Best tips to reduce wedding planning Stress

Your wedding day is supposed to be one of the best days of your life, if not the best day of your life. However, the planning process can be incredibly stressful whether you’re having a small hometown wedding, a high-dollar reception or a destination wedding. To make sure your day isn’t associated with any negative emotions, there are many ways to reduce the stress that comes with wedding planning.

1. If you’re stressed about forgetting…

There are quite a few moving parts that create the entire wedding day, and it's entirely fair if you're stressed about forgetting something important. There are two powerful options to choose from to ease this area of stress.

Poll your married friends to see what wedding planning lists they used for their wedding. Sites like WeddingWire and The Knot have lists ready to go to help you plan your entire wedding. Many of the lists are customizable and give suggested deadlines based on when your wedding takes place.

Alternatively, you can hire a wedding planner. Their job is to make sure you don’t forget anything. A wedding planner will likely ask you questions regarding the big day that you probably haven’t even thought about.

2. If you’re stressed about money…

If you crunched the numbers for your dream wedding and you want to cry in a corner, there is still hope! There are a few ways to save yourself from the stress of an overwhelming sticker price for your big day, at least when it comes to decorations.

First, considering buying secondhand items or borrowing things from friends. You can find secondhand items at consignment stores or places like Ross. You might not find identical items, but if they’re similar enough that can give your wedding a cool decorative effect. Also, if any of your friends have recently gotten married, ask if they still have their decorations. You could repurpose them and buy fewer items to personalize them to match your wedding style without needing to buy everything brand new.

Second, your venue might have items you can use. Similar to buying them secondhand or borrowing, these might not be exactly what you want, but if you’re open to a slight variation of your vision, it can save you some big bucks.

3. If you’re stressed about the honeymoon…

Speaking of forgetting, don’t forget that planning your honeymoon is part of the wedding planning process. You get to design the ultimate vacation for you and your spouse! You don't want stress to be an emotion you associate once you're on the actual honeymoon. It’s ok to adjust your gaze to the honeymoon, so you have even more to look forward to.

If you feel like you're focused too much on the planning your wedding day and worried your honeymoon won't be planned to your expectations, take a day off from the wedding part. Schedule a few days where you focus on different aspects of your honeymoon. For example, the first day you'll decide where you're going and book your accommodation, then determine your transportation, and finally what activities you want to do while you're away.

4. If you’re stressed about time…

Whether you're stressed about how much time until you're wedding day arrives, or the amount of time it'll take to complete specific tasks, you can decrease that stress.

To manage your stress when you feel like time is dwindling down, it’s easy to become overwhelmed, especially if you keep telling yourself, “I’ll do it later. I have time.” Creating a timeline is the best way to combat those feelings. By making your own timeline, you can create an ultimate plan that won’t overwhelm you. There will be some items that need to happen closer to the wedding day, but you can accomplish quite a bit beforehand.

If you're still stressed about having enough time to complete everything, that's where your wedding party comes in handy. Delegating some tasks to your wedding party is ok. Things like addressing envelopes and putting together centerpieces are perfect tasks to ask for help with. You can even ask for help in researching options for other parts of the wedding, like appetizer ideas, playlist additions, and possible floral arrangements.

5. If you’re stressed about making decisions…

This is where your wedding party can absolutely have a huge role in relieving your wedding stress, especially when it comes to food. This goes for the guys and girls you’ve asked to stand up with you and your soon-to-be spouse.

If you’re worried about whether people will like the food you choose, see if some of the wedding party can attend the tasting to give their opinion. Some bakeries have tasting platters you can purchase and take home. Plan a tasting party with your friend at your house so you all can check out what’s available.

In the end, you have the power to make the decision. Regardless of how much advice you’re getting, this is YOUR day. Give yourself the power to make the final decision without feeling like your wants should be sacrificed for everyone else. Having the freedom to make the decision you want will help alleviate stress.

Focus on what is REALLY important. At the end of the day you and the person you love will be married and thats all that matters, everything else is window dressing.

Photos by: GVphotographer