Not All Wedding Are Created Equal

My hubby and I got married in 2000. I was 19 and our wedding matched our youth. Cheap and quick. The two of us didn't care much what our wedding looked like as long as we were together and frankly, our families weren't too keen on helping us make it any better because we were too young, didn't know better, la dee da.

Sadly, some family members didn't even come to our wedding because they said, "I'd be surprised if it even lasts 6 months."

On that day, in my mind, it was perfect. We had a lovely ceremony with 30 of our closest friends and family in the chapel at Kitchener City Hall. The reception was held in the gorgeous backyard of my aunt and uncle's house, with a tent for the food, a pool for cooling down and just a wonderful family get together. My family came together to make the food, people brought presents and we just had fun.

Looking back at it, I think the only thing I hated about my wedding was the cake. That cake is probably the reason I later went into the cake making business, pricing my wares low enough that even the poor bride could afford a beautiful wedding cake. Mine was purchased by my stepfather's girlfriend, from Zehrs. Just a slab that said Congratulations and our names. I'd show you a pic but our wedding photos were lost long ago in a fire. To top it off, the crappy tasting slab cake was set upon a table decorated with a rooster tablecloth. Any photographs that did get taken showed that lovely rooster pattern in the back. It wasn't pretty.

I'm sure that roosters were harmed in the making of this tablecloth. Quick! Someone call PETA!

So why am I telling you my wedding story?

Because if this is the route that your wedding is going, there is a chance to change its direction!

Wedding Saviours has a local team in Kitchener Waterloo that wants to bring a dream wedding to a couple in need. Applications are open now and the dream wedding will be held in the fall. The team is looking for couples who have been planning to marry but have been affected by some sort of hardship. Maybe you know someone who has lost their job, experienced a severe illness or been in an accident? Perhaps you know someone who's just been putting it off because every time they get ahead in the planning and saving for their wedding something unexpected happens and depletes their savings.

Wedding Saviours can rescue them!

Couples apply and then compete in a series of community challenges, the list gets whittled down until there are 3 couples vying for a free wedding. The final challenges will produce a winning couple who will then work with the Wedding Saviours team of professionals to put on the wedding of their dreams. The KW Wedding Saviours team has thought of everything... they have pros ready to assist you with the dress and tux, hair, nails, flowers, decor, photography, makeup, videography and more!

I've fallen in love with the Wedding Saviours idea because it's a project giving people just a little more than they need. Do we NEED big fancy weddings? No. Really, the wedding is only a public declaration of a couples vow to each other. But do we want our weddings to be fabulous, representing how beautiful our love is for our partner? Absolutely. And that's where Wedding Saviours comes in.

So pass this on to someone who deserves a wedding with all the bells and whistles. Pass this on to a girl who deserves to have gorgeous flowers and a pretty (non-grocery store) cake. Then encourage them to visit the Wedding Saviours website, where they can apply and hopefully you'll see their smiling faces on this blog in a few months when we start encouraging the community to vote for the most deserving couple.

What does $650/month rent in Saskatoon get you?

This ad posted on kijiji Saskatoon is very close to reality in many large cities with an affordable housing or tough rental market.

What does $650/month rent in Saskatoon get you?

Family Volunteering

When Christmas arrives each year I get inundated with emails asking me where families can volunteer over the holidays. Knowing that so many long term volunteer positions start with one-off experiences I'm eager to get families volunteering but it can be a difficult task.

First, you need to look at your family make up. Families come in all shapes and sizes and sometimes my requests have even run to "My family of 16, ranging in age from 18 months to 76 years want to volunteer on Christmas Day instead of having our typical big family dinner". For others, family volunteering may just be a husband and wife team, 3 sisters or a couple with a gaggle of kids. Where you volunteer as a family depends largely on your family make up, one size does definitely not fit all.

Next, you'll want to sit down as a family and think about what your priorities are. What kinds of causes are you interested in and what critical needs do you see in your community? List as many as you can and start narrowing them down.

Lastly, you'll need to decide what your commitment will be, whether this is  one-off volunteer experience or whether you want to make a longer term investment, be it weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or even as regular special event volunteers.

Made a decision yet? Here are a few suggestions and tips:

- If you have teens over the age of 14, you win at this game! At 14, most teens can volunteer anywhere (although some organizations have their own age rules). With teens I often find it is important to let your teens pick causes that are important to them, it'll make getting out the door and to the job a whole lot easier. Consider:
       
          - Volunteering at a local music festival.
          - Collecting items to donate to a local teen shelter like Covenant House.
          - Helping a charity thrift shop put on a fashion show fundraiser.

 - Everyone in your extended family, including Grandma, Uncle Henry and cousin Louise? First, make sure that EVERYONE is on board and that it's not being forced by one or two eager beavers.

          - Contact your local Out of the Cold  shelter, homeless shelter or soup
            kitchen. These places often have teams come in to serve dinners but
            calendars can fill up fast so call early.
          - Invite everyone to fundraise and come out for a charity walk/run/bike,
            it's a great way to get everyone involved without having to worry about
            the vast age range participating.

photo credit: http://mayorshealthline.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/walking-for-a-cause/

- Couple? Sisters? Brothers? Again, you win! As long as you're an adult, you can pick just about any volunteer job you wish. Volunteer with TED, take in foster dogs, be a driver for Meals on Wheels or join Big Brothers/Big Sisters... the possibilities are endless!

- Young children? This. This is the tough one. It's what prompted me to form FoodLove... I had the hardest time finding a place to volunteer where my kids could join in. You can go kamikaze and do your own thing, be it collecting change to build wells overseas, take your singing skills to a local retirement home or cook pots of soup to deliver to local shelters. But there are some other options:
          - The Humane Society/SPCA often is in need of dog walkers and kitty
            cuddlers
          - Many towns have a Best Buddies program, matching kids up with a buddy
            that has physical or developmental issues
          - Lastly, you can always have the kids join you! I volunteer with Nutrition
            For Learning and while my kids don't have "jobs" there, they have created
            jobs for themselves each morning. They clean the tables, put away
            toothbrushes and gym equipment after all the other children
            have left for school. It's short and sweet and it's the perfect beginner job
            for little guys who have short attention spans.

photo credit: http://money.howstuffworks.com/economics/volunteer/opportunities/volunteer-opportunities-for-kids.htm

In the end, there is a volunteer job out there for EVERYONE. You can make as much or as little of a commitment as you want and if you don't find what you're looking for, you can create your own opportunity. Web developers are always in need at small non-profits, people comfortable at public speaking can be used to promote charities and give tours within an organization. Picking up trash in the park, shovelling a neighbour's driveway or cooking a casserole for someone whose spouse is in the hospital are all great volunteer opportunities that you can fit into your existing schedule.

Get your volunteer on!