AKH

So I am a bridesmaid in my brothers 350 person wedding (and also have my own wedding coming up) and am trying to make sure I look my best at both weddings. I went to have my bridesmaid dress altered yesterday and noticed my skin just didn't look beautiful on my arms back or face. A lot of skin regiments I see are specifically for face but I was wondering for my arms and back as well. I also don't go to tanning beds and fake tans freak me out because the last thing I want to do is look orange. What else can I do to help my skin look great?

My brother has laryngeal cancer from HPV and his is half way done with his radiation and chemo treatment. He is feeling awful right now and I am going to stay with him for a little bit to help out. He is sick to his stomach, has little appetite and it hurts to swallow. What can I make for him or buy him to keep him eating? Any suggestions are welcome, especially if they are from personal experience. Thank You

So my grandparents owned farmland their entire life and when they passed, they left the farmland to my parents, who have sense been gift giving it to my two brothers and myself. We have about 400 acres of land including a farmhouse that needs to be re-done. My dad has starting to get to the point where he realizes that we have all of this land that is just sitting there. He is trying to think about what to do with the farmland. we thought about a event venue or a brewery, but one issue is that it is close to a school. I want to help my dad so I am looking for different types of things we can do with the land to make money and start a business. I know some obvious answers but I am looking for some realistic businesses I can start using the land that don't require TOO much money (obviously it will cost money). I think the only important piece of information is that the farm is in Illinois, and we are in the process of fixing up the farmhouse and the rest of the property. Thanks

My fiancé and I got engaged back in February and we started planning this wedding that I was not really into. I assumed we just elope and take an awesome trip. He wants a wedding for his family, and I really tried to plan a more traditional wedding because that was what his family wanted, but in the end the planning process became this big drama with my family about where it should be and how much it should cost and in the end, the fighting and confusion is the last thing I wanted. So we stopped planning and regrouped. I really want to go to the courthouse, get married and have a dinner with our parents, siblings and grandmas. I do not think we should be asking my parents for money for the wedding and because of that, we can't afford a $20,000 wedding and we also are looking to buy a new place after we get married so I would like to save our money for that. My parents are willing to help but my 30 year old brother just got diagnosed with cancer and they are helping pay for almost all of his medical bills. I don't think it is fair to ask my parents to dish out the money, especially now. We are also having trouble with who to invite. When I say a "family only" wedding it means something completely different to him then it does to me. I think the guest list is really the main issue. What is the etiquette with inviting family (and please, I am being serious. I really know nothing about wedding etiquette although I assume it is much like common sense and courtesy). If I invite my aunts and uncles that live 30 minutes away I assume I have to invite the ones that like 5 states away? How do you limit a guest list and how do my fiancé and I compromise on this?

So I live in Chicago and decided to take a short four day vacation by myself to Indianapolis just to get away from my crazy schedule back home. I have been to Indianapolis before when I was right out of college but basically just went to bars to drink which I am not really looking to do, especially alone! I am a female, 25 years old and am pretty much open to any suggestions. Also looking for some cool places to eat as well. I am already going to the Colts game and am going to go to the zoo as well. Also the trip is in November, just to give an idea of time of year. Any suggestions would be awesome, thank you.

So I need some funny gift ideas. Either to make or to buy. Nothing too expensive. I have learned not to give too many details about what it is for as people tend to be pretty rude. So just in general, to make a group of adults laugh, what would you give? Also suggestions of where to look for funny things (stores that would be around nationally) would be helpful. As much detail as I will give is that it is for a special event, mostly adults, and the gifts are for a specific person with the intention to make them laugh. Thanks

My brother and his fiancé are having a ceremony next weekend since my brother got diagnosed with cancer this week. They have decided to do a civil ceremony so that they can still have their big Catholic Church wedding, since the church does not recognize the civil ceremony as being married. We as a family have (on both sides) decided that since this is going to be extremely emotional, we want to get them some funny gifts since they will get their registry gifts at the church ceremony. Just to clarify two things, they are doing the civil ceremony so that she can file FMLA forms to take paid time off (and also yes, they were engaged well before the cancer diagnoses, wedding is November 16) and second, this is extremely treatable cancer, he is not dying or anything like that. Now, if anyone has any gift ideas for this situation that would be really funny, that would be amazing... and please if you have any negative opinion about what they or we are doing or don't understand, I don't care. I really just wants funny gift ideas. Thank you

My brother and his fiancé were set to get married in a big lavish Irish Catholic wedding on November 16th of this year. My brother got diagnosed with throat cancer this week, and they have decided to have a civil ceremony next weekend so that she can take days from work to be with him during his treatment since she can't do that if they are just engaged. First off should I get them a gift? Second if so, what should I give? thanks

My brother got diagnosed yesterday with neck cancer from the HPV virus. He is 30 years old and he has to have 6 weeks of radiation to the neck 5 days a week. He is starting the radiation next week. His wedding is November 16th so he will finish his radiation two weeks before his wedding. Now, Trust me, I know that the wedding is an extremely distant second to his health, but because everyone is being positive (which is good), I am trying to be realistic. What does this mean for his wedding? Will he feel fine? Feel sick? If anyone has a realistic picture to paint for me of this process and how he will be feeling during and after his radiation, that would amazing. And obviously, with every case things are different and things depend on the specifics but all I know for sure it is a squamous cell carcinoma of the vocal cord. Thanks

So my family owns a couple different businesses and I do the finances for all of them. I work mostly however at my dads medical practice running the finances. There are a few people I work closest to that I am inviting to my wedding, the more management people. However, I am still figuring out about other people. Some of the people that work at the office have known me since I was born because they have worked for my parents that long and I feel like I should invite them. What are the rules about inviting coworkers. The business has about 30 employees and most of them I would love to invite, but there are handful that it would be pretty weird to invite. Should I just not invite coworkers?

So I need some help with either how to find an individual musician/band or any suggestions of one to play at a wedding reception in Chicago. My fiancé and I are having a cocktail party a week after we elope. We love going to Nashville and listening to the musicians play at the bars so we are attempting to go for that kind of a feel. That meaning one or two guys playing a guitar and entertaining the bar. I have NO idea how to find such a thing. I don't really want a whole band with 5 or 6 people as our space at the bar we are having the reception isn't very big. Any suggestions on how to find this, if it is even possible, or suggestions of people would be awesome.

My mom and I are taking my grandma to where they grew up on a weekend trip and we happen to be leaving on my dads birthday, which means he will be alone for his birthday. What can I do for him for his birthday. I was planning on having a card and movie for him so he something to watch at night. Any other ideas? He is not really into birthdays but we still feel bad leaving him. Also if anyone was wondering my dad can not go on the trip because he is on call, and we are going this weekend in particular for my moms high school reunion, otherwise we would have picked a different weekend.

If you were planning your wedding and your brother owned a beautiful restaurant downtown Chicago, would it be a given to have your wedding reception there? My parents are pretty much telling me it is at his restaurant or pretty much they won't be happy. They see it as a business transaction. They helped my brother start the restaurant and therefore my brother owes my parents a lot of money. My fiancé does not want to have it at the restaurant and I am hesitant seeing as how I do the finances at the restaurant since I know all of the staff. If it were you, would it be a no brainer to have it at the restaurant? And yes, my parents are paying for the wedding and for everyone that thinks that is wrong...I don't care. Thanks for the help.

I was just curious in other people's experience how often you talk to your fiancé/husband/wife if they are out of town? Do you call or text? In this particular situation if you go out of town on a vacation with your family for 5 days how often would you call or text your significant other?

So my cousins wife is due with their first baby next month and we are throwing her a small baby shower. Her mom for whatever reason decided that their family and our family would do them separately we. We are only about 8 people so it will be small. My aunt decide on having it at a restaurant. How do I make it special at a restaurant. I know my aunt wants it to be special I think that neither of us really knows how. Any suggestions would be amazing, thank you!

My cousins wife is pregnant and her family has decided to have their own baby shower without my family. We are only 7 people in our family that would be going to this and we are trying to figure out what to plan. What can we do to make it special even though its small. Should be do it at a restaurant or a home? What sort of activities do we do? This is the first baby shower we have had to throw so we are a little lost. Thank you

So this is my second time around training my dog that I adopted in October (he is a year and a half now). He is pretty well behaved considering his background but still jumps when he is excited and needs to learn more commands. I live in Chicago so I took him to a training place downtown. They told us no pronged collars. Th training went well, he learned sit and down and stay. I figured he needed more space with his training then where we were at where the dogs were right next to each other, so I found a place out in the suburbs by my parents. They require the use of pronged collars. Everything was going really well but then when they tried to get him to do down he would not. Then they held his head down with his leash trying to get him to do down, and instead of us finishing the last 20 minutes of class with everyone else she held him in the position. She even said a few times that he was getting very stressed (breathing hard, tail between legs), but still kept him in that position until he gave in 20 minutes later. They also tug on the leash to correct which is normal but they do it hard enough he lets out a cry. I am not very experienced with training so I just want to know if this is normal. Our first class and our second class are so different, and obviously I like the one that doesn't make my dog stressed and wimpier, but thats just me in mommy mode. Is this class with the pronged collars really the way we are supposed to be training our dogs? I am not sure so I wanted some input, thanks.

So we live in Chicago and we had originally booked a "mansion" which was basically just a beautiful house. Now we are rethinking having it there because it is feeling a little too traditional for us. We live in Chicago and would like to have it in Chicago or close. We were looking at possibly renting out a suite at a blackhawks game, doing a riverboat tour, or having an awesome dinner party. Any suggestions of how to make it unique and fun? Thanks!

So my brother is a chef so he usually does the cooking for family parties, but he will not be there tomorrow for mothers day so I am the one cooking something for my family. What are some pretty easy things to make (other then a basic sandwich). I want something kind of more summery not too heavy. Also need some "sides" to go with the main dish so ideas with that would be great too, thanks!

I do not know much about planning or a wedding, or any event for that matter and am trying to figure out if hiring a wedding planner would be best for me or not. My parents are willing to help me pay for more of this wedding then I am comfortable with (which I appreciate) so I am trying to make sure I make this wedding as affordable as possible. Because my family is not really into weddings, we are a little clueless. Would a wedding planner be worth the money or is it just another added expense for us? Can you have different levels of how involved a wedding planner is, for example could we just have a planner that we consult with? I guess, what are the pros and cons to having a wedding planner? Thanks