It is considered the most important day of your life—and you don’t want to spend it worrying about tables, décor and dealing with vendors. Brides who want to plan their own festivities often feel overwhelmed by the way things will—or will not—come together on the big day, and St. Louis event organizer Kate & Company offers a unique semi-planning services to help these brides stay blushing, not flustered.

Writing your thank-you notes should start right after any engagement party you may have. If people are kind enough to give you a gift, a lovely handwritten note (on a fold-over note card, written in black ink) is a priority—a priority you should carry all through the bridal shower, cocktail parties, rehearsal dinner and wedding events.

The high cost of raising a child is indisputable, and my wife and I are somewhat in denial about how much we spend on our children’s extra-curricular activities. Sure, we know what it costs to sign up for hockey, and we know the fee for each tennis lesson. It is those incidentals and unexpected opportunities that are difficult to determine. And to be honest, my parental enjoyment of these activities might be diminished if I paid too much attention to these financial expenditures.

MISSION: St. Louis County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) works to eliminate racial discrimination and ensure political, educational, social and economic equal rights for everyone. The nonprofit stands for the belief that people of all races, nationalities and faiths are created equal. 

Story: May ekes out an existence as a cook at a nameless place in a tiny town on the Mojave Desert. Her home is a drab motel room with a bed, a table, a couple of chairs and drinking glasses stored in the bathroom. Her life is dreary but made drastic as well by the unwelcome arrival of her former lover, Eddie.

Story: Two men converse on a nearly barren landscape. They appear to be in dire straits, although their now shabby clothes indicate they once held loftier places in society. They talk about a man named Godot, who has promised to visit them today, much like he has indicated numerous times in the 50 years they have waited. As of yet, though, they have never actually met this individual.

With hit TV show, The Biggest Loser, bestselling books and 1.6 million people visiting her weight loss website each month, Jillian Michaels has become one of the nation’s most popular experts on healthy eating, exercise and leading an exceptional life. Now, she is sharing her success secrets with audiences across the country through her Maximize Your Life tour, a live show coming May 11 to the Fox Theatre. LN recently spoke with Michaels about her personal health journey and her upcoming show, which aims to help people kickstart their life and fitness goals and achieve health and happiness.

Story: Jane Eyre, orphaned at an early age, is taken in by her mother’s brother and his family. After his death she is subject to ridicule and abuse by her aunt and cousins, and ultimately dispatched to the Lowood School for Girls at age 10. Living conditions at the institution are squalid, and many of Jane’s classmates die in a typhus epidemic.

Well, it’s another dry week at the cineplex. So if you were hotly anticipating my review of the Evil Dead remake or Jurassic Park 3D I’m sorry to disappoint. Nevertheless, if you insist on getting out of the sunshine and hunkering down in a murky movie theater here are your options:

Across

Story: A bureaucrat in Franco’s Spain, circa 1962, interrogates an Israeli professor at the Spanish National Archives in Madrid. The professor has landed in hot water by purloining a file dating back to the infamous Spanish Inquisition from the late 15th century.

Story: The Lazara String Quartet has a history as a brilliant classical music ensemble. The four members of the group have achieved world fame and won numerous awards. Now they are on the verge of their biggest triumph: A command performance at The White House that will be nationally televised and seen by 15 million people.

My oldest child is 11 years old. And I believe that if you do something every day for 11 years, experience alone should make one proficient. However, parenting is more of an art than a science. What works one day may not work the next, and there are many factors that contribute to the ebb and flow of family functioning.

Kim Eberlein (Volunteer Leadership)

Story: Caleb has returned home, or rather what’s left of his home, following the conclusion of the Civil War. The Confederate soldier has been shot in the leg and is badly in need of surgery, but he resists the efforts of Simon, his former slave, to take him to the hospital in Richmond.

The Baldwin Report

Becca Edwards & Peter Jordan

Story: Homer Smith has received his honorable discharge from the Army in 1949 and has decided to see the USA, specifically the American Southwest. He has enough money saved that he can afford to take this scenic vacation, picking up odd jobs along the way for extra cash. While traveling through New Mexico, he happens upon a village where a group of nuns from East Germany lives just outside the city limits, on a hardscrabble farm where they grow their own crops.

We just reported last week about the closing of Araka in Clayton, and now there's already news to relate about the next resident of the space at 131 Carondelet Plaza: It’s 801 Chophouse, and it'll be the fifth location for the Des Moines-based restaurant chain, which specializes in USDA prime steaks, chops and seafood items. We'll keep you posted on an opening date.

Following an engagement at Busch Stadium, a local couple welcomed guests to their wedding weekend with a Cardinals’ galvanized pail of game-day treats at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark Hotel.

Story: It’s a typical morning at the Goodman household. Dan is getting ready to leave for work, while Diana rouses their son and daughter for school. It becomes quickly apparent, though, that all is now well when Diana begins to make sandwiches on the kitchen floor.