Everyone feels stressed in the lead up to saying ‘I do’. Planning a wedding is a huge undertaking that inevitably comes with issues and problems. Every single thing will not go as planned in those months leading up to your wedding and because you want the day to perfect, little bits of stress or anxiety can creep in. Wanting your day to perfect is normal and so is a little stress. If you hate those anxious feels though, there are ways to reduce wedding stress!
Hire professionals
If you’re prone to stress, then perhaps a DIY wedding is not the right fit for you. Making your own bits and bobs for your wedding, like the cake or arranging your own flowers not only adds time but stress. DIY elements at weddings are cheaper, but in some cases, it might be more worthwhile to cut your losses, hire the professionals and go get a massage with your free time.
Obviously, a few DIY projects would be great if you can handle them. So consider what you want to dedicate your time to. Packaging your wedding favours might be something you find relaxing, whereas watching cake decorating tutorials to create your own cake might add stress. Consider what is worth your time and stress and what isn’t. Overall, cutting back will also cut back on the stress.
Take time to yourself
In the lead up to your wedding, you’re likely going to be busy. An important part of this process to avoid feeling stressed is to take time to yourself. Wedding planning can be super draining, and feeling drained is not a good place to be. You’ll likely end up burning yourself out if you don’t take a bit of time for you. Do something simple like bake some muffins, go for a walk or read. Or take yourself out to be pampered, to a movie or to lunch. Self-care is an important part to keep yourself stress-free, relaxed and healthy for your wedding.
Schedule time for wedding planning
If wedding planning is taking over your life, then consider scheduling in time for wedding planning with your partner. Don’t let yourself get caught up in the planning at all until you’re in your scheduled time frame. Have a few hours, a couple of nights a week set aside for wedding-related conversations and any planning that needs to be finalised. You’ll feel more relaxed having your partner engaged in it with you as well as not letting it run your life.
Delegate
If you’ve got a helpful mum or friends that are dying to help you plan, then let them help. Anything that you don’t feel like you need to personally oversee, pass onto one of your eagerly awaiting pals. Things like planning an engagement party, coming up with a wedding day schedule, calling suppliers and booking things can easily be delegated elsewhere. You don’t need to call the bakery and tell them what kind of cake you want. Write it down and get your best friend to do it. Get your mum to book your pre-wedding beauty appointments. Get your dad to book your wedding transport. So many tasks can be completed by the people around you and if you let them help you’ll feel like a weight has been lifted.
Put down the devices
Planning a wedding these days often involves scrolling on Instagram and trawling through Pinterest. You can lose hours on your devices looking things up and planning more and more elements. The internet is amazing for planning weddings as it often helps save us time where we can get items delivered quickly rather than running around town trying to find them in person. But it is a time sink and if you spend all day on your devices, you’ll start to feel a bit mad. Taking time away each day is important to stay calm. Clearing your head each day away from the devices will allow you to approach your next task with clarity, a calm mind and with focus.
Sleep
When we’re stressed the first thing to be impacted is sleep. Having poor sleep is like a snowball effect. It’ll just make every other task you have to do harder and you’ll feel more stressed leading into a cycle that no one wants to be in. If you’re having trouble turning your brain off when you’re heading to bed, then try putting down your phone and reading for a while beforehand, or try a meditation app to get you feeling calm. Another great option is listening to audiobooks. Audiobooks are easy to purchase and you can get nifty phone apps that have sleep timers on them so it won’t keep playing after you fall asleep. It’s like the adult version of being read a bed-time story.
Stay healthy
Eating the right foods in the lead up to your wedding will help keep you feeling good. It’s good for so many reasons like not catching a cold, or having bad skin, along with feeling less stressed. Eating meals that are packed with good nutrients and are as colourful as can be will keep you feeling on top of things. Your mind will feel clear and you’ll have more energy. All of these things will lead to you feeling relaxed and capable of tackling your planning tasks.
Date your partner
Another easy way to keep the stress at bay is to date your partner before you walk down the aisle. In the wedding planning craze, you’ve probably not been spending as much time together. Setting aside time each week to have time together where you’re focused on your relationship and not who cousin Mary will be sitting next to at your reception, will keep you both feeling calm and normal. You can mix things up by having some dates at home and others out on the town. Just take the time to reconnect and get some quality time in before your wedding.
