5 Tips to Reduce Wedding Stress
Is an upcoming wedding giving you sleepless nights, financial unease, or emotional turmoil? Whether you're the bride, groom, or parents of the bride or groom, an impending wedding can take its toll. Don't let it. Apply these five helpful tips to relieve some of the stress involved when planning for the big day.
1) SET A REALISTIC BUDGET
It's imperative that you set a realistic budget before planning your wedding. However, many couples do just the opposite: They plan for a dreamy, costly wedding, and then try to create ways to pay for it. Overspending can taint beautiful wedding day memories when your budget is stretched to the limit and beyond. Arrange a pre-wedding planning meeting with everyone who's involved with footing the bill and develop a comfortable budget. Failing to plan is planning to fail.
2) PRIORITIZE WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO YOU
Take time to prioritize what's most important to you when planning for your wedding. For example, is the venue at the top of your list or is it the wedding dress? Maybe it's the reception. By prioritizing the most important items, you can allocate bucks from your wedding budget to pay for those items first. This process can also provide clarity on where you can cut expenses or find suitable substitutes for items on your list. For instance, if fresh flowers are way too costly, why not use silk?
3) ENLIST PEOPLE TO HELP YOU
Hire professionals or ask friends to assist with your wedding needs to help relieve stress. For instance, does planning your wedding seem monumentally impossible? If so, hire a professional wedding planner to take care of all the details if your budget allows for it. Alternatively, you can recruit a friend who has great organizing skills and save yourself some big bucks. Ask your married friends for wedding-related referrals and resources that they used for their weddings. This can save you the time and effort required for screening people, such as reputable photographers, caterers, bakers, and musicians.
4) BE PREPARED
Being prepared for the unexpected can help relieve a ton of stress on your wedding day. For example, if you're planning a magnificent outdoor wedding, develop a backup plan in case the weather doesn't cooperate. Hope for the best when it comes to an outdoor wedding, but plan for the worst. In addition, make sure you have an emergency kit for last minute issues. The kit could address buttons that pop off shirts, heels that separate from shoe soles, small clothing rips, lost earrings, broken zippers, and other unexpected concerns.
5) PARTICIPATE IN THE FUN
Weddings are supposed to be fun, aren't they? Don't get so burned out from planning your wedding and participating in the pre-wedding activities that you aren't looking forward to the actual wedding day. Prepare yourself physically and psychologically for the time and effort it takes to plan for a wedding. Create a healthy balance between your work, social activities, and wedding planning. For example, if you love making dessert mints, creating floral arrangements, or crafting original wedding invitations, then do it. Plan and participate in those pre-wedding activities that you truly enjoy.
Don't allow yourself to become a victim of unnecessary stress when planning a wedding. By setting a sensible budget, identifying wedding priorities, and acquiring needed help, you can say goodbye to unwanted anxiety. Preparing for unexpected wedding-day emergencies, as well as participating in enjoyable pre-wedding activities can relieve additional tension. Focus on your wedding day but remember to enjoy the journey with less stress.