Reduce Stress in Your Wedding Planning

It's mid week. For the brides who are in the middle of wedding preparations we sometimes find that we need a break... that lasting until the end of the week is just not an option!

Whether it's a misunderstanding over the flowers or an obsessive Aunt who seems to feel the need to dictate every little detail of the wedding - regardless of the fact that it is not her wedding, every bride finds from time to time that she needs to blow off the steam in a controlled fashion.

Yes, she will have to deal with those issues - and sooner rather than later - but sometimes the strength to deal with those issues in a constructive manner cannot be found until the bride has taken some time to regroup without risking becoming a "Bridezilla".

Today's tip: Take in a Chic Flick - Sometimes girls have to be girls. A wise bride will choose some time to send the guys off to be a guy and then grab a girlfriend with whom she can let down her hair and be a girl. Laugh, cry, enjoy.

Thursday morning she can be regrouped and ready to tackle that headache that so stressed her the day before.

Reducing Wedding Planning Stress

During the course of planning a wedding we encounter many elements that we were not even certain existed before hand if we have never planned a wedding before. Usually those elements are in the details and they are rarely the same thing for each bride.

Usually they have to do with assumptions about the way the wedding industry does or should operate.

Whatever the particular stressor, the trick is to find a way to overcome the stress - separate from overcoming the problem! This is important. You might not always be able to get every element to go your way in your wedding planning, but you still have to find a way to get past the stress of each conflict.

The question is how? How do we deal with the stress of wedding planning when things don't go the way we hoped they would?

The answer is simple and profound. The man we know as Mark Anthony - the great Roman General and friend of Julius Caesar said, "The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts, therefore, guard accordingly; and take care that you entertain no notion unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature."

The writer of the biblical book of Philippians said something similar: " Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Philippians 4:8 (New International Version)

Enjoying your wedding day is not about making certain that everything in her wedding plans goes just so - though we all hope that it will. Rather, a bride who takes the time to meditate on the good things in life will be able to relax and enjoy the celebration of her wedding a lot more than one who is focused on everything that has gone wrong.

Friday's Wedding Planning Stress Buster

It's Friday. The wedding plans are coming together but the stress and the enormity of the task is taking its toll. What to do? Keep on pressing on? Sometimes. We all know that sometimes perseverance is the only way to accomplish anything.

Assuming that we have persevered and tackled major portions of the wedding planning process how do you release the stress that builds up without creating more stress by spending money you don't have on a night on the town?

How about a night in the tub?

Seriously. Grab a good book. Get some soothing music playing. Light some candles. Grab something to sip. Fill the tub with hot water and scented salts or bubble bath. Close Slip out of your stresses as the clothes fall to the floor and slide into an hour or two of relaxation and distraction.

No book? Not a problem. Close your eyes and envision your time in Hawaii playing with the dolphins and hiking through incredible rain forests or walking hand in hand with your lover on sun kissed beaches. Don't plan anything. Just fantasize.

When you get out you will either be ready for a good night's sleep (which you probably need) or to tackle the wedding plans. Either way, that hour or two soaking in the hot tub will do wonders.

Another Fun Way to Reduce Wedding Planning Stress

So often we either try to ignore and endure wedding planning stress when we should be setting aside an occasional evening, afternoon, or even a weekend to help our minds and bodies release and manage the stress. Without times like these we run the risk of allowing ourselves to turn into Bridezilla.

If, on the other hand we work those breaks into our wedding planning schedule - breaks where we do not think about, talk about, obsess over, etc. our wedding plans - then we have a good chance that we will be able to keep things in perspective, keep our relationships with our loved ones positive rather than tense, and truly enjoy the ramp up to the celebration of the love of our lives on our wedding day.

That said, here is today's tip.

Go Out to Dinner: Take the time to sit and enjoy a good, high quality meal. Eat something healthy. This is as much about good nutrition as it is about a change of pace. Our bodies needs the change of pace that sitting down to a good meal will provide and it also needs nutrition rich foods to help deal with the stress planning a wedding can bring. Going out and having someone wait on us for a change is part of the therapy. Who the bride chooses for company is her choice, as long as it takes her away from wedding planning activities during the meal.

Reduce Wedding Planning Stress - Monday

It's Monday. The typical day when none of us want to do any work - which brings us to today's tip - reduce stress by giving some of your wedding planning responsibilities to someone who will embrace them with open arms!

Guys love their toys... and most guys love anything high tech. So get your intended to get out his digital camera, camcorder, and laptop so they can set up a wedding website – through which you can have them post wedding registry information, track RSVP's share engagement photo's and videos – even send out invitations, or at least have them use the computer to print the invitations and create address labels. You get the idea.

Reduce Wedding Planning Stress

Today's post is a controversial one. Not because it is iffy, but because some people have tried today's suggestion with poor results.

The problem, in most cases, is not in the idea - it is in the execution... as is so often the case.


Hire a Wedding Planner: A wedding planner who has been around the block a time or two offers something very few brides have – experience. They know people in the business, they know how to deal with wedding professionals, they have handled the problems that inevitably come up with planning a wedding, they have handled drunk relatives, etc. Most of all they know what to expect and what is a problem and what is not so the bride does not have to waste stress over situations that are not really a problem.

The execution problem, comes as a result of the fact that so many 'wedding planners' are little more than young girls who enjoyed planning their own wedding so they hung a shingle proclaiming themselves as 'wedding planners' (or something like that).

The solution? Look at resumes. Check references. Get permission and attend a wedding that the planner you are considering is mounting and watch. It won't take you long to decide if what you see is what you want coordinating all the elements of your wedding.

Wedding Planning Stress Reduction Tip Number Two

Most brides are going to love today's wedding planning stress reduction tip. There is little that is its equal in helping one to unwind and rejuvenate. But then again, times of great stress require great stress release tools.

Take a Trip to the Spa: Often brides will plan a trip to the spa with their bridesmaids in the week just before the wedding. That can be good, but it might not be enough. There is nothing that will release stress faster than being pampered while you lay on a warm table immersed in a soothing fragrance and surrounded by relaxing music.

Can't afford trips to the spa? Not a problem. Recruit a good friend to help you create your own spa experience with aromatic touches, soft music, and a homemade facial mask or body peel.

The money is not the issue. There are many inexpensive ways to create a spa experience without paying the big bucks. The issue is the time a busy bride takes away from the pressures and deadlines to let her mind and body rejuvenate - preparing her to think clearly through the planning for the beach wedding or elegant crystal wedding that is still to come.

Tips for Relieving Wedding Planning Stress

During the next two or three weeks I am going to devote myself to providing practical, time tested tips that will help any bride to manage, relieve, or reduce the stress that so naturally follows the act of wedding planning - and stress will follow. Anything worth doing is difficult enough to produce stress and something as big as today's wedding celebrations clearly are a stress producer for all but the most twisted of us!

Of course I make that last statement tongue in cheek - but... to plan something as big as a wedding. Well, any wise bride will keep a bag of stress relieving tricks up her sleeve.

Today's tip: Ignore the media and politicians when they talk about how bad the economy is. The media will stretch the story to grab ratings or sales and most politicians, and I don't care what stripe we are talking about, will lie if it will help them grab more power and influence for themselves.

True, there are a lot of people who are out of work, but a wedding is not about the nation's economy. A wedding is about the celebration of the commitment of love between two people - and no one wants stress to ruin their wedding.

Instead, a bride should consider the celebration they want to look back on with fondness over the years and temper it with the economic realities of her own situation (besides, there are a lot of ways to save money on wedding planning without giving up entirely).

But don't listen to the modern news media. That will only add stress.

Wedding Day Lingerie Shopping Keys

Every bride wants to look fabulous on her wedding day. That means choosing the right lingerie to provide just the right application of support to help her both look and feel beautiful in that gorgeous wedding gown she just paid so much for. There is, however, a trick to buying the perfect wedding day lingerie. It's not overly complicated, but as in so many things there is a wise process to work through.

She should begin the process of shopping for the lingerie she will wear under her wedding dress by actually shopping for and purchasing the wedding gown itself. Far too often young brides rush out and pick up the sexy lingerie only to discover that it will not work with her dress. That is fine if she has an unlimited budget and time frame that will allow her to repeat the process, but it is not such a good thing if funds or time is limited.

The silhouette of the dress will dictate the type undergarments the bride needs. The obvious example is the bra. A backless gown will demand that the bride not use a standard cut brassiere regardless of how 'high end' it is. Of course it does not stop there. We all know how essential the right foundations can be on any given dress.

Once she knows the cut of her wedding dress the next step is to... continue reading Wedding Day Lingerie Shopping Keys

Tips Ordering Your Wedding Dress

Ordering a wedding dress should be a wonderful, memorable time in the life of every bride. There is no reason that it shouldn't be either. Unfortunately, all too often it is not. Here are six tips that should help any bride who has chosen to work with a reputable bridal shop to have a positive experience ordering their wedding gown.

• Understand that wedding dress manufacturers use size charts that are unique to them. Don't get hung up on the number. Chances are that if you wear a size 6 in jeans you will end up ordering a 8 or 10 for your wedding dress. Be ready for the shock, but don't let yourself be thrown by it. Nobody but the bridal shop and those who come to the bridal shop with you will know.
  
• Order your wedding dress to fit you on the day you place your order, then watch your diet. Most dresses can be taken in but very few can be let out – check with your bridal shop with regard to the specific wedding dress designs' ability to be altered.
  
• Plan on at least two fittings – one as soon as the dress has come in and a second after the initial alterations have been made. Schedule a third if you experience significant weight loss.
  
• Be sure to wear the lingerie and shoes that you plan to wear with your wedding dress to make sure that every hem and fitting is just right.
  
• Don't be shy at your fitting. Look closely at how the dress hangs. If you care about how the dress looks on you, this is the time to make the changes.
  
• Watch what you eat. The wedding planning period is a stressful time in a woman's life. It is easy to let down your guard by eating fast food as you rush from consult to event to party. It is also easy to fall into the trap of turning to comfort foods when times get real stressful – but that will only lead to more stress.