Caroline’s blog

Word of mouth is always your safest bet. If the florist’s service and work comes highly recommended, chances are they will do a good job for you. Do your research by going to bridal shows and looking at online pictures from your store’s website. Make appointments to visit at least 3 different florists.
When you visit each florist, look at pictures of their previous work and look around their shop.
• Do you like the arrangements that you see in the shop’s displays?
• Do the flowers in the pictures look fresh or are the petal edges brown?
• Are the pictures dated or are they following the current trends?
• Is the designer willing to work with you or are they telling you that your idea won’t work?
• Make sure you speak to the florist that will do your arrangements.
• Do you feel comfortable with your florist?
• Is your florist paying attention to you while you’re talking and does he/she seem interested?
When To Book Your Florist
6 months before your wedding is a good time to start your search. Book your florist approximately 4 months before your wedding date. You need to have your reception and ceremony sites picked out before you can hire a florist because you’ll need to know how many arrangements you’ll need and that the colours you pick don’t clash with the colours of your venue. You’ll also need to know what colour your bridesmaids’ dresses are.
What To Bring To An Appointment
• Pictures of flowers and arrangements that you like (magazine clippings or websites)
• Picture of your wedding gown - swatches of material from your bridesmaids gowns - if available, a picture of your reception room
• If you are supplying the containers for arrangements, bring those too.
• Bring quotes you’ve gotten from other florists.
• Bring a list of all the flowers and arrangements you need and who they are for, so that the florist can label corsages, boutonnieres and bouquets, with names or titles. Example: on a bouquet a stapled piece of paper reads “maid of honour”. This way everyone gets the right flowers.
Questions To Ask The Florist
• When viewing photos of past work, ask if the flowers where arranged by the same person that is doing your arrangements.
• After giving your florist your ideas, ask for their opinion or ideas. You don’t have to take their advice but at least take the time to listen. You never know, you might like their ideas better then your own.
• Is there a delivery charge?
• Is there a setup fee?
• Do they have rental supplies?
• Do they need a map for the different delivery locations?
• Can you change your order if you have another idea? What’s the cut off date for new ideas?
• What times will the flowers be delivered to each location? This question can be asked 1 month before your wedding.
• Will the florist transport ceremony decorations to the reception location? Is there a fee?
• Can they make a sample of your bouquet and centrepiece? Some florists will, some won’t.
• Will they write you up an itemized quote? Some won’t in fear that you will bring it to other florists for a better deal.
• Are the flowers you’ve chosen in season? What flowers are in season for your date?
• You’re on a tight budget, can the florist work with a mixture of silk and fresh flowers?
• Are there any additional or hidden costs?
• Is the florist familiar with your reception and ceremony locations?
• 1 month before your wedding date, call the florist and ask them if they can get the type and colour of flower you wanted?
Things To Keep In Mind
If your wedding date is around the time of a flower giving holiday (mother’s day, valentine’s,etc) you’re going to pay more for your flowers. The florist will also be very busy during this time and you can’t expect to be the centre of attention. Meet and speak to the person that will be making your flower arrangements.
A good place to start is with the bride’s and bridesmaid’s bouquet, work with those colours and flower types to create your centrepieces, alter arrangements and other floral decor.
You don’t have to book on the spot. Take your quote home and think it over.
The more information you give your florist the better they will understand what you want.
If you choose flowers that are not in season and have to be shipped, you’re looking at a bigger expense and you don’t know what effect the shipping will cause on your flowers.
What Goes On The Contract
In most cases your bill will be your contract. Read the small print on the bill. Everything the florist is supplying should be on the bill:
• Your name, address and phone number.
• The contact person’s name, address and phone number for every delivery location.
• An itemized list and description of every floral arrangement, the number required, colour of ribbons and other decorative accents.
• Time of setup
• The name of your floral designer
• The service they will provide. i.e. setup and delivery to each location and what this entails.
• The total cost, your deposit and the amount still owing and the date for the last payment.

If you go to your wedding florist, they will usually show you a catalogue for some ideas. There are so many types of flowers and bouquet styles to select from, so how do you know what you should look out for?

Asking yourself these few questions may help though!

1) What’s your body size?

For my wedding, I chose a posy of red and cream roses adorned with white feathers. I am considered small and petite, so a round posy bouquet suits me. Actually my first choice was hand-tied calla lilies, but because of my height, I had to give up the idea because they looked pretty odd on me! I realized a round bouquet looks more balanced for my body size and it actually complements my look instead. Remember, your first choice of bouquet may not be the best choice, it makes sense to get something which will look good on you instead. With all eyes on you at your wedding, it’s a costly mistake to make if everything else is perfect except your bouquet!

However if you are tall and lanky, a cascading type of bouquet or a hand-tied one will suit you better. Do not go for the round one as it will make you look even taller. With heels that pile on the height on the actual day, it may make you look like you tower over your hubby, especially if he is of about the same height as you.

If you are slightly on the heavy side, a cascading one will help you look slimmer on your wedding day. You will be surprised that the unique shape of the bouquet being round at the top and ending with a pointy bottom does wonders for your body shape!

2) Is there any colour theme for your wedding?

Choose the type of flowers
that will complement your colour theme, especially the colour of your wedding gown. For brides who are wearing ivory or white gowns, it is a lot easier as most flowers will match. However, if you are wearing bolder colours like purple or pink, flowers that are of the same colour group but in different shades will look pleasant to the eye. Always remember, the rule of the thumb is to match. The bouquet should not look like a sore thumb against your wedding dress and get your guests talking for the wrong reasons.

3) When is your wedding held?

Certain types of flowers are seasonal, so depending on the month your wedding is, you may not be able to get them even if its your favourite bloom! Some typical all year round flowers are roses, lilies, gardenias, freesias, gerbera daisies, etc. If you wish to choose flowers like hydrangeas, tulips, they may not be available at your free will, so ask your florist for advice and plan ahead in advance!

Witchcraft that is motivated by love encourages growth and self-transformation, heals old pain and eases transitions. There are 10 steps that you must follow to ensure your success as a witch:
1. Take responsibility
You begin the practice of witchcraft by taking responsibility for your life and everything in it. This part of coming into your power, and you must accustom yourself to the idea that everything in your life is there because you chose it.
2. Centre yourself when performing
When performing witchcraft, it is essential that you are aware of your inner state. If you begin to become distracted and drift “off-centre”, you must stop and take time to centre and connect body and mind by focusing your energy with meditation and breathing techniques.
3. Cleanse your energy field
It is extremely important to elimate any negative energy in your life before working with witchcraft. An easy program that will cleanse your energy begins with a three-day fast (seek your physician’s approval first.) Bathing is also good for removing negativity: take a ritual bath by candlelight while burning incense of sandlewood in the room. You can also cast a protective circle, concentrating on breathing in radiant white light and breathing out tension for at least 30 breaths.
4. Clear the path
Before you proceed with any ritual, you must forgive yourselfand others for any errors committed in the past. This is known as “clearing the path”, making way for postivity in your life. Any negative emotion must be cleansed so that the potency of your spellcasting power isn’t lessened. Ritual baths and aura-cleansing exercises will help to clear the path to your new, abundant life, as will positive affirmations and divine intention.
5. Eat properly
Ideally, eat plenty of organically-grown fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds and legumes. Changing bad eating habits will nourish you physically and emotionally, and will greatly expand your power.
6. Breathe in clean air
Taking shallowbreaths, pollution and cigarette smoking all starve the body and brain of oxygen. A few minutes of deep breathing each day will expand your lungs and enliven every cell in your body.
7. Take regular exercise
Even 15 minutes of exercise a day is beneficial. Vigorous aerobic exercise will benefit the lungs and cardiovascular system, while yoga and gentle stretching are excellent for glands, joints and relaxation purposes. A daily dose of sunlight also helps the body to create important vitamins.
8. Sleep restfully
Maintaining a regular sleeping pattern will lead to a more relaxed body and a more harmonious outlook on life, both of which are essential for the effective practice of witchcraft.
9. Expand the love in your life
Creating and taking time to maintain loving relationships is a necessary requirement for good health. Try to avoid becoming angry and frustrated with others, and remember that we all choose our own paths for different reasons.
10. Have faith in your power
Your understanding of the language of ritual will come from many sources (teachers, books, experience, etc), and you must remain open to expanding your knowledge at all times. As well as always being able to define your purpose before preforming any ritual, it is extremely important that you trust your intuition and have faith in your ability as a witch.

” Love spells are a tricky business. Wiccans hold to the tenet that to do any magick against the will of another person is unethical. So I strongly suggest giving careful thought to any spell you do to compel another against their will.
Take a lock of hair from your lover or spouse and tie a pink ribbon around it. Light three pink candles and then place the hair in a hollowed out apple along with a pinch of ground cinnamon, 7 rose petals and a lock of your own hair tied with a white ribbon. Pass the apple through the flame of each candle while visualizing yourself and your lover. Wrap the apple in a piece of white cloth, then bury it under the window where you sleep. This will help strengthen the existing bond between you.
Other methods include:
(1) Sprinkle licorice herb over your spouse or lovers footprints to make sure he returns.
(2) Place a handful of marigolds or rosemary under the bed where your lover/spouse sleeps.
(3) Add garlic to the food you both consume. ”

So you are interested in casting or getting cast for you, magic love spells that you hope will change your love life for the better? Do you know that there is a vast array of differences in magic love spells and each is suitable for a different situation in a person’s life? Do you know that the purchase of wrong or uninformed love spell could actually cause you more problem then cure them? Read on to find out.
Love spells are of various kinds. Natural,Astrological and Evocative spells form the gist of the occult love spell genre. These are the three main type of magic love spells used from the new spell caster to the most experienced sorcerer to achieve their various aims in a love working.
The anointing and use of candles as those used in “wicca” love spells,the use of honey jars to sweeten someones disposition to the target as seen in some folk-voodoo circles and the use of mantras and various words of magic repeatedly while visualizing the aim of the mantra are all examples of Natural or Psychic magic love spells. What this means is that such methods bring into account the natural energies and vibrations of the world to bring about a situation where the desired outcome is manifested naturally.
The effectiveness of these methods depend not only on the single mindedness of outcome while doing the spell and the clarity of the visualization with emotions during the spell, but also the ability to let go of the outcome after the spell work is done. It means that once the work is done, the caster must not lust for the results or even think about it. Instead he should go about his daily work believing his desire will be fulfilled by the universe.
The type of magic love spells above works best if there is no enmity between the two people involved, if there was no bad breakup before or anything that would have led to feelings had been hurt. If not the target will resist the forces of nature and hate the other person even more as the person keeps coming to mind, bringing about emotions of past hurt.
In astrological and planetary based magic work (such as the use of talismans charged by the specific planetary energy), the birth date and time of all those involved are taken into account. This is to see what planets were in the targets life when he/she was born and how they are affecting him/her now. For example if Mars is in a bad position in the targets life (meaning strife and conflict), doing natural magic love spells would make things worse as the target will resist them with all their might. An experienced spell caster would thus make a talisman that counters the effects of mars and also promote opposite planetary energies like venus and thereby going pass the conflicts.
No matter what magic love spell one does,it is best to incorporate astrology into them to really make them effective and to get a bigger view of what is going on. An inefficient spell caster on the other hand might read the now ineffective western astrological chart and plot the wrong solution,turning the love situation in on its head.
Lastly but definitely not least we come to Evocative and entity based magic love spells. Only the most experienced spell casters are able to do this category of magic as it means calling forth spiritual entities (be it angels, demons, deities or planetary spirits) and the caster must have enough spiritual power for the entities to allow him leeway to get what he wants.
Because these entities are able to forcefully affect change in ones life almost instantaneously spell casters who do such work are the most sort after by celebrities, politicians and the like. Also only by working with these entities for some time does the spell caster know what part of love they effect. Using the wrong entity (For example Asmoday is actually the entity of lustful love while Kamdev is someone who deals with spiritual soul based love) might worsen the situation then help it.
It is therefore essential to know that when it comes to magic love spells,an experienced hand is required and the use of trial by fire magic could have disastrous results.

Even the happiest couples sometimes quarrel. It is not about how to build relationships within the family without conflicts - this happens rarely. The question is how to learn to withdraw from conflict situations, so as a small variance will not be turned into a grandiose scandal. The best option is to find a compromise solution that will satisfy both parties. If one of the parties had made concessions, remains convinced he is right - the problem is not solved and you will have to face it after a while again.

The following behaviors are applicable not only for women but for men. In addition, all of them are feasible, despite the apparent complexity. Note that all councils are only advisory in nature.

1. Teach to douse emotions.
No conversation can not get a positive until someone is blatantly offensive. It depends on what outcome you want to achieve. If you simply blow - shout welcome, but do not expect that someone will “hear”you. If there is a specific goal, then put the emotions aside, calm down, and only after start a serious discussion.
2. Do not cheat yourself.
There are times, when the husband (or wife) delays for a couple of hours from work, so many thoughts comes across your mind, starting from a car accident and ending with another woman. By the time he returned home, everything is ready to blow up straight from the door. Therefore, try to calm down while he is not at home yet.
3. Choose the right time for serious conversation
When you see, that your spouse came irritated after hard work-don’t bother, just wait for the proper time for serious speech. It’ll prevent you from saying many washed-up words.
4. Analyzes situation and try to find a reason instead of fighting with the investigation.
Sometimes the cause of irritation is not on the surface, and slowly crawles in the subconscious where reborns in another ‘cockroach’. Try to pull it out as soon as possible- it will make your relationships not so complex.
5. Don’t collect problems.
Discuss each question as it is arose, don’t wait until there’ll be a big case of unfixed troubles. It is not worth to discuss several urgent issues at a time. One problem-one conversation. Make it a rule.
6. Do not fall to offenses.
Remember that “this asshole” has been your “sweet kitten” an hour ago. But there’s no guarantee that he won’t start acting as an asshole after your offensive words.
7. Don’t be hysterical.
Hysterics - a form of manipulation. It is no secret that most men can’t stand women’s tears and to stop this outrage, they’re ready to accept any terms of surrender. Don’t be a monster. Think, what if you were on his place?

It turns out that, an aggression in your family can be minimized. Therefore take care of each other, so that not to regret that a life passed by without any love. After all, we do not have much time to be happy …