Even looking over the mountain of to-dos that come with planning a wedding can make anyone stressed out. But, if you are trying to plan your own wedding — while still doing your job, spending time with loved ones, paying bills, and living your life, well, that’s a recipe for wedding planning stress.
Weddings are intricate and require a lot of careful planning — especially if you invite 100 of your loved ones to celebrate with you. But more than the actual planning and money spent, wedding planning signifies the start of a new chapter in your life. After the wedding, you’ll begin your life with your partner in a new way, which can be incredibly intimidating.
How to Cope with Wedding Planning Stress
Unfortunately, we don’t have a super simple magical cure to make you not stressed out or worried about your wedding (and prepare you for your new chapter in life). Sorry, we’re not magicians. But we have some tips that can help you cope with and manage your wedding stress so that you can plan your wedding without feeling like you’re on the edge of a nervous breakdown the day the wedding comes along.
Experience Your Feelings
This may sound obvious, but it’s harder than you think. When we get extremely invested in something, we can tend to push our feelings aside and keep working on that thing until it is done. This is even more the case when we are stressed or worried about that thing. Because of this, wedding planning can distract us and cause us to push aside our feelings rather than recognize and feel them. So take the time to check in with yourself and allow yourself to experience your emotions.
Be Honest About Your Concerns
Good communication is the key to any healthy and functioning relationship. As you go into this next cha[pter together with your partner, it is even more important to really focus on communicating your needs and concerns. Maybe you are worried about people you know not getting along at the wedding. Perhaps you are concerned that what your fiancee wants is out of the budget you had set together. Whatever you are worried about, bring it up to your partner so that you can come to a conclusion together. It’s great practice for handling issues that’ll come up in your marriage as well!
Set Positive But Realistic Goals
You want your wedding experience to be enjoyable, but setting a goal like having a perfect and stress-free wedding isn’t exactly attainable. Maybe, rather than trying to set lofty goals like this, you can focus on some smaller goals that can help you not only plan a wedding you’ll love but also enjoy the wedding planning process. Well, as much as you can; after all, there are only so many venues and florists you can check out before they all start to run together in your head.
Prioritize
Ever heard the phrase “pick your battles wisely?” While this phrase may not have been talking about wedding planning specifically, it does hold a wonderful precedent that can be applied to this already stressful situation. If you start trying to nitpick about every single thing during your wedding planning process, you will burn out. So, try making a “must” list rather than challenging every aspect. These are the items that must be a certain way for your wedding to be that day you’ve always dreamed of. The shorter this list, the easier time you’ll have planning your wedding.
Have Contingency Plans
Life happens. Plans change. Maybe the florist you selected has an impromptu vacation. Maybe the venue you picked is undergoing renovations that are taking longer than expected. There are things in your planning process that you simply can’t control.
Instead of freaking out when something goes wrong, try giving yourself some wiggle room by planning ahead. While constantly thinking about the worst-case scenario can put a damper on your mood if you are always doing it, it can be quite helpful in planning-heavy times like this.
Create Space for Selfcare
Schedule time for yourself. We know you’re busy with the wedding. You still have venues to call, dress to find, and much more. But none of those things will matter if you are too tired to even enjoy the day of your wedding. So, make time for yourself. Maybe that means a weekend spa trip with your sibling, a parent, or a good friend. Perhaps it means a relaxing evening at home, listening to music and reading one of your favorite books. Maybe it means going to a yoga class to de-stress. The point is to make time to enjoy the things you love.
Talk it Out
Weddings are a lot of work; we get it. Sometimes there is so much going on you don’t even know what part of it is stressing you out. In these situations, sitting down and talking about what is happening can be incredibly helpful. Seeing a therapist during this stressful time can be a great way to help you determine how to best minimize your stress and enjoy the process.
So, if you are feeling stressed or anxious about your wedding and you’re looking for someone to talk to, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at Love Heal Grow today.
