Let’s make your upcoming wedding a fun process with these stress and tension busters. Do these simple practical things to take away potential worries while you plan the big day.
Weddings Can Be Stressful or Fun
Take two people who are in love and want to share the joy of a public commitment with the people they care about. Add budget restrictions, family agendas, personalities, choices and options. Mix well with time constraints and schedules and you have the makings of wedding stress.
No wedding has even or will ever be planned without some degree of stress. The trick is to minimise it.
Several fundamentals will significantly reduce the amount of wedding-related tensions. Simple as they may sound, they really can work wonders.
1. Budget
Before anything else, determine parameters. Speak to anyone who may be contributing financially to your wedding. Diplomatically ask for commitments and remember that most “contributions” come with strings attached. Set a budget and stick to it, no matter what!
2. Organise
Be a proactive planner. Use pencil and paper, a planner or your computer. Write everything down. Establish priorities. Make and use check lists. The more organised you are, the smoother the process, the less the anxiety.
3. Avoid Arguments
Keep in mind that all the wedding planning participants are on the same side… yours! When conflicts arise, look for compromises. Discuss problems in as open and calm environment as possible.
Take “time outs” when things seem to be getting out of hand. Remember that not everything needs to be brought to the table for discussion. Some things are better left unsaid and better not discussed.
3. Support
Honour the people you trust to participate in your wedding. Ask for help, both tangible and emotional. With people to assist you, the emotional roller coaster ride will be more fun and your work load will be lighter.
4. Research
There is an abundance of materials available, everything from computer software and apps, to on-line guidebooks, to books and magazines. There are many wedding professionals, reception sites and facilities to choose from.
Start early. Interview. Ask for referrals and recommendations. Follow up with phone calls. Take notes. Bounce ideas off friends and family. Cull what speaks to you.
5. Body Awareness
Exercise regularly during the weeks and month before your wedding. Try to set aside a minimum of one-half hour, three times a week. Get your heart pumping to relieve some of the tension building up in your system. Release it as positive energy.
Get plenty of rest too. Set and keep (as closely as you can) a regular bedtime with regular sleeping hours. Before you go to sleep, read anything that is not wedding-related.
6. Maintain Perspective
Keep in mind that your wedding should be an experience filled with joy, excitement and delight. Accept some stress as a natural part of planning a special event, but keep it in its place by using support systems you set up for yourself early on in the process.
Congratulations you on your upcoming marriage!
