There are officially only 90 days until our wedding celebration! It feels like such a long time coming (Hugh and I postponed our September 2020 event) and everything just picked back up again. We pressed pause on planning last June, got married with just close family in a “minimony” on our original date, and crossed our fingers the state would open in time for our event. Now that we have the go-ahead to plan, wedding planning has kicked into overdrive!
Despite the possible stress over the next 3 months, I’m really excited. This is a special, hopefully once-in-a-lifetime event with all our people celebrating our love and start of life together. I’ll do my best to avoid being a Bridezilla by keeping these four things in mind throughout the wedding planning process.
Tips to Keep Wedding Planning Stress-Free
1. Keep perspective
I thinking keeping things in perspective throughout the wedding planning process will be critical in managing the stress of it all. I will remind myself of how grateful I am for being able to have a big, formal event with most of our loved ones, how we didn’t lose money postponing to a safer date, and I have a low-drama group to plan with. Another strategy will be to focus on our event priorities. Hugh and I came up with a list of things we want the event to be; mainly guest-centric. While trying not to stress over every little thing, I’m going to keep in mind that tiny details likely won’t affect most guests.
2. Don’t worry about “normal” or “perfect”
I’ve heard the advice over and over again, but have to keep telling myself that the only opinions that matter for our wedding are mine and Hugh’s. Input from loved ones is fantastic and very useful; however, too many voices can make it impossible to please everyone. And that’s true – you can’t please everyone. There are so many options for every aspect of the event(s), especially since weddings have become far less about traditions and more personalized to the couple. I got a crash course in non-traditional while planning our minimony last fall in the middle of the pandemic. Nothing about being a 2020 bride is normal, which has helped me lean into doing whatever we want! I also have to keep my perfectionistic tendencies in check (in life, but especially for a big event with lots of moving parts and no “right way” for all aspects of a wedding).
3. Share the wedding planning experience
One of the coolest things about being a bride is having an excuse to connect with loved ones. COVID prevented us from doing a couple activities like bridesmaid dress shopping as a group, but I get to see my ladies (most of whom are scattered around the country) more times this year with the shower and Bachelorette and wedding weekends than I do most years! I’m reminding Hugh to also use the wedding as as excuse to talk to some of his buddies, whether it’s to get an opinion on what the guys are doing or to ask if the guy is coming and catch up. Sharing the experience can also mean delegating planning tasks.
4. Stay present and enjoy!
This applies to pretty much every aspect of life, huh? I’m going to focus on staying in the moment and leaning into this season hard before it slips away. 90 more days of being a bride!
Do you have any advice to keep wedding planning stress at a minimum?
I’d love to hear from you! Any wedding stress stories or tips are welcome. Comment below or reach out!
