There is no doubt that planning a wedding can be one of the most daunting tasks a person can undergo. Since the majority of the work traditionally falls upon the bride and her family (let’s face it, the guys, largely, just don’t care if the flowers are yellow and pink, canary and magenta, or goldenrod and cherry) it is always a good idea to have the assistance of a professional wedding planner or at least a trusted friend or relative to help keep all of the details in order. That assistant can take care of everything from ordering the cake to making sure the reception seating arrangement is in order and Uncle Herbert is as far from the bar as possible while Aunt Helen and Aunt Gertrude won’t come in contact with one another at all. One thing that will be entirely up to the happy couple, however, is the decision on the wedding vows. This is one aspect of the event that the groom will have to participate in as well.

The traditional wedding vows are immortal and familiar to us all. We’ve all heard the phrase “to love, honor, and cherish,” a million times before and, regardless of race, religion, or nationality, we all immediately associate these words with the marriage ceremony. There is nothing wrong with that. The traditional wedding vows are powerful words of love and commitment and, if you like those vows and they hold a special place in your heart, then you should feel free to include them in your wedding ceremony.

Many couples write their own wedding vows. The practice is now so common that original wedding vows have almost replaced the traditional vows as the norm for weddings, but that does not mean that the time-honored vows are any less meaningful.

For those that do wish to write their own wedding vows, the options are limitless. Some couples pen their wedding vows completely from their hearts and minds, using this portion of the wedding ceremony as an opportunity to express their love and devotion to one another in a very personal way. Others borrow literary quotes, song lyrics, poetry, or other non-original material that expresses their feelings for their beloved, to incorporate into their wedding vows. Anything that says how you feel is acceptable.

A young spouse-to-be may sometimes experience writer’s block when composing the wedding vows. This stems from anticipation of the pending event and is perfectly natural. The best way to overcome this anxiety is to slow down, close your eyes and think about your fiancée. Imagine what you would say if he or she were right in front of you, with no one around. Find the best way to tell that person how you feel, how deep your love is, and what you promise to do and be as a husband or a wife. The words will come in no time and the result will be a beautiful wedding ceremony that is highlighted by beautiful and personal wedding vows.

Organizing a wedding can be a tense situation. There are so many tasks to complete and so many people to organize that it's a wonder that so many of them get off without a hitch. What can help in these activities is a wedding planner. This is essentially an individual who takes charge of the wedding plans and ensures that everything goes smoothly. There are people who believe that a wedding planner is essential to a wedding's success. There are people at the other end of the spectrum who believe that a wedding planner is unnecessary. Which is true for your wedding? The answer to this question depends on your particular situation.

A wedding planner is someone who has experience with organizing weddings. A wedding planner is ideally someone with insight into weddings. It is for these reasons that people often make the decision to use a wedding planner. Are you or someone in your family a detail-oriented person? While it is difficult to substitute the experience of a professional wedding planner with someone who can keep things organized, it is a good start. There are so many resources available on weddings that an organized individual who you know personally can become your wedding planner.

A wedding planner is not simply a great organizer. A wedding planner actually wears many different hats. A wedding planner may oversee your wedding budget to make sure it remains on track. They are also buffers so that when tense or stressful situations occur they can take care of them without going to pieces.

Although weddings are steeped in tradition, couples often seek to add their own flair to the ceremony. Knowing how far to go without turning your ceremony into something less than special is something that is not always easy to do. An advantage of using a wedding planner is that the individual can offer creative suggestions to help keep everything in the wedding balanced. Since being a wedding planner usually means an individual runs in wedding circles, there's a chance that the wedding planner may be able to use their connections to get you specials on some of your wedding planning needs.

Even without hiring a wedding planner, wedding can be expensive. When you consider that the average wedding costs thousands of dollars, you can understand how hiring a wedding planner who makes upwards of $2000 for a single wedding is sometimes an idea that is never realized. If your budget is small and your wedding needs require that you hire a wedding planner, you might consider a wedding planner with less experience. If you choose this route, just make sure the wedding planner is someone who will benefit your wedding.

Case Management involves facilitating the access of a patient to appropriate medical, rehabilitation and support programs, and coordination of the delivery of linkages. This role may involve liaison with various professionals and agencies, advocacy on behalf of the patient, and arranging for purchase of linkages where no appropriate programs are available. Case management differs from therapy in that the case manager is something of a broker-advocate. Many patients who need case management services would have difficulty advocating for themselves, knowing what services are available and coordinating those resources. Unfortunately, in many states, only those who have severe mental illness qualify for case management services to be covered by their insurance. The responsibility often lies with the Licensed Professional Counselor or rehabilitation counselor to perform case management services. Billing for these services is often tricky. In Florida, during the initial assessment we create a list of needed referrals. If the patient is capable of following up and making those linkages on his/her own, then the therapist assigned to the case merely follows up with the patient on the progress with the referrals. More often than not, by the time patientS made it in for an assessment, they were in crisis. Therefore, I set aside 20 minutes or so at the end of the assessment to facilitate the referrals (i.e. make the calls and make sure appointments were set and transportation to those appointments was feasible or arranged.). The primary therapist I assigned to the case spent the first session reviewing the status of the referrals, advocating where necessary, making additional recommendations as the situation dictated. This allowed the therapist to get to know the patient, the therapist to provide case management-esque services in a billable setting and ensured the patient was getting those basic needs met so therapy could be reasonably expected to progress.

Many of my staff struggled at first with the biopsychosocial model I brought as a Rehabilitation Counselor. They were used to dealing with the mental health diagnosis as if it existed in a vacuum. Once they saw the logic to a comprehensive approach, they were eager to learn more. The first principle for anyone is that you have to have your basic needs met before you can focus on any sort of "therapy." Adequate food, shelter, medical care and clothing and a feeling of safety are paramount. For parents, this includes food, shelter, medical care, daycare and clothing for their children as well. Unfortunately we cannot just wave a magic wand to make these things available---usually. In solution focused counseling, we often have clients identify where they are at. This is a "1." Then we have them identify what their life would be like if things were going well. This is a "10." The next step is to figure out what small steps need to be taken to just get the person to a "2." Emotionally, this often means helping the person find some supports (a crisis line perhaps) and some hope. Hope often starts to blossom once their is a plan of action in place. So the first "referral" is to have the person write down on a 3x5 index card 3 people or places they can call when they start to go into a crisis. At least one of the numbers should be a 24-hour crisis line. This is to be kept with them.

Physically many of our patients had dental and medical problems that had been untreated due to lack of insurance. Many also had no prescription coverage, so they were not taking necessary medications. Keep a list of the free and low cost medical and dental clinics in your area. United Way Information and Referral also often has lists of charities that will help people with one-time medical expenses and can provided limited transportation to doctors appointments. Help them make these appointments and ensure they have transportation. We all know how overwhelming making doctor's appointments can be, not to mention how difficult it is to arrange for a medicaid van or figure out what busses to take. Al so keep copies of medication vouchers in your desk. These can be printed out from the pharmaceutical company websites or websites such as rxassist.org. It astounds me how few physicians assist their patients in linking with these resources. If the patient brings the voucher to his physician, it can be filled out in under 5 minutes and provide the patient with medication that is often free or less than $15/month. T The brand name will tell you the generic name. From there, go back to the above website and search for the generic. It will give you a list of all of the companies who make the generic. For example, if you want to know who makes the generic for sertraline hydrochloride (Zoloft), search under "s" for sertraline. Once on the sertraline page, you can peruse each manufacturer's website for information about their particular prescription drug programs. It sounds arduous, but many of your patients are going to be on the same 15 or 20 medications beause this is what your doctors are used to prescribing. (Zoloft, Paxil, Lithium, Haldol, Risperdal, Remeron, Prozac etc...)

A patient who is medication compliant, sleeping well, eating well and not in pain is much more likely to benefit from therapy. This brings me to food. If your patients do not qualify for food stamps, or if the food stamps are not enough, you may need to work with them on reducing their budget. Powedered milk is cheaper than liquid. Beans, rice, peanut butter, crackers, oatmeal, ramen noodles are far cheaper than cheese and meat. I made up a recepie book for my patients that had super low-cost meal ideas in it. We also made healthy snacks available to our patients during each therapy session. Our food services director would by these from the food bank each week at less that wholesale. You might also consider maintaining a food closet where people can donate canned and nonperishable goods. Additional referrals might include a victim advocate, a grief counselor from hospice, vocational rehabilitation, any local programs that rehabilitate cars and donate them to people in need, agencies that provide vouchers for subsidised child care, homeless shelter/temporary housing, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to get on the subsidized housing waiting list and self-help/support groups.

MySpace is an online community focused on helping individuals to make new friends or reconnect with old friends. With this type of goal in mind it is not surprising that the vast majority of MySpace members use the community to make connections with other members. This may include staying in touch with old friends and family members, reconnecting with lost friends, making business connections or even meeting romantic partners. This article will discuss how all of these opportunities are available on the MySpace community.

Keeping in Touch with Friends and Family

MySpace can be an excellent way for friends and family members to stay in touch. Encouraging friends and family members to join MySpace with you can help you to stay in better contact with these individuals. Communicating through MySpace is a lot of fun and gives users the ability to post pictures, audio files and video files in addition to personal information presented in a blog. Members can leave comments for each other or just stay in touch by reading each others websites and posting personal information on their own websites for others to read.

Reconnecting with Lost Friends

Overtime we all lose contact with some of our old friends. Whether this is a trusted friend who was with you through the trying times in high school, a companion who helped you make it through college or even an acquaintance you met in passing at a bus stop MySpace can help you to reconnect to these old friends.

One passive way to reconnect with lost friends is to simply create your own MySpace website and wait for these lost friends to contact you. This may not always happen but it is possible. MySpace is an extensive community with members all around the world and it is very possible your old friend may see you on MySpace and contact you. Also, if you create a blog entry expressing an interest in reconnecting with an individual, your blog may be seen by someone who knows your lost friend and passes along the message.

Another way to find lost friends on MySpace is to use the search feature. The simplest way to search for someone is by using their full name. However, not all members post their full name. Other methods of finding an individual include entering their nickname into the search feature or entering keywords related to their favorite hobbies, books, movies or entertainers. This method may require a great deal of research and may be quite time consuming but it can help you find your lost friend if they have a website on MySpace.

Making Business Connections

MySpace can also be used to make business connections. The search feature can be used to find others who share your business interests, dreams and goals. Once you find these individuals you can engage them in conversation by sending an email or instant message or by leaving a comment on their website. These connections may lead to potential business relationships but they may also simply be networking opportunities which allow those interested in certain business aspects to converse with others who share this interest.

Meeting Romantic Partners

Finally, a large portion of those who are using MySpace are hoping to make a romantic connection. MySpace is an online community which enables users to post photos and information about themselves for other members of the community to view. This effectively makes MySpace very similar to a dating service. There is also a space for users to enter information regarding whether or not they are single or looking for a romantic interest. Those who are looking for romance can spend time searching for others who they find physically attractive, share their interests and are also seeking romantic companionship. These MySpace members can contact each other through emails, instant messages or through comments left for each other on the websites. A courting relationship online can progress to an offline relationship or can remain online depending on the wants and intentions of the partners.

Sooner or later, at some point in your life, you may be called upon to speak at someone’s wedding. Perhaps you’ll be the proud father of the bride or someone’s best man. Whatever the case may be, it can be a good idea to know how to make the appropriate wedding speech. Some people may think these points are obvious, but they’re not the ones that are giving the speech. If you’re not much for public speaking, you may find these tips helpful if you ever have to speak at someone’s wedding.

Keep it Short:

The worst part of any wedding celebration is when some long winded buffoon drones on and on during his opportunity to make a wedding speech. No one wants to listen to your ramblings for forty minutes, no matter how interesting you may think they are. People are at the wedding to share in the couple’s joy and have a good time. No one will be able to do either if you talk for too great a length of time. Try to keep your speech under five minutes long if possible.

Save the jokes for Henny Youngman:

Public speakers often like to try and break the ice with a joke, have you ever noticed that? Have you also noticed that the jokes are usually bad? These people have professional speech writers working for them. You do not. Unless you are truly a funny person (your name is Robin Williams, for example), steer clear of the jokes. If you do have to make jokes during your wedding speech, try to make them appropriate for the occasion. Jokes about weddings in general or the people in attendance will always work better than jokes of the “a guy walks into a bar” variety. Also remember that jokes at the groom’s expense are funny while those at the bride’s expense are not. That’s just the way it is.

Sentimentality Works:

People get all warm, fuzzy, and gushy at weddings. Sharing sentimental stories about the couple and how in love they are, about your own wedding, or any other appropriately smarmy topic will have them eating out of your hand. Make the focus of your wedding speech the subject of love and roses and good feelings and puppies and you can’t go wrong.

This Day is Not About You:

This is perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind when preparing and making a wedding speech. No matter how popular you are, no one is there to see you. The wedding day is all about the bride and groom. This is their day in the sun, so to speak. Keep your stories and anecdotes focused on the happy couple so that they can stay that way while you are speaking.

Keeping these topics in mind will help you be successful when making a wedding speech. With the right ideas and a minimal amount of preparation, even the most tongue tangled individual can come off like The Great Orator at least for five minutes or so when speaking at a wedding.