Browse through Pinterest and you’re bound to see an unlimited number of posts for wedding planning ideas, or dream wedding destinations. Log into Facebook and you probably have at least one or two notifications from one of your friends who just got married or is inviting you to their wedding.
Every woman dreams of their wedding from when they’re a little girl. Their perfect wedding dress. Which flowers they’ll use. Who their bridesmaids will be. You want the day to be perfect and fulfill all your expectations.
But the reality is wedding planning is rarely ever a smooth process. It’s often filled with stress, anxiety, chaos and a flurry of emotions.
The last thing you want as a bride is for your wedding to become so stressful that you’re not able to enjoy your special day.
Weddings and wedding planning are stressful for a number of reasons. Dealing with contractors, venues, guests, scheduling and everything in between can be an absolute nightmare.
In the midst of all this, some brides end up turning into bridezillas, projecting their stress onto the people around them. They become obsessive, intolerably demanding and hard to deal with or please.
Your wedding goes from being the day you’ve been looking forward to your whole life, to something you just can’t wait to be over. And that’s not what you want.
You’ve dreamt of this day since you were a little girl, so it’s only right that you enjoy it.
You will rarely hear a bride say they enjoyed the wedding planning. There are expectations, new roles and social relations. And most importantly, trying to regulate all the expenses.
If you want to make your big day a beautiful and memorable experience, here are some tips to avoid wedding stress:
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1. Technology is Your Best Friend
The world is literally a global village. Everyone has a smart phone or computer handy. We rely on technology to make every part of our lives easier and more convenient—including weddings.
Technology enables you to have access to so many numerous intricate details that will make up your wedding day. There are plenty of apps and websites that can help any bride plan a dream wedding successfully and without getting stressed.
You will still have that traditional wedding, with just a little tech savvy support to make that dream come true.
From the dress to the venues and caterers to invitations and wedding registries, you can plan nearly your entire wedding right from your phone, which is much less stressful than doing everything over the phone or traveling around all day.
2. Get the Groom Involved
This is the love of your life and both of you have had countless memories together. In both your friendship and subsequent courtship.
You are about to make such a huge part of your future memories. Involve him in the planning and cut back on some of your stress.
Unlike women, most guys don’t grow up thinking about all the details of their wedding day. In fact, they usually don’t even think about marriage until later on in life after meeting that special girl.
Talk to your groom, let him reexamine his assumptions about the planning of this particular day. He did not hand over the baton and stop on the track after proposing to you.
This is a marathon you both have to run in together till the very end.
The groom shouldn’t just show up for cake and food tasting.
He should be involved in the planning. Your wedding day should be equally as important to him.
When you work together, as a bride, you end up feeling more confident in the decisions you make about every detail of your wedding. It is simply because someone who knows you well and loves you is also giving their opinion.
He can help with the guest list, the sourcing for service providers, venues etc. Making decisions with your groom enables you to tune out the numerous opinions and consider the one you can about the most. It becomes the couple’s day and not just the bride’s.
3. Don’t Stress About Being Your Own Wedding Planner
You want the best day for yourself, in a way you have always dreamt of. You are however not a wedding planner, so you have two options:
- Hire a professional wedding planner
- Do it yourself
Before you stress about how difficult it’ll be to plan on your own, remember this isn’t the 80’s. You can find so much information online about a DIY wedding planning. There are even checklists to help you along the way.
Being prepared and organized helps you keep track of your planning in terms of guest lists, expenses, service providers already booked and that which you have not yet done.
4. Choose Your Vendors Wisely
The vendors you choose can make or break your day, so do your research!
Unless you’re going the DIY route, you’ll probably have vendors for design, food, music, flowers, the venue and more.
Source out service providers who have accreditation and good ratings. Use vendors you can trust to deliver exactly as you want them to on your wedding day. Take your time with making decisions and don’t be fooled by bottom of the barrel prices. While you don’t need to spend an arm and a leg, you also don’t want to risk hiring someone that’ll do shoddy work and ruin your wedding day just to save a couple bucks.
Here’s an article with great tips for choosing wedding vendors.
5. Stick To Your Budget
You don’t want to start your marriage in debt.
In all the excitement of getting married, it’s not uncommon for brides to spend first then think about the costs later. But that’s backwards thinking.
Money is one of the biggest reasons women get stressed about weddings. But it doesn’t have to be.
Be realistic with what you have in terms of finances, then match it up to what your dream wedding is. Spare yourself some expenses you can do without. For instance, instead of paying for a wedding planner do it yourself . Ask your friends, maid of honor, bridesmaids and family to help out as well.
Or skip the high priced venue and have your wedding in a local church with a reception at your house.
If you start early enough, you will be able to shop around and get your dream wedding without blowing your budget out the water.
6. Don’t Sweat the Small Things
These are the small details likely to frustrate a bride, especially on the last days or your actual wedding day. Your bridesmaid’s shoes suddenly do not have the exact shade of fuchsia or nude you wanted. Your groom’s best man doesn’t have the specific tie you requested.
But here’s the thing. In the grand scheme of thing, none of those tiny details matter!
This is your day and trust us, no one knows the best man’s belt doesn’t match his shoe or that the wedding cake topper is slightly tilted.
Piece of advice. Ignore and let it all go.
If the clouds seem gloomy and it’s about to rain on your garden reception, so what?! Let go, let your hair down at the reception and dance in the rain with the love of your life. Don’t let stress stop you from enjoying your wedding day!
