Serendipity Meets Destiny

What does Namaste' really mean? "Om" and "Namaste" are two phrases that we hear over and over again in the yoga community. But do you know exactly what they mean? These ancient Sanskrit words are both meaningful and sacred. The power behind these words may not be immediately recognized, but if you look deeper, you will see their inherent significance and deep energy: Let us look at the three most important things:  Namaste and its Translation The Hand Gesture The Namaste Salutation (OM) "Om" and "Namaste" are two phrases that we hear over and over again in the yoga community. But do you know exactly what they mean? These ancient Sanskrit words are both meaningful and sacred. The power behind these words may not be immediately recognized, but if you look deeper, you will see their inherent significance and deep energy: Namaste Translation: 'Nama' means bow, 'as' means I, and 'te' mean...

Ultimate Wedding Planning Checklist From: RealSimple.com To plan the perfect celebration, use this comprehensive wedding checklist, with a timeline based on the 16-month length of the average U.S. engagement. And, don’t forget to download Real Simple's app for more helpful lists. Sixteen to Nine Months Before Start a wedding folder or binder. Begin leafing through bridal, lifestyle, fashion, gardening, design, and food magazines for inspiration. Work out your budget. Determine how much you have to spend, based on your families’ contributions and your own. Pick your wedding party. (As soon as you’re engaged, people will start wondering who’s in.) Start the guest list.  Make a head count database to use throughout your planning process, with columns for contact info, RSVPs, gifts, and any other relevant information. (Want to keep costs low? It may be brutal, but the best way to do it is to reduce your guest list.) Hire a planner, if desired. A planner will have rela...

7 Winter Wedding Dos and Don'ts by The Knot  Temperatures are dropping, snow is falling and for you, wedding bells are ringing! Here are our tips to make your winter wedding fabulous. Weddings aren't just spring and summer affairs anymore. More couples are opting to marry during what used to be the off-season for nuptials—and why not? Between the romantic ambience of a snowy landscape, the relative lack of competition for vendors and sites, there's so much to love about chilly weather nuptials. Check out our top dos and don'ts for having a winter wedding.  1. Don't be afraid to experiment with color. You shouldn't feel bound to a palette of winter whites, greens and reds that traditionally surround the holiday season. Why not choose bold, bright colors and create a tropical wonderland of mango orange, key lime green or pineapple yellow? It sounds counterintuitive, but it can actually create a fun, unexpected setting for your guests.  2. Do dress your bridesma...

This is how you kick off a new year and a new marriage all at once. By Nancy Mattia of Martha Stewart Weddings A fun way to usher in the new year is to get married on New Year's Eve. For guests who dread that holiday because they rarely do anything exciting, a wedding is the perfect event. People in a partying mood, and there's dance music, lots of food, and even more to drink. So, as a bride and groom, you'll want to get it all right. Here's what to keep in mind.  REASONS TO HAVE A NEW YEAR'S EVE WEDDING  Give guests a major heads up. Send out save-the-dates as soon as you've got a lock on a date; all you need to tell is the date and location (city or town). "Flights and hotels are often more expensive around New Year's Eve, so giving them plenty of notice to make their reservations is key," says Morgan Miller, an event planner who owns Spreading Lovely in the San Francisco Bay area. Also, if parents have to hire babysitters, th...

Before you make a final decision, an in-person or over-the-phone interview is a must. Prepare yourself with this list of important questions to help you find out which wedding planner is the right fit.by Simone Hill  @ TheKnot.c om Because they'll be your point person every step of the way, you'll want to find a wedding planner  who's not only organized and professional, but also makes you feel at ease, and whom you trust to have your best interests at heart. The initial interview should really be a conversation—a good consultant will have plenty of questions for you too, to figure out your wishes, needs, level of maintenance, budget and scope of imagination. Whomever you choose to go with, don't hire a consultant who you don't click with, doesn't want to listen, critiques and overruns your ideas, tries to convince you of what's best for you, has no references, or won't sign a written agreement. With that in mind, here are the key questions (and what yo...

In the early stages of preparing for our big day, we decided not to employ the services of a wedding planner... but in hindsight, oh, how I wish we had! Why we didn’t We had very little debate about whether or not to bring a wedding planner on board. Quite simply, I wanted us to handle all the preparations and vendor research ourselves. I thought it would be fun to do the research, and also felt that us looking into the suppliers was the only way to know all the options... so that we could make a truly informed decision and ensure we got the style we liked at the most reasonable price — not simply a wedding planner’s “usual” contacts. My groom was more than happy with this conclusion, since it saved us an extra line item in our bridal budget... and we were indeed worried that a wedding planner would be quite expensive. Why we wish we had •  Wedding tasks aren’t always fun.  Sure, it’s a ball to  ooh  and  aah  over cake designs, but there’s n...