3 Signs of a Bridezilla

Planning your wedding need not turn you into the wicked witch of the west. Learning to designate tasks to others will help you in keeping the stress down and the arguments to a minimal. If you are being told by members of your bridal party that you are becoming "too much" to deal with, maybe you should listen.

It is quite easy to get completely wrapped up in the planning of a wedding, so much so, Bridezilla inevitably emerges as your alter ego. Here are 3 signs that you are turning into the Bridezilla:

1. Mico-Management: Despite having a wedding planner, she is determined to tell every vendor how to do their job down to the last detail. She has paid hundreds or even thousands of dollars to have everything just right, but does not trust that the professionals she's hired will not do the job properly.

2. Ungratefulness: If she is showing signs of being impatient, becoming over bearing and bossy, Bridezilla may be just around the corner. She must remember that her girlfriends and family members don't have to do the tasks they are doing. They are assisting on your special day because they love and care for you.


3. Being Ignored: Are your friends dropping like flies? Are they ignoring your calls and won't return your texts or emails? You have become to much to deal with and they need a break. This is done in an effort to give you a nonverbal warning that you have become a Bridezilla; they just don't want to tell you.

Remember, the professionals that you have hired, are just that - Professionals. They are good in their field and will make your day as you have specified. Your friends and family members are there to help you, not take on your abuse. Be mindful of your attitude and actions at all times. If you are feeling overwhelmed, tell someone. Keep your Bridezilla at bay.

Can You Bless My Dog?

Saturday, October 2nd, I was a part of a wonderful experience. The annual Interfaith Blessing of the Animals in Long Beach in association with Justin Rudd. I just love the community projects and events that Justin hosts (My kids participate in the Saturday beach clean up).

Saturday, I knew that I would enjoy being around all of the animals, but this was more exciting than I had imagined. I've always had a dog or cat in my life growing up, so I was really looking forward to it. Little did I realize that I would leave, just as blessed as the animals had been that day.

I got doggie kisses from a beautiful poodle with red ribbons and a good hand lick from Lola the bull dog. There were so many animals, it's now hard to remember all the names. But I do remember how great I felt during the event. The love the animals had for their owners and the love the owners had for their 2 or 4 legged family members was just great.

I look forward to being a part of this great blessing event, every year that I can.

Interfaith Blessing of the Animals for Household Pets & Some Exotic Animals

Interfaith Blessing of the Animals for Household Pets & Some Exotic Animals
More than 300 animals to be blessed

BRING YOUR PETS

WE WILL BLESS THE PETS, Sat., Oct. 2, 2010 at noon. The Interfaith Blessing of the Animals presented by Haute Dogs and Justin Rudd is free to the public and their pets.

Seniors, families, singles, and children, are encouraged to bring their dogs, cats, birds, lizards, rabbits, pot-bellied pigs, fish, tortoises and turtles and other well-behaved pets. Some exotic pets are being brought from a professional wildlife education organization include Exotic and out-of-the-ordinary guests at this year's Blessing will include:
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red Tegu
4 7' albino Burmese python - can grow to be the length of a school bus making them the third largest type of snake in the world!
- Bobcat
- Fennec
- Porcupine
- Two-toed Sloth
4 Serval wildcat - Leptailurus serval, is a medium-sized African wild cat under 50 lbs. and is one of the only cats with both spots and stripes and can jump incredibly high to catch its food!
- pig
- chinchilla
4 Monitor lizard - is a scavenger that eats the food lions and other carnivores leave behind. They are also related to the Komodo dragon, the largest and scariest lizard on the planet!
- opossum
- Dumeril Boa
- Horse
- Lamb

WE WILL ALSO HAVE a moment of blessing, silence and vigil at the beginning of the service for pets who are unfortunately involved with sport dog fighting and other inhumane, unethical treatment.

After brief words from each of the faith leaders (listed below), the menagerie of participants will have the opportunity to line up single-file to be blessed by the faith leaders who will be dressed in traditional garb. Olive branches and holy water will be available. Choose one, or get blessed by all of the clergy (listed below).

THE EVENT will last approx. 45 minutes. It's important to recognize and honor the great bond and relationship between pets and their people. The religious leaders will talk or pray briefly on the interconnections among all living beings.

SPONSORS
Justin Rudd's nonprofit 501c3 Community Action Team (C.A.T.), Gazette Newspapers, and Haute Dogs.

ON-SITE VET
Dr. Greg Perrault, Cats & Dogs Animal Hospital in Long Beach.

WeddingWire Goes Mobile

Leading Wedding Technology Company Launches First Mobilized Site

BETHESDA, MD, Sep 29, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- WeddingWire, the nation's leading wedding technology company, announces the launch of their mobile site, m.WeddingWire.com. As the first mobilized site in the wedding industry, m.WeddingWire.com allows engaged couples to easily plan their wedding while on-the-go. The mobile site provides easy access to more than 100,000 local wedding professionals on WeddingWire, along with hundreds of thousands of wedding reviews.

"Mobile adoption is advancing at an extremely rapid pace and engaged couples expect information to be quickly and readily available on their phones," says Timothy Chi, WeddingWire CEO. "We are excited to create the first mobilized wedding planning site in order to better serve our growing audience of tech-savvy engaged couples. In addition, we are able to provide our community of wedding professionals with a mobilized platform to promote their business."

The introduction of the mobile site is yet another example of WeddingWire's continued commitment to providing the most up-to-date features and tools for their users. The new user-friendly site makes it simple for engaged couples to locate wedding vendors, read reviews, view local events, and find local deals directly from their phones. With this new site, WeddingWire provides quick and easy access to the most important components of planning a modern-day wedding.

To view WeddingWire's mobile site, please visit m.WeddingWire.com using your mobile browser.

Read more at: http://www.weddingwire.com/press-center/press-releases/2010/weddingwire-goes-mobile.html

About WeddingWire, Inc.:

WeddingWire, the nation's leading technology company serving the $70 billion wedding industry, is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding professionals. For engaged couples, WeddingWire offers the ability to search, compare and book more than 100,000 local wedding vendors, from wedding venues to wedding photographers to wedding cakes. WeddingWire also offers an online community and a suite of cutting-edge planning tools for weddings, including wedding websites, all at no charge. For wedding professionals, WeddingWire provides free online management tools creating the only market opportunity that gives local businesses control over their clients, reviews, leads and performance. Businesses that join the WeddingWire Network appear on WeddingWire.com and other leading sites, including MarthaStewartWeddings.com /quotes/comstock/13*!mso/quotes/nls/mso (MSO 4.75, +0.02, +0.42%) , ProjectWedding.com and Weddingbee.com (both part of eHarmony), and Celebrations.com (part of the 1-800-Flowers family of brands, (NASDAQ: FLWS)).

The Little Tree Church in Tustin, CA

I had the opportunity to perform a wonderful infant baptism in Tustin this past week. Since I am a mobile officiant, I am able to visit various venues within Southern California. I was given the description “ a little church in the middle of it all”. It was just that. I loved the location so much, I thought that I would share it with you.

The Story of the Little Tree Church:
After we completed the construction of Jamestown Village in 1962, I was in a quandary as to what to do with the oak tree that used to stand at the corner of the barn before the buildings were demolished. Jamestown Village, incidentally, is the site of the old Crawford farm house.

I felt that I should do something special around this oak tree. Flowers? Everybody plants flowers. A tree house? No, kids would get hurt. Then my thoughts drifted back to my childhood in Columbia, Tennessee.

There back about 1912, I used to drive my grandmother, in a horse and buggy, six miles into the country once about every three months to the Hopewell Church that she attended before the Civil War. That gave me the idea, and the solution for the oak tree.

So the little tree church is actually Grandma’s church in miniature. But with the oak tree growing through the middle of it.

It seats eight people, has an organ. The pulpit is made of a large rock elevated on brick up to pulpit height.
The church is often used for weddings. The atmosphere here is more romantic than the large churches offer and the couple doesn’t have that big bill hanging over their heads to spoil the honeymoon.
--- C.T. Gilbreath – about 1970


The tree has since been removed, however, the charm of this little church has not changed. This was the perfect place to hold a baptism.

Need a place to hold your special event or wedding – this is it!