How do I have a stress free wedding? That’s probably one of the most asked questions regarding wedding planning. Truthfully, the answer is there really is no way to avoid 100% of wedding stress, but there are multiple ways to mitigate and minimize it to make your special day as stress free as possible.
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What things can I do to stress less when wedding planning?
If you’re stressed about wedding planning, you’re not alone. According to Brides.com “40 percent of couples categorized wedding planning as “extremely stressful””, so avoid that pre-wedding stress and anxiety by checking out the tips below.
Accept Help
People will likely volunteer to do all kinds of things to help with your wedding. From arranging flowers and decorating, housing guests to making food, etc., your friends and family will probably offer to help with various tasks to make your special day as perfect as possible. If you’re not the type of person to accept or ask for help, I completely understand. But, in the case of a wedding, take all the free help you can get and share the load!
If people are offering to help you, that means they want to help you. Don’t feel like you’re imposing if you take them up on the offer, just make sure you trust those people to get the job done. We really lucked out having so many wonderful family members and friends that helped make our wedding special.
Delegate
Delegate, but don’t get too bossy! Which is easier said than done. If you have some tasks that need to be done, keep a few close and dependable attendees in mind to help with any last minute plans or issues. You may have a wedding planner, coordinator, or day-of director to do this, but if not, ask a couple people if they wouldn’t mind helping with some last minute tasks or details. Almost every wedding I’ve been to I’ve had some sort of task to do to help with the wedding. More than likely, whomever you ask will likely be flattered you’d trust them to help with your big day, and not at all imposed upon. Just ask nicely, and don’t get too bride/groomzilla on anyone!
Plan Your Own Wedding
Plan your own wedding. What I mean is don’t let anyone make all the decisions for you, unless you want a hands off approach, which is also understandable. You will get many, many opinions about what you should or shouldn’t do at your wedding; some helpful, some not. Don’t let anyone pressure you into the dress, venue, photographer, hairstyle, or whatever you don’t want. Remember, it’s your wedding after all!
Keep It Simple
Keep it simple. Unless you don’t want it to be simple (refer to above tip). But by simple, I mean don’t over complicate everything and add additional stress to what is going to be one of the best days of your life. Honestly, there’s a 100% chance most of your guests won’t remember all of the little details you spent time worrying about, and there’s a 99% chance you won’t remember them either! (Check out the next tip to see how to avoid stressing the small stuff!) Don’t get too crazy trying to incorporate every Pinterest perfect centerpiece, flower arrangement, accessory, and wedding favor you’ve ever seen. Take it from me, it gets to be a little too much, and keeping it simple will help you avoid a ton of stress (and stay within your budget) when wedding planning.
Top Things
I read this tip somewhere when I was wedding planning. It basically suggested picking three main things to focus on during planning that you want to have a certain way. For me it was photography, food, and my dress. For you it may be flowers, music, venue or cake, makeup, and decor. This will help you get the main details that you’ll remember exactly how you want them, and then the more minor details can stay minor and not turn into a stressful to-do list. It’s a helpful way to not get overwhelmed and avoid literally sweating the small stuff.
Stay in Budget
Know your budget and stick to it. That may mean not getting the designer dress you want, but more than likely there is a similar one from a different brand that you’ll love almost as much. Maybe you wanted a five course meal to be served to your guests. Likely, that’ll take up most of your budget. Try having the same types of food, but served buffet style. There are always ways to change things up to save money.
The Guest List
You don’t have to invite everyone. Or anyone. If you want to elope, elope. If you want to invite all your neighbors and everyone you’ve ever gone to school with, do it. (Buuuuuut, unless you have an unending budget, you’d probably be breaking the budget suggestion above.) If your mom wants you to invite all her friends from book club that you’ve never met, but you don’t want to, guess what? You don’t have to! You can politely explain that you have a limited guest list, but maybe suggest having a separate party with them to celebrate sometime if she’s insistent. It’s your wedding and you can invite who you want.
Bonus: Have a Backup Plan
As I mentioned above, food was one of my top three things I was most concerned about. Celebrations revolve around food, and I wanted it to be delicious and on time. We had plans made to have Olive Garden cater for us, but it all just seemed a little too good to be true with pricing and them bringing it a long distance to us. In the back of my mind, I decided we’d just have pizza if it didn’t work out. And, low and behold, they basically bailed on us, so we used the backup plan and had enough time to order Pizza Hut for our guests. Was I thrilled about the Olive Garden situation? Nope. Did I have a complete meltdown over it? Nope, because I had a solid, easy backup plan. I’d suggest that if you have any vendors, caterers, or details that you feel like might fall through, have a contingency plan for them. This way, if things don’t work out, you’re not up a creek and in a panic.
Although there is no way to have a stress free wedding, the tips above will help you manage the stress and stress less when wedding planning as well. Remember, it’s totally normal to have some amount of stress while planning your wedding, but don’t let it take over. Even if everything does’t go 100% as planned, or there are some hiccups along the road, as long as you and your fiancé are husband and wife at the end of it, you’ve had the perfect wedding.