Counselling is an imperative part of getting married. Couples can get swept away in the planning of a wedding, losing sight of the reasons why they are getting married. Speaking to a counsellor is essential for a couple as it will assist in mediating and fine-tuning the individual needs of each person’s expectations of marriage.
Helen Searra, Cape Town-based life coach, says it is imperative to start off such a huge commitment on a positive note.
“By getting a professional involved, it will allow both parties to be heard, without interruption, so that clear communication can be made. It offers a safe environment for couples to access their emotions and concerns thereby addressing issues that may otherwise lay dormant for years,” said Searra.
Her other advice is: Marriage is about being real and counseling allows you to get real with each other, without losing your identity while you are in the “contracting” stage of your relationship.
“When we meet our life partner we not only bring 2 people into the contract, we bring our families, friends, childhoods, different belief systems, cultures and life experiences. Investing in emotional support in building the best foundations for your relationship from the beginning is vitally important.”
With the help of a counsellor, there is no worry to small or obstacle too big for a couple to overcome before getting married.
Helen Searra is a Cape Town-based life coach. She has been practicing for 10 years in her field. She offers individual counseling sessions and couples counseling both in person or remotely over Skype. She offers package deals of either 4, 6 or 8 sessions. To enquire for a rates card, contact Helen on [email protected]
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Wearing heels for the entire duration of your wedding may seem a little daunting, especially for women who are not used to being in heels for hours on…
Corey Newman often watched his girlfriend, Marlowe Epstein, do the Washington Post crossword puzzle, so he worked with the Post’s crossword creator to write a puzzle with answers related to Epstein. The clue for 51 across was “Words with a certain ring to them,” and the answer was “Will You Marry Me.” The puzzle was published in the paper, and an unsuspecting Epstein completed it with the help of Newman. Slide 3: Coffee Cup Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons asks customers to “roll up the rims” of the cups to see if they won a prize. So Jeff Chapman snuck a tiny note that read “Will you marry me?” under the rim of his cup and gave it to girlfriend Jaimie Baisley to unroll.
Choosing the diamond, making the purchase, popping the question. Three tasks that require a sufficient amount of consideration but once they’ve been accomplished, and before you make the…
You’ve heard about the 4 C’s in diamonds, especially when choosing an engagement ring, but what do they actually mean?
The 4 C’s – cut, colour, clarity and carat – refer to the standards by which the quality of diamonds are assessed and allows one to compare diamonds.
Cut
The cut is important for the diamond’s overall beauty, as it determines how well the diamond unleashes light. This is not to be confused with the shape of the diamond. Cut refers to the diamond’s light performance (in layman’s terms, how much it sparkles). The cut will determine how the stone refracts and reflects light. A perfect stone (balanced and symmetrical) will be cut in such a way that the light that enters it will only reflect out the top of the stone, therefore making it very sparkly. A diamond that is cut too shallow or too deep will cause the light to leak out of the sides or bottom of the stone which causes a loss of shine. The sparkle of a well cut diamond can make it appear larger and you can therefore opt for a smaller carat weight. Who knew, right?!
Colour
Strangely enough, this actually refers to the lack of colour found in a diamond. The less colour, the more rate it is. Diamonds are graded on a scale of D-Z; with D (or white diamonds) being completely colourless. D-F are considered colourless and are therefore the most expensive. G-I are near colourless and slightly less expensive while J-Z have noticeable colour in the stone. Only diamond experts can actually tell the difference in anything higher than a G grading, so if budget is a consideration but you still want a white-looking diamond, a G or H grade diamond will be perfectly fine.
Clarity
Measures the imperfections found in the diamond in terms of number, size and position on a scale that ranges from imperfect to flawless. Internal imperfections are referred to as inclusions and external as blemishes. Clarity is often considered the least important of the 4 C’s due to the fact that the imperfections are often microscopic and depending on the location of the inclusions found in the stone, they can be hidden with the right ring setting.
Carat
Refers to the weight of the diamond, not the size. Two different shaped diamonds can have the same carat weight but appear slightly different in size. With a larger carat weight, the colour becomes more visible and therefore needs to be taken into consideration.
Once you understand the 4 C’s, you will need to think about which one is the most important to you when choosing your ring.
By Mariska van Zyl There’s no denying that planning your wedding can be exciting, overwhelming and very expensive. So establishing a budget and planing ahead is crucial. There…
Should you serve a plated dinner or buffet dinner at your wedding? A few things to consider when making this decision: What sort of atmosphere are you trying to create? What is your budget? And how many guests will be attending?
Generally, a buffet dinner is much more casual than a plated dinner as the evening is less structured than a plated dinner. A plated dinner can be structured in the sense than you can plan speeches and toasts and even dancing in between courses. If you want your wedding to be a formal affair, then serving a plated dinner is the best option. Plated dinners ensure that there is no chaos that could come with buffet dinners when everyone goes to get their food.
With a plated dinner, everyone eats at the same time and will be finishing up at the same time and you can move on to the next part of the evening.
In order to control the chaos that comes with buffets, you have to think of ways to control the traffic by setting up lines to get food or setting up two buffet tables with the same food to limit long lines or sometimes even scheduling times for each table to go and get their food. This results in each table eating at different times and can hinder your desired proceedings for after dinner.
Buffet caters for larger groups and a variety of tastes, meaning there is usually something for everyone, which is appreciated by your guests. But being served is also appreciated; and if you offer special meals for people with dietary requirements, everyone will be happy.
Budget-wise, it is tricky to determine which style of dinner service is more cost-effective as there are many factors that will influence the cost of the type of dinner service that is chosen.
Buffet style is generally considered more cost-effective as you do not have to hire as many waitstaff as you would have to if you do plated. However, you cannot determine exactly how much food will be needed and can therefore end up over-catering or have the possibility of running out of food.
Plated dinners are easier to plan as the caterer will know exactly how many portions of each dish are needed and there is no possibility of waste or running out of food. You can also save in this way as you control each persons’s portion size.
At the end of the day, it is your wedding and you will need to decide on the type of atmosphere you are trying to create. If you want a formal wedding, a plated dinner service is the better option as it is much more structured and guests are not expected to stand around and attempt to balance their plates while trying to get their food all the while being in their formal clothing.
If you want a more casual wedding then buffet is the better option because guests have the freedom to structure their own evening by eating when they want and how much they want, just ensure there is enough food.
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