Author Archives: Ella Mason

5 Top Songs for Your First Wedding Dance

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Getting married is often one of the best days in a person’s life. It’s a day where partners affirm their love for one another, make important vows to stay together for the rest of their lives, and spend the day in company of their nearest and dearest.

If you’re already married, I’m sure you’ll be able to relate to exactly what I’m talking about, but if you’re waiting to marry The One, you’ve got all of the excitement to come.

Organising the perfect wedding takes months of meticulous planning; with every tiny aspect to consider, from flowers, the dress, venue hire and even what wedding favours to choose, it’s easy to get lost in the thickness of the wedding planning jungle. In fact, you’ve got so lost amongst all of these details that you’ve completely forgotten one of the finer details of the big day; the first dance song.

The first dance at a wedding is often an intimate moment for those getting married, with many often choosing a song that personally relates to their relationship. However, it’s not unusual for a couple not to have a chosen song for their big day, preferring to opt for just a simple, classic love song.

So, if you’ve got your dream day coming up and are completely stuck for ideas when choosing your first wedding dance song, here are some ideas to get you started:

1. The Wannadies – You & Me Song

Forget the usual slow-dance love song. This classic song starts with a fairly slow tempo, but as soon as the chorus kicks in, it’s a great first dance song for those who want to have a bit more fun with their loved one.

With its lyrics “you and me, always, and forever”, it’ll be the perfect fit for your special day.

2. Robbie Williams – She’s The One

When hiring a wedding DJ for your entertainment, it’s pretty likely that there’ll be a Robbie Williams song somewhere in the playlist.  And, you can’t get a more romantic song than this classic. If you and your partner are after that perfect slow dance song, then this should definitely be a contender.

3. Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You

It’s probably one of the most dramatic ballads ever written, and it’s because of this that it’s one of the most popular song choices for wedding first dances. With the poignant message lying in the title itself, it’s utterly romantic for your big day.

4. Take That – Rule The World

Ah, Take That; the ultimate boyband. They’ve churned out plenty of love songs throughout their time. But, rather than choosing the classic ‘Back for Good’, or ‘A Million Love Songs’, this relatively new track is a great alternative to many of the frequently chosen, older tracks.

5. Florence and The Machine – You’ve Got The Love

Whether you choose Florence’s version, or the original by The Source ft. Candi Staton, this song is fast becoming a popular choice for the first dance. Similarly to The Wannadies ‘You & Me Song’, its upbeat tempo allows couples to have a little more fun on the dance floor, whilst still having the romantic, meaningful lyrics.

 

If you are getting married then get your hands on a copy of The Wedding Survival Guide: How To Plan Your Big Day Without Losing Your Sanity. It has great advice on planning your perfect wedding and is written by our editor, Catherine Balavage. It is also available in Ebook format and is a great guide for wedding planning.

 

 

 

3 Religions You May Not Know Much About

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Did you know that there are roughly 4,200 religions in the world today? Astonishing, isn’t it? With approximately 59% of the world’s population practicing a particular type of religion, for many it’s a fundamental part of everyday life.

Religion is defined as a collection of belief systems, cultural systems and worldviews that relate humanity to spirituality and to moral values. The five largest religion groups being practiced by population today are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Chinese folk religion and Buddhism – with Christianity equating to 33% of the world’s population.

But, when you take away these 5, what about all of the other 3,195 religions?  There seem to be so many religions we don’t know a single thing about.

Understanding religions is a fundamental part of human existence, knowledge and communication. And, unless we hear snippets of information about them in the media, many of them seem to go unnoticed.

So, to brush up on your awareness of how others live around the world, here’s a little run down of 3 religions I bet you don’t know much about…

1. Kabbalah

Now, I know that often when the word ‘Kabbalah’ is mentioned, your mind probably first thinks of Madonna. And, yes, although the ‘Material Girl’ singer follows the religion, she isn’t what it’s all about.

Kabbalah is a Jewish mysticism religion that involves advanced understanding of religion in relation to the wider universe, the nature of God and man’s place within life.  This is done by analysing underlying meanings from a variety of Jewish scriptures, such as the Torah.

Although based on Jewish beliefs, non-Jews have been adopting the teachings of the Kabbalah since the 15th century due to many of the understandings constituting a lot of Renaissance thought. It’s through this that has made the religion so popular throughout the Western culture today.

2. Baha’i Faith

The Baha’i Faith is a monotheistic religion that was started by Siyyid Ali-Muhammad in 1844.

The religion believes that figures such as Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Jesus and Mohammad were divine messengers sent by God to lead the world’s spiritual development.

One of the main characteristics of the Baha’i faith is the belief that all of mankind should strive for a united world society. This intrinsic equal value of all human life is a primary goal of the religion, and is based on the reasoning that as God created all humans, they should all be equally valued. Those who follow the faith are strong supporters of equal treatment for women and minorities.

In order to effectively work towards achieving this goal, Baha’is engage in social education programs on a day-to-day basis. These promote racial and gender, as well a religious respect, environmental responsibility and help for those in need.

3. Bruderhof Communities

Bruderhof communities were founded in 1920 by Eberhard Arnold, his wife Emmy and Emmy’s sister, Else von Hollander. The religion is a faith in Jesus, which focuses its teachings on ‘love your neighbor as yourself’, with a focus on nonviolence, faithfulness in marriage and compassion for those less fortunate, in particular.

There are more than 20 Bruderhofs currently worldwide and half of these consist of self-contained villages of 150-300 people, where all individuals contribute to the upkeep and livelihood of their community, through a voluntary act of service.

Everything within these communities is shared amongst all members on the basis of equality. Income from all businesses is pooled and used for the care of all members and for communal outreach efforts.

The natural environment is also a fundamental aspect of The Bruderhof. Members strive to protect every aspect of the environment by using sustainable agriculture, recycling materials, as well as limiting carbon footprint through the use of solar power and geothermal heating.  As a product of God’s creation, the Bruderhof believe it should remain as natural and as untouched as possible.

 

How To Take The Stress Out of a Home Move

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Moving house can often be a stressful experience. You have your ideas on the best ways to move, your partner has theirs, and the only thing you seem to be achieving successfully other than packing boxes is going round in circles.

With every room in the house to pack up, every old room to clean up, and the need to transfer all of your precious items safely across to your new house, it can be daunting knowing where on earth to start.

But believe it or not, you can take the stress out of moving – if you plan ahead, stay organized and even, get a little help.

If you’re currently stuck in the house-moving-hell and fear you can’t see a way out, or if you’ve got a big move coming up, here a few tips to take the stress out of it, so you can actually enjoy moving into your brand new home:

Start Early

Now, I know that this hardly feels like a ‘tip’, given that this is all your family and friends have been telling you to do since you first announced your move, but honestly, it really is the best policy.

Everyone always starts a big move with the best intentions of starting early and getting organised, but stick to these and they’ll guarantee you a much less stressful move.

Firstly, load up on any empty boxes you can get your hands on; ask family and friends if they’ve got any spares kicking around in their garage, or take a trip to your local supermarket to see if they’re disposing of any.

Start by packing up any items you don’t regularly use or ones that you know you won’t need in the days and weeks to come. Items such as ornaments, pictures, clothes and electronics are always good places to start. Rather then leaving everything to the last minute, packing as you go along is the most effective way of staying organised.

Out With The Old, In With The New

One of the biggest problems associated with moving is the transferring of items you don’t actually need.

If you’ve lived in your current home for a number of years, you’ll most certainly find you’ve managed to accumulate random items that actually don’t do anything apart from contribute to clutter and mess.

As you’re packing up each room, take time to sort through every one of your items and assess whether you need it – if you haven’t used it in the last year, chances are, you won’t ever use it again.

Aside from taking up your time during the packing process, which could be better spent on other aspects of the move, it’ll only take you longer to unpack and find homes for these unnecessary items on the other side.

You wanted to move into a new home for a fresh start, right? Well, don’t clutter your new house with old stuff – it’ll only result in old mess in new territory, and more work for you in the long run.

Hire a Man With a Van

Now, I know that you think that hiring help from a company is just an unnecessary cost when you can do an equally good job on your own. But actually, it’ll really help to reduce those stress levels throughout the whole of the moving process.

Hiring a man with a van will not only help you to move your items from one house to another, but they’ll also help with your packing, provide you with packing materials, and make sure that your items are treated with care from start to finish.

Ask family and friends if they know of any reputable movers, or look in your local directory for accredited companies, and you can guarantee that the small fortune you’ll part with to hire some help, will be 100% worth it when it comes to your stress levels.

High Fashion Without The High Prices

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It’s hard work trying to stay ahead of fashion trends these days. One minute it’s all about pastels, the next it’s all about prints, and then before you know it, somehow tie-dye has made a comeback.

Aside from running out of space to house your growing fashion collections, the downside in trying to keep up is the undoubted effect it has on your bank account.

But, instead of spending a fortune on buying new item after new item from your favourite stores, there are ways you can still get the high fashion look, without paying the high fashion prices.

How? Well, here a few tips that’ll help to make all of those jumpers, boots and dress a little more affordable:

Customize

Do you ever see an item of clothing in the shops and think, “I could make that?” Well, time to get your needle and thread out!

Customizing any existing clothes is the perfect way to stay ahead of trends. Many new trends are often adaptations of old ones – so dig out any old clothes sitting in the back of your wardrobe, grab some sequins and studs, and you’ll be right on trend for this season!

Check Online For Deals

Searching online through voucher discount sites is one of the easiest ways to save money on new fashion trends.

The Internet plays host to a wide range of voucher discount sites who offer money off a wide range of products and services – and fashion is often one of the easiest category’s to gain money off your favourite stores.

By simply typing in what you’re looking for, for example ‘New Look, Dorothy Perkins or Missguided promo code’ you’ll be able to find you a list of codes that’ll either save you money, reward your spending or even give you money off delivery costs!

Charity Shops

No-one ever seems to shop in charity shops anymore, do they? But I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve said to someone “that’s a lovely top, where’s it from?” and heard the reply “ah, just from a charity shop”.

You’ll be surprised what good quality items you can find in charity shops these days, and for a fraction of the price of the high street retail stores, you can’t complain if you find a bargain!

Helping a charity, saving money and looking fashionable all in one go? You can’t complain with that, surely!

Key Features of a Custom-Designed Bathroom & How It Can Benefit Those With Mobility Difficulties

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So, you’re looking for a custom-designed bathroom. But as much as you want one with a contemporary design to match your preferences, a bathroom that’s practical is top of your agenda.

As the bathroom is one of the most used rooms in the household, it’s important that everyone can use it with ease. Imagine not being able to get ready in the morning without the help of a family member. For many, this is a reality.

It’s because of this that custom-designed bathrooms are often the perfect solution for those with mobility difficulties. Their custom features can make all the difference when it comes to carrying out the everyday tasks with independence and comfort.

So, if you’re considering a custom designed bathroom, such as an Oak Healthcare disabled bathroom, for your household or for a loved one, here’s a list of key features and how they contribute to suiting all of your required needs.

Railings

A key component of a custom-designed bathroom is the inclusion of grab rails fitted at various heights around the bath, shower, toilet and sink. They offer extra grip and support to make sure those with reduced mobility can move around and operate independently.

Walk in Shower/Wet Room

Fully walk or wheel-in showers are also central features of custom-designed bathrooms, and are particularly useful for those who require more room. Many designs also offer non-slip floor surfaces to help those who aren’t too stable on their feet, so they can shower with ease.

Showerheads installed in customised bathrooms are also designed to be adjustable and flexible, so users don’t have to stretch and strain to operate the facilities.

Benches

The inclusion of shower benches or bathing-boards are also important features of customised bathrooms for those with mobility difficulties. Placed for the users convenience, they can help make the process of cleaning less of a burden. For many families, they also give peace of mind knowing that the individual is both comfortable and safe when washing.

Customised Tapware

Many customised bathrooms also take the tiniest of bathroom components into consideration. From taps with grip materials, to lowered mirrors and shelves, personalised bathrooms help to make sure that even the smallest of tasks are easy to carry out – so that whatever your requirements, you’re catered for in every way possible.

Gift Ideas for Gadget Geeks

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With so many new gadgets popping up every week it’s sometimes difficult to sift through the boring stuff to find the more exciting releases. We’ve pulled together a list of the best gift ideas for those people in your life who love their gadgets.

Nintendo DS

There are plenty of incarnations of this hand held console. The newest being the 3DS XL. It’s perfect for the guy or girl that’s into their games but doesn’t want to spend hours sitting in front of a television screen. Of course, if you want to go all out with a gift for the Nintendo lover then there’s the new Wii U, out for Christmas.

Raspberry Pi

This might be taking the geekiness a little far when it comes to gadgets, the Raspberry Pi is a micro-computer that has been designed to get students into programming. However, it has so many other uses too. It can be set up as an emulator to play old arcade games and some very clever people use them to automate their homes, where they control things like lighting and heating.

The best thing to do with your Raspberry Pi is to turn it into a media centre. Using something called XBMC and coupled with a USB hard drive full of TV shows and movies, you could set yourself up a media centre without too much trouble at all. If you are going to buy this for someone, either make sure they have the skills to set it up or make sure you provide instructions!

Skullcandy Headphones

Everyone wants to look stylish when listening to music and Skullcardy headphones are the epitome of cool. Not only that but the sound quality they give off is amazing. Depending on the style of the person you are buying for, you could get huge DJ-esque headphones or simple in-ear buds.

There’s a huge range of colours to choose from and the prices range from £15 all the way up to £300.

Camera

There’s a wide field of gifts in this category, but it gives you a chance to think about what the person you are buying for might like. If you are buying for a snowboarder then an on-helmet camera will mean they get to show off their moves in the snow.

If your loved one has a penchant for scuba diving then one of the new underwater cameras from Polaroid is certain to please. The XS7, XS20 and XS100 are all new offerings from Polaroid and range from £45 up to £120.

iPod Dock

There are some very cool speaker docks out there and the retro styling of the ViewQuest Retro Radio hits all the right buttons. It echoes back to the 1950s but is actually an iPhone/iPod dock.

If you want to go for something more modern then the Panasonic SC-HC05 is white with sleek lines and all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a £150 speaker system.

Top 3 Advantages of Metal Finishing for Your Business

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Now, before you start reading this in the interest that you’ll find out how metal finishing can add value to your marketing, HR or IT business, I want to quickly confess that I’m only reaching out to those fellows predominantly involved with the construction and engineering trade.

For those of you who work in these industries, you’ll know that the heavy-duty tools, machinery and appliances you use to carry out vital day-to-day jobs need to be able to stand the test of time. Repairs can be a costly band-aid, and if structure failure as a result of cheaper material choices occurs, this poses a public safety risk, not to mention a risk to the safety of your workers. With online OSHA 10 and key occupational training, and the adoption of solid metal finishing for your project, you ensure your project uses the safest industry-standard materials on the market.

Metal finishing relates to the process of deposition, application or treatment of a metallic coating onto a product in order to enhance its appearance, function or performance. Due to its ability to be applied to a wide range of surfaces including steel, aluminium, copper and crass, metal finishing holds the ability to add value to any construction business.

How, exactly? Well, here a 3 top reasons why metal finishing could help to benefit your business:

1. Improve Appearances

Metal finishing can be accomplished through a variety of techniques; powder coating, silk screening, anodizing, e-coating and plating are just to name a few. However, whichever way your finish is achieved, you can be assured that the most notable advantage it’ll provide to your product is the improvement to its overall aesthetics.

It can help to remove sharp edges, smooth surfaces and clean the surface to produce a textured, matte or glossy finish. Aside from also contributing to removing burrs and other surface flaws that may be present on the surface of your product, it can modify decorative options such as the application of colour, metal polishing, glass beading and custom metal plating.

By doing so, you can ensure you’re providing your customers and clients with the highest quality products, should they demand those with greater decorative appearance.

2. Greater Resistance

By overlaying your products in a protected metal finish, the most notable advantage of the process is its ability to make them last a lot longer. If left untreated, metals can wear and disintegrate much quicker than those that are treated.

The metal finishing coating system offers a low coefficient of friction with great abrasion resistance and durability towards corrosion, chemical and tarnish wear. So whether your business uses hardwearing operative machinery, or whether you manufacture building materials for consumers, you can ensure your product will last whatever it’s purpose, as well as however and wherever it’s used.

3. Ease of Cleaning

Part of preserving a well-utilised product/machine/tool lies in the maintenance and cleaning of it.

Metal finishing significantly reduces product contamination and adhesion due to the microscopic smoothness when applied to the surface. This finish also ensures the surface is well maintained and protected.

On the other hand, metal finishing a product can also significantly reduce the time spent cleaning it. On previously non-coated materials, considerable time and care has to be spent to ensure chemicals and procedures don’t contribute to the wearing and rusting of the product. However, with metal finishing, items can be power-washed or hydro-blasted with ease. Companies that have already adopted the use of metal finishing have reported a reduction in cleaning time of more than 50%; meaning that your workforce can spend that previously used time on more vital and beneficial tasks for your business…

This article was written by Ella Mason, an experienced freelance writer. Ella specialises in providing informative and engaging advice to businesses.

Top SEO Apps for Businesses

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Let me take you back to 20 years ago; there was no such thing as the Internet, no one had even thought about search engines, and smartphones were a distant fantasy.

Today, these technologies have become a vital part of society. Aside from transforming our personal day-to-day lives, the invention of digital technology has also had a profound impact on the world of business.

Operating a business was previously about forming relationships through basic human face-to-face contact. Now, you can operate a business without ever meeting any of your clients, and you can even run a business from the palm of your hand.

Digital has become big business. And you can’t mention digital business without the matter of SEO.

So, if you’re looking to boost your business’ digital presence with the help of your smartphone or tablet, here are a selection of top SEO apps that’ll help you to do so.

WordPress

If you have a website or blog page that uses the WordPress theme, this app will be right up your street.

Available on a variety of platforms, including Apple and Android, the app allows you to manage the content side of your SEO right from your fingertips.

You can edit existing articles, change existing links or add new articles with anchor texts and hyperlinks without even having to think about writing in HTML. You can also effortlessly add photos, check your spelling and even change existing keywords in an instant should the competition drop for a particular trending keyword.

If you’re also keen to see how an article has gone down with your readers, with the ability to edit, modify and reply to your comments, staying in touch with your readers couldn’t be simpler.

Google Analytics

The Google Analytics app is the perfect SEO reporting platform; it allows you to measure your sales and conversion, as well as gives you a good overview of how users have found your site, how they’ve utilized it, as well as how you can keep them returning to it.

Aside from analyzing your reports, Google Analytics also holds the power to analyse your social media programs and your content – so every aspect of your SEO is completely covered.

SEM Calculator

Available from the App Store, the SEM Calculator app helps you to analyse every aspect of your Search Engine Marketing, through the use of the app’s multiple calculators.

A useful tool for businesses that use affiliate marketing, Adsense or online buying of banners, the app assists you in working out your cost per impression for many of your marketing campaigns. By doing so, the app provides an effective overview on which of your campaigns are working well, and those that aren’t – so you can decide where your marketing budget would be best spent, or where it’s most needed.

HootSuite

No one can argue the influence of social media on today’s world; most have it, most use it, and most follow it in one way or another. It’s for these reasons that social media has become such a prominent part of SEO and why so many companies now implement it.

As Vroom SEO in Dublin believe, ‘it’s the varied and distinct nature of groups in social media which allows companies to target a specific demographic in a way they previously could not.’

Whether you’ve decided to implement Twitter, Facebook, or Google+ as backlinks for your website or blog, HootSuite allows you to stay ahead of your social media management by managing all of your social networks on one single dashboard.

By doing so, this allows businesses to improve SEO influence by efficiently tracking conversations and brand mentions, as well effectively building backlinks and social media traffic for your site.

 

This article was written by Ella Mason, an experienced freelance writer. Ella specialises in providing informative and engaging technology advice to businesses.