Planning the wedding alone can be overwhelming, but the stress doesn’t stop until the wedding day itself. If you’re just like everyone else, you would want your wedding to be as perfect as it can be. But should it cost your sanity in the process? We don’t think so.
Here are the best ways to make your wedding as stress-free as possible, from the planning phase down to the wedding day itself.
1. Start planning early
The less time you have to plan a wedding, the more stressful it can be. Thus, one of the best ways to make wedding planning as stress-free as possible is to start early. Give yourself enough lead time to look for wedding dress shops, event coordinators, florists, and everything else you would need for the wedding. Trust us. Even if you’re having a small wedding, you would want to start planning as early as you can.
2. Hold the ceremony and reception in one place
Having both the ceremony and reception done in one place will erase the headache that is transportation logistics for guests, as well as help you save money and time.
3. Trim down your guest list
More people at your wedding means you need more space, more food, and more chairs. And if the sheer number of people is not enough to overwhelm you, maybe the wedding costs will. So do you need to invite all of your second cousins and co-workers? Probably not.
Trim down the costs of your wedding (and the stress of planning) by minimizing the number of guests you invite. A good strategy is to make two lists: List A and B. List A consists of all the people you have to have at the wedding, such as your closest friends and family. List B consists of people that you want to invite if you had an unlimited budget. When a person from List A can’t come to the wedding, that’s the time you should invite a person from List B.
4. Don’t schedule too many activities
Manicures, facials, and brunches: you might want to do it all on the morning of the wedding. After all, it’s your big day, and you have to look perfect. However, try not to schedule too many activities before the wedding. Stick to the essentials or book those activities the day before the wedding. Not only does this reduce your stress levels, but having free time before the wedding will give you a chance to savor the moment.
5. Book with a single vendor as much as possible
Keeping the number of vendors at a minimum is a great way to keep things organized while planning the wedding. If there is a vendor that offers more than one service, book multiple services with them to save time and possibly get a good discount. Also, having a limited number of vendors will make it easier for you to make changes as you go along.
6. Use a spreadsheet
Make a spreadsheet to list down your wedding guests, potential vendors, possible venues, and any relevant contact numbers. Doing this will make it easier to stay organized while planning your wedding, as opposed to writing everything down on paper or having dozens of bookmarks on your Internet browser.
7. Stick to what you can afford
An easy way to increase your stress levels is by pushing for something that doesn’t fit in your budget. When you have to take out debt for, say, the wedding dress of your dreams, it might not be a good idea. You don’t want to end up with mountains of debt after the wedding, much less stress about money during the whole journey, so stick to what’s best for your budget.
8. Delegate a photo wrangler
Assign a person to gather up specific groups of people for pictures, preferably a person who knows almost everyone in attendance.
9. Consider a child-free wedding
Children disrupt weddings, and that’s a fact that many couples choose to accept. If you don’t want tantrums to disturb any part of the festivities, consider making your wedding child-free, or at least provide a daycare area where parents can leave their small children during the activities.
Even with all the wedding tips and tricks in the world, your wedding probably won’t be perfect, and that’s something you need to accept if you want to be as stress-free as possible. Don’t lose it over a misaligned centerpiece or a broken zipper. It’s your special day, and what matters most is getting married to the person you love in front of all your friends and family.