortunately, sometimes the people excluded from the event are good friends and associates. One tradition that has been slowly fading is the “trousseau tea party.” This is a small luncheon held by the couple before the wedding and attended by those who didn’t make the official guest list. Initially, this event was arranged by the mother of the bride. Nowadays, couples who decide to partake in a trousseau tea party will put together the gatherings themselves.
The Canadian Toast
Wedding toasts are one of the more commonplace rituals. Nowadays, it has become custom for the toasts to be given by members of the wedding party or immediate relatives of the couple. However, there has been another popular way to go about toasting in Canada that might be worth considering for your event. Instead of having people talk about you, this toast tradition involves the couple getting up and toasting to the couples who have inspired them.
This tradition is one that can be fun to incorporate because it is unexpected and sweet. Most guests at a wedding get a little bored during the toasts, especially when the person speaking isn’t engaging. When the couple decides to speak, however, everyone in the room listens. This is your day, and toasting to the couples who have shown you perfect examples of love and commitment can be a great way to bring good energy into your union.
The Socks
There is a famous scene in the film “Risky Business” when actor Tom Cruise slides across a wood floor in his socks while dancing and singing. Though this scene didn’t inspire the next tradition, the general idea is the same. The sock dance ritual popular at many Canadian weddings is one that is usually conducted by the siblings of the happy couple. The brothers and sisters will hit the dance floor wearing their socks and commit to sliding and dancing as a way of entertaining the rest of the guests.
The dances can be as serious or silly as the siblings wish, whatever will get the rest of the guests up and engaged. Traditionally, the guests would throw money at the dancers as a way of encouraging them. When the dances are done, the money would be collected from around the floor, stuffed in a sock, and given to the couple as a gift. This is a fun way to get your siblings to act foolish at your behest and make a few bucks along the way.
The Emcee
Hiring an emcee for a wedding is one trend that seems to be rising in popularity in recent years. Essentially, the emcee acts as part entertainer and part coordinator. He or she will announce important moments like the first dance, the cutting of the cake, and the speakers giving toasts. The emcee can also try to hype the crowd when energy is low or interact with the guests in a lively way. You can hire someone for this job or ask a good friend with an energetic personality to take the role.
A wedding can include whatever traditions you wish. Whether you go with classic Canadian rituals or customs from elsewhere, you should always opt for what has the most meaning to you.
Can anyone predict the right time to marry? In recent months, much has been written about the wedding boom expected to unfold this year. Waning pandemic restrictions combined with two years of pent-up demand have set the stage for an explosive year for Canada’s wedding industry. While this is certainly a cause for celebration, it comes at a time when Canadians appear to be rethinking their views on marriage altogether.
Canadian census data indicates a dramatic decline since 1996 in marriage rates among young people. Twenty years ago, nearly 40% of Canadians aged 20–29 were legally married. Since then, the marriage rate among this cohort has steadily declined. The most recent data indicates that around 1 in 5 of Canadian twenty-somethings has legally tied the knot. This data is consistent with a broader trend across the developed world. Young people are marrying later and less frequently than ever before. Economists, sociologists, and religious bodies have all voiced concerns about the trend. While alarming to some, these numbers may simply indicate a shift in perspective rather than a collapse of tradition.
The Other Side of the Story
It is easy to focus on the downtrend in legal marriage alone. However, drawing conclusions based on this alone ignores a broader narrative. The decline in married young couples is complemented by an equally dramatic rise in the number of common-law marriages. Thus, this data does not indicate the desire to forego long-term romantic partnerships entirely. Rather, it indicates young Canadians’ desire to validate their partnership on their own terms instead of through religious institutions or the state.
Cardus, a Canadian research firm, set out to gather more context on the motivations behind the demographic shifts around marriage attitudes. The study included couples who are legally married, couples who intend to marry, and long-term couples with no intention to marry. The findings were eye-opening.
Why Do We Marry?
Since marriage is a pillar of social and economic life, it can be very easy to take for granted. So easy, in fact, that seldom are couples asked about the why behind their decision. The data collected in the Cardus study posed this very question first. The participants who were legally married overwhelmingly cited “proof of love and commitment” as their primary motivation. For couples who intend to marry, “proof of love and commitment” accounted for a whopping 50% of reasoning.
This is striking because this reasoning outperformed “cultural, moral, and religious beliefs” by a 2:1 ratio. In a Western context, marriage has been socially enforced in many instances. Even among young people, there appears to be a shift in that perspective.
So Why Not Marry?
The story for long-term unmarried couples is different. However, it reflects many of the same attitudes. Nearly 65% of unmarried couples indicated that they had no intention to wed because their current arrangement was acceptable as it stood, or that they did not believe in the institution of marriage.
Considering that the couples surveyed are in long-term partnerships, it’s safe to say that they too value love and commitment. Yet they don’t feel the need to validate their love for one another through the traditional channels anymore. Many argue that this could be the pathway to more fruitful relationships between young couples.
Love and commitment are intrinsically beautiful things. For many, though, marriage as an institution can feel attached to coercive power dynamics, social status, and economic advancement. For younger couples, a “back to basics” approach appears to be developing. There seems to be a rejection of the belief that marriage is a necessary task. Rather it is an embrace of the belief that pursuing love and commitment is about spiritual fulfillment above all else. Thus, the decline in marriage rates may indicate an expansion of our understanding of marriage into something more grand than an “institution.”
One of the best ways to plan your wedding is by looking for useful advice. When planning your nuptials there is no shortage of publications online and in print that can provide you with insight. there’s also a lot to be said for searching out input from those with actual authority on the matter. Specifically, there have been a lot couples who have been through the process of planning their nuptials. Therefore they can provide you with a ton of helpful information related to getting your own event off the ground. Take a look at these tips offered by newlyweds, and weed through some of your future challenges.
Inspiration Should Always Be Welcome
From the second you get engaged, your subconscious mind will be thinking about your wedding in some capacity. Most couples warn against diving right into planning, as you want to actually enjoy the engagement period without feeling the pressure of the future. However, there is an agreement among newlyweds that you should take inspiration whenever it comes along. Whether you create a mood board, surf the internet for pictures, or think back on what your childhood image of a dream wedding looked like, letting your wheels turn can be incredibly useful.
If you are excited to get married and want to ensure your event looks and feels exactly how you envision, then starting the preliminary steps of feeling inspired can be invaluable. Despite that it is practical in most ways, it is also a lot of fun and can get you feeling nervous butterflies and other motivational anticipatory sensations.
Your Needs Come Before Any Checklist
When you’re on the hunt for planning advice, you are undoubtedly going to come across the suggestion to create a thorough checklist. There’s a lot to be said for being organized and understanding your timeline. Still, you might find your own needs or desires conflict with what professionals have to say. When all is said and done, this is your wedding. If there’s a certain service you want to book early because it seems most exciting to you, then feel free to take care of this task before any of the recommended steps.
Certain checklist points will naturally fall into place. Most couples set their budgets before anything else, which is usually the first tip that wedding experts offer to the recently engaged. This means that any list you create should be used as a loose guideline so you still feel in control of the planning process.
Remember You Need To Have Fun Too
While booking vendors, a common mistake that couples make is selecting businesses based exclusively on price and the services offered. Though very useful, you should also consider factors like the way the business conducts operations. Some vendors are not as adept at handling big events, constantly interrupting the couple during the festivities to ask questions. Since you want to enjoy your big day and not spend half of your time handling inquiries from vendors, you should seek out professionals who exude self-sufficiency.
Schedule Some Breaks
Once the actual planning process starts, you may feel like it cannot stop until you walk down the aisle. However, newlyweds push the idea of scheduling breaks into the planning period in order to stay sane. If you constantly force yourself to focus on wedding tasks, you may burn out fast. By taking a few days off, you can take a lot of the pressure off and come back to the drawing board with a renewed sense of confidence. This is also true during your wedding, as small breaks can keep you in the best spirits.
While you can easily find a ton of helpful wedding advice on the internet, you should also remain mindful of what married couples have to say on the matter. When you take heed of the suggestions offered by those who know what it is like to go through the process, it can provide insight in a way that delivers tangible results.
It is no surprise to learn that relationships change over time. The longer you are with someone, the easier it can be to predict this individual’s actions and words. While there is a lot of comfort to be found in knowing someone intimately, it can also take some of the excitement out of the relationship. This is because curiosity is one of the most important components of the human spirit. When you are curious about something, whether it be a topic of research or another person, you are more likely to feel engaged and the intimacy alive.
Though curiosity might fade as a marriage progresses, there are ways to keep your intrigue alive. Review these ideas and discover how a few simple steps can help you remain curious about your partner and keep intimacy alive.
Start With Active Listening
How often have you found yourself zoning out while your significant other is speaking to you? When you have had a long day and you enter into a conversation with your partner, you might find yourself struggling to stay engaged. This is because many people are not adept at active listening. Since they have heard their partners tell the same stories a dozen times, they start to listen with less interest and assume they know how the stories will play out. However, actively listening to your partner is absolutely key to remaining curious.
No matter how long you’ve been married, you really don’t know what words will come out of your partner’s mouth. By keeping yourself focused and listening with intent, you are showing your significant other that you care. Active listening will help you hold onto details being brought up in a story. This, in turn, will cause you to ask additional questions about the story. The more you interact with your significant other while he or she is talking to you, the easier it is for a natural ebb and flow of conversation to occur, this can help with keeping intimacy spark thriving.
Intimacy andLearning To Meet Your Partners Needs
Just as a relationship changes over time, so do the needs of both partners. Unfortunately, many couples fail to check in about these topics. If you are operating under the assumption that your spouse has the exact same needs he or she had when you met many years ago, you definitely need to make some changes. Being curious about your significant other is all about asking questions. If your partner is acting off, you should be direct and learn more about why. Acting under an assumption based on outdated needs can be a huge mistake.
When you show your partner that you care about his or her needs, you are nourishing your relationship in a significant way. Since you don’t want to assume and needs are always changing, the best way to gain perspective is to be curious and direct. When your partner seems down, ask why instead of assuming you already know.
Future Talks
Planning for the future is par for the course in most relationships. Still, you might find you really don’t know much about what your partner’s hopes and dreams are anymore. Early in a relationship, it is easy to openly discuss long-term goals and desires. As time moves on, however, such objectives can become more personal and unspoken. By having regular conversations about the future, you can show a vested interest in what your significant other wants to achieve down the line. This can help you plan together and, more importantly, stay open with each other.
While relationships might change and shift over the years, there is no need to throw in the towel. In many cases, a little bit of curiosity can go a long way to keep a relationship fresh. Learn to engage and remain interested in your partner’s thoughts and ideas, and see how a little intrigue can keep your bond strong.
Many of us share our homes and hearts with four-legged companions. The Canadian Animal Health Institute reports that around 58% of the nation’s households have dogs or cats. Felines slightly outnumber canines, with 8.1 million cats versus 7.7 million dogs. If you’re like many engaged couples, you want to include Max or Fifi in your wedding day. With a few health and safety tips, your furry companion can enjoy the festivities along with you.
Food and Beverage Safety Tips
Maybe you’re fortunate to have a well-behaved companion that doesn’t beg. Or your furry bestie steals food off your plate at every opportunity. Either way, food safety is important when it comes to your pets. You’ll have loads of delicious delicacies for your guests, but some can make your pet severely ill. The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association lists several common risky foods:
Chocolate, tea, and coffee
Alcohol
Grape-derived foods
Onions, garlic, chives, and leeks
Macadamia nuts
Salty foods
Raw bones, meat, and seafood
Many of these are toxic even in small quantities, thanks to your pet’s smaller size and body weight. Some, such as onions and garlic, contain compounds that can cause serious illness. Raw animal products may harbor bacteria and parasites. And as for bones, they can break into smaller pieces that can cut soft tissue. The Humane Society of the United States list many more harmful foods and beverages.
You don’t have to redesign your entire menu to ensure your companions’ safety. Quite frankly, it’s an impossible effort. Inform your guests that they should not slip Fido or Fluffy any table scraps. PetMD suggests asking a trusted friend to keep an eye on your pets – just in case their sad-eyed looks get the best of someone. Alternatively, you may want to have someone take your furry friends home after the ceremony.
Flowers and Green Décor
Just as some foods can make your pet sick, so can many ornamental plants. Popular wedding flowers such as lilies, gardenias, dahlias, and hydrangeas can literally poison your cat or dog. Toxic plants also include non-flowering greenery like laurel, eucalyptus, and palm leaves. Your pets may not chomp on your bouquets or boutonnieres, but curiosity could lead them to munch on centerpieces, altar arrangements, and other décor.
So what’s a couple to do? PetMD offers a simple solution: Choose nontoxic varieties. Working with your florist can help you figure out which ones to avoid. The ASPCA provides an exhaustive database with hundreds of entries on flowers, green plants, nuts, and produce.
Door-Dashing Dogs and Cantankerous Cats
Animals can be unpredictable, even if they’re your lifelong friends and you know them inside out. The cacophony of wedding day sights, smells, and sounds can excite or overwhelm your pet. The last thing you want is Spot crashing headfirst into a glass door or Luna cowering and hissing in a corner. Should your pet cause injuries to guests or vendor staff, you’ll be held liable.
Preventing pet-related catastrophes requires a few smart steps. Hire a pet sitter for the day, suggests Wedding Ideas’ Lottie Dainton. Not only will your furry friends be taken care of, but your sitter will also see to their safety and well-being. Dogs should be leashed trained, and if possible, consider leash training cats as well. Cat behavior expert Jackson Galaxy recommends clicker training to ease your feline friend into the practice.
Minding Your Four-Legged Guests
Your wedding is a monumental event, so it’s natural that you want to include your pet. Being mindful of your friend’s safety and needs is key. Keeping pets away from people food and choosing nontoxic plant décor can avoid food poisoning. A trusted friend or sitter can also ensure your four-legged bestie is taken care of. With these safety measures, your pet can stay healthy and happy on your big day.
