Category: Top 100 Tips

Questions to Consider When Choosing a Wedding Venue

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wedding_33When young couples intending to marry investigate the various wedding venues in Salt Lake City there are many competing factors to consider and evaluate. The first and most important factor to consider is whether the wedding venue fits within the couple’s budgetary constraints. Many times couples feel compelled to exceed their budgets because the wedding is such an important life event and the money issues can be sorted out at a later date and time. This would be a mistake, however, because money issues are a major cause of marriages breaking up statistically speaking. As such, it would not bode well to begin the wedding on the wrong foot financially speaking.

Another important factor to consider when choosing a wedding venue is what are the specific rules that the wedding venue requires adherence to and whether that fits with the couple’s vision for their special day. For example, in Utah especially there are many rules and regulations concerning the serving of alcoholic beverages. Wedding venues in Salt Lake City may have further restrictions upon these state imposed restrictions. Accordingly, it would probably be a good idea to investigate these or any other restrictions the venue might impose prior to entering into a contract with a prospective wedding venue.

Finally, a couple investigating a wedding venue should also consider whether the location will actually accommodate the number of people invited to the event itself. This consideration goes beyond whether the venue is large enough to accommodate the number of people invited but also whether the venue has the facilities necessary to accommodate the special needs of the people invited to the venue. For example, if the venue has a lot of stairs it might not be ideal if many elderly guests will be attending. Obviously, these three paragraphs merely scratch the surface of the many factors to consider when making this decision.

The Short Inside Scoop on how to Avoid Men Developing Cold Feet before a Wedding

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wedding_33Warning to all Salt Lake City Brides! The following might come off a little sexist and is probably not what a bride wants to read. But if she is concerned about her groom developing cold feet before their wedding she would do well to consider the following.

Planning the Wedding Itself

First of all, researching wedding venues in Salt Lake City can give any man cold feet.  As such, I firmly believe all or most wedding planning should be done by the bride or at least someone other than the groom. If the bride truly wants to minimize the chances of the groom developing cold feet before the ceremony she would do well to take this under advisement.

This is especially true if the bride and groom are paying for the wedding as the cost of a wedding can be very expensive. The average cost of a wedding in the United States is $26,444.00 and the average cost of a wedding in Salt Lake City is roughly half that amount at $13,365.00. Still that is a large chunk of change for most people.

Another reason a groom might get cold feet when researching wedding venues is the thought of who to invite, where they all will sit and who they will sit next to. This is a massive headache because (and I am speaking from experience) almost every decision made regarding planning the wedding will result in at least one relative or friend being offended. I do not know why this happens specifically with respect to wedding planning. I would think most people would be happy for the young couple and put aside their own concerns but for some mysterious reason this just is not the case. Long story short; keep the groom out of all these decisions.

The Longer Term

The other factor influencing the development of cold feet is the groom dwelling on the long term reality of marriage. Men (particularly men younger than their mid 30’s) will propose to a woman thinking everything is going to be great. But as the wedding date approaches the reality of his decision to propose will loom ever larger. One way to minimize any fear based thoughts that may lead to cold feet is to schedule the wedding date as soon as possible after the proposal. If this is an impossibility, the bride to be should do everything in her power to distract the groom from thinking about the long term in the run up to the wedding. What the most effective distraction is will vary from groom to groom but this is probably knowledge the bride should have before looking for wedding venues in Salt Lake City. Good luck!

Winter is Around the Corner – Tips to Be Ready

Garden, Home Deisgn, Top 100 Tips

Tips for WinterizationAs the fall season quickly comes, winter is right behind it. Depending on who you listen to, it appears the majority consensus is that El Nino will be having a strong effect this winter, bringing possibly harsher and longer winter conditions. Whether you’re simply bringing in the lawn mower for the winter or a John Deere farm tractor, preparations should be made on both fronts. In an effort to keep ahead of mother nature, here are some tips to be prepared for the winter ahead and winterize your equipment correctly.

For Storing Your Tractor:
1) Get a tune-up? Yes, it’s actually recommended to give the tractor a quick tune-up before going into hibernation for the winter so that when the time comes to start it up again, it will start as quickly as possible and run as optimally after resting for such a long duration. By implementing the tune-up before the winter, you’ll have a chance to run it a couple of times and acclimate any new equipment to the tractor rather than adding or replacing those items and have to start it from a cold state.

2) Get charged up! The battery…ah yes, nothing worse than trying to turn the engine over with nothing but a click, click, click.   Many that store equipment for the winter have already made it an expectation that the engine will not start due to the idea that the battery can’t hold its charge over the winter. However, this is inaccurate. A battery certainly can hold its charge, but it needs to be in good working order; fully charged, fresh fluids, and doesn’t hurt if it was bought recently.

lawn tractor3) Check your equipment. Whether it’s simply the fuel or something more important as a skid steer or round baler belts, each needs to be handled correctly. It’s always best to check with the manufacturer to determine what their recommended winterization methods are; however, the important piece is to check. Realize each piece of equipment or supply is different and may require very different methods in order to work optimally after the winter season.

There you have it, 3 tips to help keep you ahead of the upcoming winter, as we know we can expect it every year! Be sure to take the preventative measures as the repair costs often outweigh the preventive costs.

Top 7 Types of Mulch

Top 100 Tips

top-7-types-of-mulchWhen choosing what to use to help protect and beautify your garden or landscape, there are many options available. Each has their own strengths and curb appeal as well as price range. Mulch has been a popular option for years in order to protect your garden and landscape from the weather, to help keep in the moisture, to provide continual nutrients, and add a great look. Let’s look at 7 different styles of mulch that you can choose from.

  1. Straw mulch. While one of the most simple and cheapest mulches available, it leaves a lot to be desired. It can create simple walkways and provide some good protection for your gardens and landscaping. The problems that arise is that it attracts mice, and other critters, it doesn’t usually completely block the sunlight and therefore doesn’t act as a strong moisture barrier. Another drawback is that it often contains weed seeds.
  2. Newspaper and cardboard mulch. Are you feeling green? Recycling your old newspaper and cardboard and using it as mulch is excellent for your plants and soil. It can offer a strong barrier to the sun and weather, therefore protecting your soil, the plants and the moisture and it can easily adapt to the contour of the land. Since paper is biodegradable, it will decompose into the ground, therein truly recycling the paper. One of the biggest drawbacks with this mulch is the look. One solution is to use newspaper as the bottom layer and cover it over with Utah compost.
  3. Pebble/gravel mulch. Pebbles and gravel tend to be more popular as trail or pathway coverage but can also work in gardens and landscaping. It does well at absorbing heat during the day and giving it off at night which can help create a more subtle climate range. However, it doesn’t keep out the weed seeds or does it do a very good job at keeping the moisture in the soil.
  4. Pumice rock mulch. One of the big differences between pumice and other pebble or gravel mulches is that is has the ability to trap and better maintain moisture in the soil. While this works well once this type of stone is further in the dirt, when you first lay it, you’ll need to give it extra time and water in order to for the water to penetrate and really be utilized in the soil.
  5. Grass clippings mulch. This is about as green as you can get! When you add this mulch immediately after being cut, you gain the green aspect of the fresh grass as well as a great fragrance. With any living green plant, once cut from its’ root it will turn brown, but as it decomposes, it adds great organic fertilizer to your garden and landscaping area.
  6. Compost mulch? Compost provides exceptional nutritional value to your garden and landscape. This will provide value for seasons to come. However, as a decorative mulch it is a little bit lacking. One solution is to mix this with another type of mulch, using this as the first layer of the mulch. It offers great coverage over your dirt, locking moisture in and keeping weeds out.
  7. Shredded bark mulch and wood chips. One of the most popular and favored of all types of mulches is the wood mulch in its various forms. With a never ending option of colors and types of wood from which to have this mulch made, it’s no wonder that it tends to be a favorite. Add to that the cheapness of it as well as it often being readily available and you have a winner for most people. This type of mulch offers exceptional moisture retention as well as weather barrier for your garden and landscape areas. A drawback is that it does break down, but this is also a positive as the decomposing of the mulch can help add nutrients to the ground and it gives you an opportunity to add new life and color when applying a new batch.

As one can see, there are a myriad of different types of mulches and something to suite everyone. Whether one prefers organic, “green”, or cold stones, you can always find something that will make your garden or landscape look even better. If you’re looking for something more industrial – check out agbeltingoutlet.com.  They’ve helped farmers and landscapers with several different types of belts for their equipment to help them get as much out of their labor as possible!