How to win your dream wedding

Randy Wilson asked:


There are two major events that you have to plan on your wedding day: an unforgettable wedding ceremony and a fun-filled wedding reception. No matter how important the wedding ceremony is, there is also a need to provide full attention to your wedding reception in order for a perfect wedding memory. In fact with all the available options for you in Chicago, your dream wedding will be a blast. Chicago is indeed the best place for you to find the best hotels, restaurants and reception halls.

For instance, the Galleria Marchetti, which is located just minutes from downtown Chicago, incorporates in interior design of a contemporary Milanese-style gallery space. On the outside, you can experience a wonderful urban courtyard with lovely pavilion surroundings. This is definitely Chicago’s most special and beautiful place for private entertainment and celebration. In fact, Galleria Marchetti is well known for its beautiful secluded atmosphere and delicious Italian cuisine. Apart from that, it can also accommodate weddings with 25 to 500 guests.

If you are looking for a venue in the city, The Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Chicago is an excellent place for a Chicago wedding reception. Located in the heart of Chicago’s Magnificent Mile and the River North dining and entertainment area, just two blocks from North Michigan Avenue, the Hilton Garden Inn offers you upscale décor and a boutique-style lobby of comfortable elegance. This is great for guests to linger around before the celebration officially starts.

Another excellent wedding reception venue would be the Chicago Midway Hotel Center. This is the perfect venue for out-of-town and local Chicago wedding receptions as it is conveniently located two blocks from Midway Airport and eight miles from Chicago downtown. Apart from that, this hotel provides a host of transportation options – including a complimentary airport shuttle as well as elegant facilities. Additionally, the hotel offers award-winning culinary catering, personalized menu options, assistance in event planning and state-of-the-art audiovisual technology. You can even host your wedding reception till late as accommodation is never a problem with advanced bookings.

As Chicago is the city for professional entertainers, you can even engage a great band to host your wedding reception night! One of Chicago’s famous bands is The Dan Hayes Orchestra which has been around since 1982. They perform annually for many functions and are especially a hit for Chicago wedding reception functions. From Motown to R&B to Rock n’ Roll to disco and contemporary hits, they are multi-talented in a wide rang of music. This will provide your guests with unforgettable entertainment as statistics have shown that most wedding guests have a greater memory of enjoyable music as compared to food or interior design.

Most importantly, be sure to book your dream venue as early as possible because popular reception sites get booked up fast. You may even need as much as a year and a half in advance for Chicago wedding reception bookings. Start planning for your dream wedding today so that you can host a memorable night of celebration that everyone will remember!

© Copyright Randy Wilson, All Rights Reserved.



Baby Sleep Tonight

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John Kunkle asked:


Many men are convinced that if they just find the right woman then everything will be perfect in their marriage. They either think that they are fine as they are or they think that they don’t have to change or don’t want to.

They want their wives to accept them for who they are.

Okay. Let’s take a look at who you are.

How did you prior relationships or marriages fair? If you are a widower and the reason you are looking for a new spouse is because your wonderful spouse died — you may be right you may be a great husband and father.

For the rest of you, and I am including myself in this group, take a look at all of your relationships that failed. What is the common denominator in all those relationships? Give up?

YOU. That’s right. You are the common denominator in all your failed relationships.

That should give you a clue that there are chinks in your armor.

Let’s go through a checklist:

Do you drink alcohol to excess or use drugs?

How often?

Every day?

Every week?

Have you gotten into trouble with the law or at work or in your relationships because of this?

Do you gamble?

Do you bet on sports or other events?

How often do you go to gaming casinos?

Do you bet more than you can afford?

Can you stay within your pre-set limit?

Has gambling been a problem in your past relationships?

Do you like pornography?

Do you frequent strip clubs or cathouses?

Have you had sex outside of your marriage or relationships in the past?

Have you been serially monogamous (faithful to your partner)?

Has sex been an issue in your relationships before?

Can you and have you had reasonably frequent sex with your past partners?

Do you have problems with sex (premature ejaculation, failure to get an erection, et cetera)?

Have you had problems at work because of sex (sexual harassment, having sex with coworkers, et cetera)?

Are you financially stable?

Can you provide for your wife?

Do you have financial problems or have you had financial problems in the past?

Are you current on your bills?

Do you have savings accounts and retirement accounts?

Do you have divorce settlements or child support payments that severely restrict your lifestyle?

Are you paying child support for minor children that you have?

Are you current on your child support?

Are you actively involved in your children’s lives?

Would you consider yourself a good example to your children and other children?

Do you spend time with your children?

Do you feel guilty about your relationship with your children?

Do you do things with them that you both like to do? Are children safe with you?

Are you safety conscious?

Do you wear a seat belt?

Do you have car insurance?

Do you have life insurance?

Do you have health insurance?

Do you have disability insurance?

Do you have property insurance?

Are you a safe driver?

Do you drink and drive?

Are you in good health?

Do you exercise?

Is your weight normal?

How would you rate your eating habits?

Would you be able to complete a five-mile hike without problem?

Are you able to play with your kids without problem?

How is your job?

Are you employed?

Do you find your job rewarding?

Is your job stable?

Do you frequently find yourself daydreaming about a new job?

Do you get along with your co-workers?

Would someone else describe you as a workaholic?

Would you describe yourself as a good person?

Would you describe yourself as a moral person?

Are you trustworthy?

Are you a good friend?

Do you have a few good friends or people you can confide in?

How are your family relationships?

Do you get along well with your parents and siblings?

Is your family structure a healthy one?

Do you consider yourself a spiritual or religious person?

Do you go to church or regular spiritual gatherings?

Are you considered a member in good standing at your church or spiritual organization by others in your organization? Do you have healthy hobbies and interests?

Do you read books and like to learn new things?

Is your television viewing taking over a large portion of your life?

Does your computer time cut into your family time or your involvement with others?

Do you have volunteer organizations that you donate time to?

Are you involved in coaching or other community activities in which you give back to the community?

If you answer these questions honestly, you should have a fairly good appraisal of yourself as a human being, potential husband, father, employee, and community member.

You know your strengths and your shortcomings.

Are you willing to work on your shortcomings to become a better person?

If not, then you probably aren’t going to make a very good husband and father. The best way to get in touch with your personal shortcomings is to get involved in a relationship.

Your wife will be more than happy to point out any shortcomings you have that are in your blind spot!

You can wait until she points them out or you can work on them yourself. I recommend that you take care of them yourself.

Do you know what the secret is to finding a perfect mate? The secret is that you have to attract her to you. Not with money, trinkets, bragging, buying her gifts, or showering attention on her.

You have to attract her on a cosmic level. You have to become the kind of human being whose personal standards are so high that you are irresistible to a woman who is looking for the ideal man.

It is a law of the universe that like attracts like. You are going to attract to yourself exactly the kind of person that you are.

The best way to attract the best quality woman for you is for you to become the best person you can be.

In other words, the process of finding the perfect mate is more about you becoming the best man you can be rather than it is about finding the best woman.

If you are the perfect man, you will attract the perfect woman.

You now know your assignment work on developing your personal strengths and minimizing your personal weaknesses.

Become the kind of man that she will leave everything that she knows and loves behind and follows half way around the world to have and to hold.

The process of wooing, winning, and wedding the woman of your dreams has been a personal quest for you.

Like the knights of old, to join the Round Table, they had to venture on a quest where they used all their talents, skills, and mental toughness and ingenuity to accomplish their quest.

The quest in itself was not the important thing. It was how the knight was transformed while on his quest. He became a better person. He was transformed into a man who could slay dragons or move mountains.

In the process of your pursuit of your ideal mate, you will be transformed. You will be become a better person, a better husband, and a better father.

Your quest to woo, win, and wed the woman of your dreams is more about you becoming the right man than it is about finding the right woman.



Pick The Gender Of Your Baby

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Spencer Mason asked:


Now that you and your agent have whittled down the choices and found your Top Choice you are ready to make an offer. This step will be different from state to state. In Illinois this can be a very simple process, depending on the type of residential home you have decided to by. There are a few different kinds: Traditional; Sales which are the most common where the seller is not in any financial trouble, Foreclosure; where a bank has repossessed a home and is now trying to sell it at a reduced rate, and Short Sale; where an owner has contacted their bank and has begun a process of selling their home short of what they owe.

Making an Offer On a Conventional Property (In Illinois)

Our first advice to you is: do not fall in love with your Dream Home. This may seem weird but here’s why: If you are not able to walk away from this home your agent loses all of their power to negotiate. If you have a couple top choices it affords you a much greater leverage during the negotiation process.

Also – now is the time to contact your real estate attorney. Notice we did not say “attorney” we said “real estate attorney.” If your uncle or family friend is an attorney but does not have experience in such things, we recommend asking them for a referral of someone they know rather than using them. Real estate is a time sensitive affair and you need someone with experience who understands this or you could jeopardize your offer and worse yet, your earnest money.

Your agent should provide you with recently sold comparable units either in the building or area of the subject home you are interested in. using these comparables your agent will then help you determine an appropriate offering price. The next step is for your agent to prepare the paperwork and then walk you through the contract line by line. You should feel comfortable every step of the way. By this time you should already be pre-approved and have a letter from your lending institution stating as much. I recommend having them type you one that is property specific without a dollar amount on it. In other words: Jane Doe is approved for 123 Fake Street Unit 101. This way you are not showing all of your cards (your final approval amount) to the listing agent. This isn’t a must, just another advantage for your agent. Next you will need a copy of your earnest money check. For a conventional loan this can be a personal check or any type of certified funds such as a cashier’s check. Talk with your agent about what an appropriate amount of earnest money is based on the value of the home you are bidding on. This amount can often tell a buyer how serious you are. Remember that just like everything else on the contract, this is negotiable and you may receive a counter on it! The next step after signing the contract is for your agent to submit it to the listing agent. You should receive an answer with in a day or so (deadline is stated on the offer). Given that your agent is on the ball they will most likely be phoning the listing agent by the following day if they haven’t had a response. The beautiful thing about Illinois (and many other states) is that the rest of the negotiations is verbal until the terms are agreed upon. Meaning you do not need to keep re-submitting your offer back and forth in writing. Once your agent submits an offer they can call the listing agent, get their counter and then run the number by you all by phone. Once there is a meeting of the minds one more written contract typically an edited copy of the first page will suffice. Once the contract is signed by both parties it is known as an “executed” contract. At this point your agent has 24 hours to get the initial earnest money to the listing agent. Make sure your attorney gets a copy of the contract asap.

Making an Offer On a Foreclosure Property (In Illinois)

Foreclosures and Short Sales (distressed properties) are a bit trickier and we will discuss them one at a time. Assuming you have narrowed your foreclosures down to your Top One or Two, it is time to act! Typically the banks price these properties to sell and they can go quickly. In fact, the goal of many of these brokers is to list the property so cheap that they encourage a multi-offer situation. This is similar to a silent auction in the way that others will be bidding on the same property but you don’t know what they’re bidding. The difference will be that once they have decided to stop taking bids they will send around a call for “best and final offer.” This will give everyone who bid another chance to up their bid to make sure they come out victorious. This step can be tricky for you and your agent because you may be the highest offer already. In essence you could be bidding against yourself. What you and your agent have to decide is, whether your bid was good enough to begin with. It is common to bid higher than listing price and still be out-bid! There is no clear-cut advice that can be honestly given to navigate a “win” in this situation. With a qualified agent working with you giving you all of the comparable properties that have been listed and sold – go with your gut. If you’re not comfortable bidding more, don’t. Ask your agent to call the brokerage after the best and final bids have all gone through and ask them to let you know if you are not the top bidder because, if not you’d like to move on. Sometimes this works, and sometimes it does not, but it’s worth a try and can save you some waiting time. The final step here is, wait. Sometimes this can be a week sometimes a month or more. One silver lining to that cloud is that it is not in a banks best interest to hold on to this property and they want to sell it as much as you want to buy it.

Making an Offer on a Short Sale Property (In Illinois)

If you need to close on a deadline, do not pursue a short sale! Despite its name a “short sale” is the longest purchase you could endeavor for. If you are thinking about buying a foreclosure or short sale, make sure you have an agent that has references for successful completion of these. There is no end to the financial and time waste that can be associated with this type of purchase. When a person gets into financial trouble for whatever reason and realizes that they can no longer afford their mortgage one option they have before being foreclosed upon is to contact their bank and ask them if they may sell their home short of what they owe in hopes that they will not have to foreclose. This is attractive to the banks because often times they will get more for a home in short sale than they would in foreclosure, plus the seller is doing most of the work. The problem is that many agents, on both sides of the transaction, are under-educated about these. Often times the seller and the listing agent have no idea about what the bank will accept for this place so when they list the property on line it is a shot-in-the-dark at what they feel the bank would be willing to take mixed with how much of a loss the seller is prepared to absorb. Many times even if a buyer makes an offer for a place that is over what the asking price was this can still be declined by a bank, only it’s not that simple. If a bank gets an offer from a buyer that is below what they are willing to take they will not simply say, “no” or counter your offer. They will sit on your offer for one, two, three months to a year (no joke) waiting for a better offer to come in. When it gets to a point that they do not feel another better offer is coming, assuming you haven’t pulled out by then, they will counter your offer and the negotiation process will begin. Also, since many times short sales and foreclosures are not in the best condition, you had better have a strong down payment and good credit because your lender’s appraiser will be very picky about whether or not they will approve you for a loan on this type of property.

Bonus step: The Cover Letter

This is for any one of the three types of properties listed above. Something we have found to be useful in a multi-offer situation is a Cover Letter. A cover letter explaining your situation could make all the difference when a seller is looking at a bunch of offers that are all similarly priced. An example that has worked for one of our agents was a newly wed couple that put an offer in for a home that was right by where their mother lived and where they grew up. They now want to return to their home town and be close to relatives because they’re going to be adding a little one to the family and would love to be close to grandma etc. You get the picture. Some sellers want to know that their home is going to be handed over to someone who will really appreciate it. The cover letter, even if your story is not as engrossing as this example will show that you are serious enough about this home that you took the time to go the extra mile. Just like a good earnest money offer, sellers want to know that the prospective buyer is invested in buying this property and won’t back out on them and waste their time.

Stay tuned for Step 4: Offer Accepted, Now What?

In this step I will cover all three types of transactions listed in Step 3.



Pick Your Babys Gender

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