De-stressing Tips for Brides

De-Stressing Tips for Brides
There are lots of ways to make your wedding planning easier. Over the years I have watched cool, calm, collected brides breeze through their wedding plans and I've watched other brides meltdown at the table in my shop as wedding plans took their toll. Here are some quick tips to make your life as a bride easier.

1. Don't wait until the last minute. Most professionals will tell you that you need a year, but it can be done in 6 months by a fairly organized bride. For some stange reason our shop, has gained a reputation for "pulling rabbits out of hats", by that I mean finding wedding gowns, bridesmaids dresses, and tuxedos for weddings less that two months out. This is not an ideal situation. It seriously limits your options. Choose your date, book your facility and go from there. If you have 6 months, it can be done.

2. Learn to delegate. This is key. Your mother, sister or sisters, sister-in-law, maid of honor, and bridesmaids can be valuable resources. Choose a task and assign a task manager. (Ex. Maid of Honor - follow up with the bridal shop and make sure everyone has been fitted by the deadline for ordering. Sister - Confirm time and date with caterer and florist.) These may not seem like much and may only consist of a few phone calls, but they can really take a lot off of the bride.

3. Don't forget your fiance'. Experience tells me that there are two types of grooms; the one who just wants the bride to make all the decisions and he'll just be there when he is suppossed to be there, or the one who wants to be involved in all the decissions. Whichever type groom you have, the stress can get to both of you. Take time with each other without working on wedding plans and guest list. Make a date. Go to movie and out to dinner. Go watch a sunset together.

4. Be a list maker. Make list of your priorities? What picture do you want taken? Which guest do you want seated together or not seated together? What items do you need to go to the church with you that day? What items do you need packed for the honeymoon?

5. Don't be a perfectionist. If you are by nature this may be the hardest tip for you to take. Relax, even though everything is not absolutely perfect, when all is said and done, you will still be just as married. My husband and I were married 25 years ago. The elderly minister who married us preached the wedding ceremony for the couple he married the weekend before. Our rings got swapped somehow and I put my ring on his finger (which didn't fit) he put his ring on mine. Everybody stepped on my dress(the shop had forgotten to hem it). When everything was over, we had funny stories to tell and were just as married.

6. Try on your gown one more time at least four days before the wedding. Just make sure everything is right. Most bridal stores will request you try it on one more time before you pick it up anyway. This is always a good idea.

7. Pack a wedding day survial kit. This should include these suggested items: asprin, needle and thread, safty pins, peppermints, Tide to Go pen, extra pair of pantyhose(if you are going to wear them), clear nail polish, super glue, a pair of slippers is a good idea to rest your feet when you don't need your heels. You may need to taylor this list to your needs.

8. Take a day a couple of days before the wedding to spend with your mom. If you don't have a mom or sister, take a girlfriend. The reason I picked mom first is that this is her big day, too. She has thought about this day since the day you were born. Go to lunch. Book a massage at a day spa. Relax and enjoy! You both deserve it.

9. Don't try to please everyone. I'm not saying be "Bidezilla", but it's your wedding, not your maid of honor's or your bridesmaids'. I have watched brides torture themselves shopping with their attendants. Certainly get their opions, but choose your dresses and colors and tell them when and where to be fitted. Don't let them take everything over. There is not way to put four or more women in the same color or the same dress and make them all happy. Make you and your groom happy.

10. If you have an evening wedding, sleep in. Get up later, eat a good breakfast with your parents if possible. You'll miss this and so will they. Let them know you love them. Then start the days activities. Hairdos, makeup, pictures, ect.

I hope this list of tips will help someone. I know they won't all work for everyone, but you may find a gem or two in here. Just remember it's your day. It's supposed to be a celebration of love. Smile and enjoy it!

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