Here at the Wedding Organizer, we're keen to make wedding planning fun. There are so many serious wedding sites out there full of the organisational stuff but not enough about the fun bits. Obviously, we care a lot about the organisational part of wedding planning too – we wouldn't have a free e-book all about it if we didn't – but I think it's high time we relaxed a little too.
Regardless of where you are in the wedding planning process, there's likely to be a time when it all seems completely overwhelming. At one point when I was organising my wedding I wanted to run into the middle of the nearest shopping centre and scream; "I don't care what's on the tables! I don't give a stuff about what colour the napkins are! GIVE ME BACK MY LIFE!"
Luckily, I had my two best friends with me at the time, who had just sat through a make-up run through with me. I said it to them instead of screaming it at the shoppers, and immediately felt better.
So I thought it would be a good idea to list all of the things that can be done when that horrible sense of overwhelming doom falls upon you. Then you can miss out the stressful bit, and move straight onto the fun part.
Perspective
Think back to the best weddings you've ever been to. Did the clever co-ordination of the bride's bouquet with the usher's waistcoats and the motif on the cutlery make it enjoyable?
Probably not. In fact, I'm willing to bet that it was the atmosphere, seeing old friends and family again perhaps, the way you were looked after (i.e. you knew where to be and when and didn't get too hungry/cold/hot in the process) and seeing your friends so happy.
The take home: When you're fretting about the tiny details, remember that most of your guests won't notice them in isolation. Yes, they will help to create a cohesive 'wow' factor, but the guests won't notice them as much as you are fretting over them now.
Release
That time in the shopping centre I mentioned before came after several days of worrying about all the little details I just mentioned. But I felt I couldn't speak to my fiancé about it because he might have been upset and thought that I wasn't excited about the wedding. So I bottled it all up and got into a pickle.
Ask a friend if it's ok to have a five minute rant about all the things that are winding you up. Let it all out, I recommend a cup of tea be involved, and have a laugh.
The take home: If you let yourself say how much something is winding you up or stressing you out, that 'something' loses its power over you.
Relaxation
I'm downplaying the magnitude of wedding planning a little in this post (I don't want to stress you out!) but it is one of the most important celebrations of your life, it's natural to be nervous about it. But as human beings, it's not good for us to be stressed or even excited for long periods of time.
I like the idea of taking certain week nights and sometimes weekends off from the planning. It's easy to let organising your wedding dominate your spare time, and your conversations with your other half. But having time set aside when discussing the wedding is actively banned can help you to relax properly, and keep things in perspective, so you can return to it fresh.
The take home: Set aside time to forget about the wedding. Do something different, recharge your batteries… it'll be good for your health, relationship and ensure that after the wedding, you still remember how to have a conversation.
Do you have any advice to add to this? Are you stressed out? Have a cup of tea and let us know in the comments, maybe we can all help each other out.
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