There is no doubt about it – planning your own wedding is in equal parts one of the most exciting and one of the most stressful things you’ll do in your life. Of course, the whole thing is exciting because you’re arranging a day to celebrate the partnership between you and your soul mate, but there is so much pressure to arrange the perfect day. The first thing you should do is accept that arranging your wedding is a big deal and that it is perfectly okay to find the whole process stressful.
You might be under the impression that everyone else finds it easy to plan a day and enjoys the whole process, but they don’t, they just do a good job of hiding it! Here are some ways to take the stress out of wedding planning.
Embrace The Stress
The first thing you can do is recognise that there will be an element of stress and that it is okay to feel that way. You should take steps to ensure that parts of your day are away from the stress – for example, take a long walk in the morning or agree that no wedding planning takes place after 7 pm in the evening. You can recognise that there will be an element of stress to planning your wedding and make sure you plan to step away from it at times.
Create a To-Do List
Without a doubt you’re going to need a couple of to-do lists, to keep you on track and allow you to see what you have organised and what needs to be done. It can be a good idea to get a notebook that is dedicated to wedding planning so you can keep everything in one place. For example, details of any wedding bands you have contacted and their prices, details etc. and then a big tick on the list once you have booked the band of your choice and it’s all confirmed.
Put Together a Calendar
A calendar displayed on the wall is a good way of making sure that you’re as organised as possible. This allows to mark down days those things need to be done – for example, if you need to call up and pay a deposit or confirm a booking on a particular date. Having this on display keeps everything in perspective and allows you to keep track of everything that is going on.
Ask For Help
Although it is your wedding day, you definitely shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help. Getting other people involved in your wedding helps to take away the stress but can also help to save you money. For example, if you have a friend that is a skilled baker or a singer in a band, you could ask them to donate their services in place of getting you a wedding gift. This can really help to make your whole day feel more personal as it means that so many more of your loved ones and those close to you are involved.
Know That You Can’t Do It All
It is really important to remember that you can’t do it all. There will be budget restraints, things that your venue can’t cater to, flowers that are out of stock or something else that will come along and put a change to your plans. It is really essential that you don’t get too upset over this. Instead recognise that an element of this is out of your control and instead worry about what you can control – for example, what you can put in place instead? Your day will be perfect in so many ways and realistically no one will care if there has been a change to the flowers you wanted or whether they’re eating brown bread sandwiches when really you wanted white bread rolls. Everyone will be coming together to celebrate your day and it is that that will be important to them.
Remember, It’s Your Day!
It is really easy to get swept up in the grand gesture of getting married and think that you must do it all, in order to compete with everyone else. Your friend may have had a horse-drawn cart, or you may have seen a wedding on TV where all the wedding party wore gold dresses, but you don’t have to do any of that. Although you will want your guests to have a nice time, ultimately your wedding day is for you and your partner – and as such, it really is only your needs and wishes that count. Don’t be tempted to try and do a better wedding than someone else; instead, work on creating the perfect day for you and your partner and everything else will just fall into place perfectly.
