It certainly is no easy endeavor to avoid wedding planning fatigue. While hiring a wedding planner is the best option for stress-free wedding planning. Any bride-to-be knows, this is an extra cost (and a sizable one) to consider. In order to stay within the confines of your agreed budget, you may want to do the planning yourself. If, however, you are not comfortable with entrusting an important milestone in your life to a stranger, and you want to be hands on with your wedding preparation, you definitely need to have a plan to manage your stress levels during this time.
So how can you plan your beautiful dream wedding and make sure that everything remains perfect without getting bogged down by stress?
Here are a few tips you can follow:
1. SET CLEAR AND REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS WITH FAMILY MEMBERS.
Even if it’s just you and your partner who are getting married, your loved ones would likely want to pitch their own wedding ideas as well. To avoid any recurring stress from having to constantly fend off those well-meaning suggestions, tell them your stand right off the bat. If you’re giving your family members free rein to contribute, then tell them. But if you are only allowing them to make suggestions on certain parts of the wedding, then let them know this as clearly and as firmly as you possibly can.
On the other hand, listen to what they have to say as well. Your wedding is not only important to you, but to your parents as well. If they want to have a say on who to include on the guest list, or which dress you’ll choose, let them express their reasons so you can reach a healthy compromise. After all, you want to make your wedding extra special not just for you, but for your loved ones, too.
Before you start any sort of planning, make sure to talk to both sets of parents (and other family members who may want to be involved) to set their expectations. This way, they’ll know what they can and cannot suggest on, which would (hopefully) prevent anyone from overstepping their boundaries.
2. CREATE A VERY SPECIFIC BUDGET.
We all have that ideal wedding in mind. But most of the time, the perfect wedding is not in tune with what we are willing to spend or what we can afford. You can always tweak your budget to allow for big expenses that you really need to have, but for the most part, you will need to stick to your overall budget so as to reduce stress levels for both you and your fiancé.
To make it systematic, write down all your possible wedding expenses and the maximum amount you are willing to pay for each. Then, on another sheet of paper (or another column if you’re using a spreadsheet), sort out which of these things belong to your negotiables and non-negotiables. This way, should you realize that you’ll need to go over your budget for a non-negotiable expense, you can still stick to your overall budget by tweaking a negotiable item on your list.
Having a system like this allows you to easily see where you can make adjustments, but most of all, it can help you to avoid wedding planning fatigue, plus help keep yourself in check when it comes to spending.
3. SCREEN YOUR VENDORS THOROUGHLY.
Selecting the right vendors is extremely important in achieving the wedding you’ve always wanted. However, it’s not always easy to find the right ones.
Make sure that your wedding is in good hands by properly and thoroughly screening the vendors you will be hiring for your special day. Otherwise, this can be a major source of recurring headaches for you.
Before going ahead and hiring that photographer or that caterer, find out more about them by reading reviews on their service, or by doing a simple online people search. You may also want to do background checks to ensure that the people you will be working with are reputable and trustworthy, and are well-recommended by their past clients.
4. DELEGATE!
Your want your wedding to be exactly the way you envision it, so it’s understandable that you’d want to be hands-on with everything. But sometimes, vendors don’t follow-through like they say they would or your venue suddenly becomes unavailable on the date you reserved.
Carrying all this weight on your shoulders can drain you. When this happens, consider delegating some of the tasks to your bridesmaids or a trusted family member in order to avoid wedding planning fatigue. Just make sure to give clear instructions to the person you’re entrusting certain parts of your wedding, to steer clear of unwanted conflict in the future.
5. INVOLVE YOUR PARTNER
Surprisingly, there are many ways to get your partner involved in the wedding planning. If he’s good with numbers and spreadsheets, he can help out with tracking your expenses and budgeting. If he has good negotiating skills, he can help you out by talking to suppliers. Or if he is a foodie, you can have him help with food tasting and selecting which cake and food to serve your guests.
Just think of your partner’s strengths and prominent traits, and you’re sure to find something he can help you out with which will surely help minimize stress and avoid wedding planning fatigue.
6. PAMPER YOURSELF.
Planning your perfect wedding can be nerve wracking. It can take a toll not only on your stress levels but with how you deal with the people around you—most especially your future groom. But with a little strategy and by following the tips to avoid wedding planning fatigue outlined above, you’ll be able to pull off your dream ceremony without losing your cool and damaging your relationship in the process.
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