Planning The Perfect Stress-Free Wedding

Image

You’re about to start planning your wedding. Your fiance has popped the question, and you’ve said yes. You have a beautiful engagement ring, and you’ve celebrated with family and friends. It’s time to start making preparations, but you’re already feeling a little flustered. How can you plan the perfect wedding without the stress?

You Have Time

The first thing to remember is that you have time. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to do everything all at once. So, first things first. Set yourself some targets. Make a list of the things you need to do. Start with the big things first such as venue, stationery, dress, etc. Make these into headings or create a folder and use the headings as tabs.

Plan

Once you have your headings in place, you’re ready to drill down and add the individual tasks. So, under ‘Stationery’ you might add ‘look at Paper Themes classic and vintage wedding invitations’. Get the idea? Keep your list or folder handy so you can add to it as things come to mind. Getting everything out of your head and onto paper will help you to feel less stressed.

Image

Delegate

Once you have your list, think about delegating. Work with your family and friends to see who can help and in what area. This will cut down on your workload and make the whole thing more fun. If you have the budget, you may want to consider hiring a professional wedding planner. You will still be involved of course, but this will remove a lot of the pressure.

Make sure there is one person within the wedding party who knows as much as you do. This could be a sister or maid of honor. That way, she can head off some of the queries and everything doesn’t need to come through you.

Make an Electronic Guest List

Create your guest list on your PC and arrange the names in alphabetical order. Use an application like Google Docs so you can share this with your family. This will make it easier to make additions and changes. An electronic version is so much easier to edit, and you don’t have to worry about making changes.

Have Fun

Having fun is important. This period of your life will go quickly. Make the most of it and enjoy it. Get together with your girlfriends for a few drinks and go through a pile of wedding magazines. Or look through wedding blogs for inspiration. If you’re going to a wedding show, coordinate this with a meal and a night in a hotel.

Accept Things Will Go Wrong

It’s tempting to strive for perfection and to get bogged down in the details. Inevitably something will go wrong. It’s not the end of the world, and there is always a solution to the problem. In years to come the glitches will be the memories you laugh about over dinner. So when things don’t go according to plan, accept it graciously and move on.

Take Time Out

Take time away from the planning. Meet up with your friends and enjoy their company. Have nights where you agree not to talk about the wedding plans. Plan dates with your fiance and relish being together and being engaged. Schedule in a photo shoot to celebrate your engagement and create some memories to take into your married life. Remember who you were before the engagement and enjoy the things you like to do.

Plan some time to meet up with wedding guests who have traveled to attend the wedding. This is a lovely way to spend time with everyone and to prolong the celebrations.

Get Enough Sleep

Make sure that you get enough sleep. Don’t stay up every night going over plans and checking and rechecking. A lack of sleep will just add to the stresses. And you don’t want to look tired on your wedding day.

Image

Recognize Signs of Stress

It’s important to recognize the signs of stress and take steps. If it’s all getting too much, then try and take some time out. Plan a pamper night alone or with your friends. If you’re overwhelmed with your to-do list, then ask for help. Recognize your stressors as early as possible and take action.

The important thing to remember is to treasure this time. It’s a romantic and special time for you and your partner. It’s not all about the wedding. Your engagement is important too. Make lots of happy memories to look back on in years to come. Celebrate and cherish this time.