Wedding planning: it’s one of the most exciting and exhausting times of your life.
Sure, you’re excited to see far-away friends and family members, and you know your bridesmaids will look beautiful in their dresses. What you’re not so excited about, though, is having extensive conversations about how many centerpieces you’ll need. Not to mention all the stressful financial talks most couples have during the process.
While wedding planning can be tiring, it’s important to remember that you and your fiance should be the priorities throughout the process. Here are 12 tips to help you keep the love alive, even as you plan your upcoming nuptials:
1. Give Yourself Enough Time
Yes, wedding planning is stressful, but it gets crazy if you try to cram it all into six months. To keep yourselves sane during the process, allow at least a year for planning.
A quick engagement seems romantic, but you’ll have trouble pulling off all the details without wanting to pull your hair out, as well.
2. Designate “Wedding-Free” Time
Once a week, take your S.O. out to dinner or out on a walk, and make it a wedding-free space. Instead of talking about the details of your catering contract, re-connect, get silly, and allow space for relaxation.
3. Delegate, Delegate, Delegate
During your wedding planning, friends and family members will approach you and say, “Let me know how I can help.” When they offer, take them up on it!
Delegating certain tasks – like planning the bridal shower and rehearsal dinner – will be a massive burden off your shoulders.
4. Define Tasks Clearly
Most husbands-to-be get a bad reputation with wedding planning. While the stereotype is that they just show up on the wedding day, it’s way more fun when you plan the festivities together.
Sit down with your S.O. and plot out a list of things each of you will handle. For example, maybe he wants to pick cake flavors and music while you handle decorations and flowers. Your wedding is a celebration of your relationship, right? Start strengthening the bond as you plan it.
5. Compromise
In wedding planning as in life, whatever doesn’t bend will break. Instead of picking a hill to die on over colors or table linens, compromise with the other key players in the planning process. It makes for a happier adventure when everyone is involved.
6. Set Your Boundaries (And Stick to Them)
It’s easy to become overwhelmed as the wedding draws near. To lessen the chances of it happening, set your boundaries now and stick to them.
Maybe this means none of your out-of-town guests will stay with you and your fiance, or the pre-wedding festivities will end promptly at 10 p.m.
Holding a hard line will keep you feeling happy and refreshed throughout the wedding planning process, rather than depleted and exhausted.
7. Let the Small Things Go
Your sister-in-law wants to give a speech – even though you never asked her to – and your second cousin is mad she’s not sitting next to Aunt Shelly. These are tiny details, but they’ll ruin your day if you let them.
Instead, look at upsets and decide whether they’re big things (Mom wants to wear a wedding dress to the ceremony) or small things (you have to rent a smaller tent than you expected). Let the little things go. While it’s smart to compromise when it’s worth it – the small things are worth letting go. Cheers!
8. Decide on a Wedding Day Point of Contact
The last thing you and your fiance should be doing on the wedding day is wrangling phone calls and fielding questions. With this in mind, give the job to someone you know and trust, like a maid-of-honor.
This frees both of you up to enjoy the day (and one another) as things unfold.
9. Maintain a Schedule
During wedding planning, keep your daily schedule as normal as possible, even when the big day draws near.
Hit the gym every afternoon, get 8 hours of sleep a night, and make mindful eating decisions so your diet doesn’t go off the rails. The closer to normal you can keep your household habits, the better you’ll both feel when the big day arrives.
10. Make a Plan for Uncomfortable Family Situations
Divorced family members? High-maintenance MIL? Awkward cousins? Huddle with your S.O. before the festivities begin to develop a plan to deal with these situations.
From creating a “safe word” for family get-togethers to arranging the seating chart just-so, there are steps you can take to manage potential family blow-ups proactively.
11. Hire a Wedding Planner
If your budget allows, hire a wedding planner to run the show the day of the wedding. Wedding planners work behind the scenes to coordinate the timing of catering, music, and dancing, and ensure everything runs smoothly during your big day.
They also make it easier for you and your new husband to relax and enjoy your celebration, rather than wondering if the buffet line needs a refill.
12. Enjoy The Process
No matter what type of wedding you’re planning, one thing is certain: as soon as it’s over, you’re going to wish you could do it again. With this in mind, take the time to enjoy the moment. Sure, things can be stressful, but you’ll never be in this exact place again.
More Relaxing Wedding Planning Starts Here
You don’t have to be a stressed-out mess as the wedding day draws near, and your relationship doesn’t have to suffer as you put things in order. Instead, use these 12 tips to stay happy, close and very much in love as you plan your special day.
Have a great idea about how to keep the love alive when planning for your nuptials? Let us know — we would love to hear from you! Plus, don’t forget to check out our Facebook and Pinterest pages for more wedding inspo!
