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.

Wedding Planning and the Holiday Season: Tip Number One

The holiday season is a crazy time of year when brides often feel the need to set aside their wedding planning efforts. Between the family get-togethers of Thanksgiving, the company holiday parties, Hanukah, Christmas, and every other holiday between Halloween and New Years life often seems too crazy to find an opportunity to plan a wedding.

The reality, however, is that the holiday season presents a great opportunity to work magic with your wedding preparations. What’s more, the opportunity that it presents is not one that is readily found in any other time of the year.

Wedding Favors Make Great Stocking Stuffers!

Thinking about using sun catchers for your wedding favors but not sure if you will like them when the whole lot arrives? Order one and then after you have had a chance to inspect it slip it into your sister’s stocking on Christmas Eve. Who wouldn’t love to find a set of etched glass coasters in their stocking on Christmas morning? Or bath powder sachets? Considering using Barefoot Sandals as a Bridesmaids gift? Order a pair to give to your sister for Christmas. After all, what woman wouldn’t love a pair of Barefoot Sandals to help them feel attractive on the beach?

Use the holiday season to check out a variety of items you are considering using as wedding favors at your reception. This approach allows a bride to make her budget stretch by accomplishing both a part of your Christmas shopping and checking out wedding favors at the same time.

What’s more, nearly everybody has a long list of people that they need to recognize with a gift of some sort. And everyone has a shopping list that includes bosses, coworkers, Aunts and Uncles and other extended family and associates that don’t require much more than a gesture. Consider these examples:

• Check out the collection of beach favors for a boss that loves to run off to Hawaii every winter.
• Search through the collection of candle favors for a candle that you might be able to use in your wedding reception to give to your Aunt that you see once or twice a year – but loves candles.
• Choose one of each kind of bookmark favors that fits your wedding theme for the readers on your list.
• Choose from the decorative bottle stoppers for a relative who spends lots of time in the kitchen.
• Choose cruise ship luggage tags for someone who loves to sail.

You get the idea. By shopping for your stocking stuffers and your individual tokens of affection for your holiday gift giving you can give yourself the opportunity to decide just which wedding favors are right for your wedding while taking care of your holiday needs at the same time.

By the way, don't miss this opportunity to help your husband to be by slipping, A Groom's Guide: Turning Grooms into Gentlemen into his stocking. He will thank you for it.

This One Wedding Tip Can Save You a Lot of Grief!

Speaking of grief ... due to a family tragedy I will be silent for a few days. I will be back soon so check back next week. In the mean time, if you are looking for wedding planning tips and / or ideas for your wedding or reception be sure to check out my Fun Wedding Ideas! page. There's everything from info about managing the stress of your wedding day to how to actually make a themed wedding work, to creating real drama in your wedding ceremony. Of course there you can check the earlier postings on this blog as well.

Of course, I can't take off without leaving you with a quick tip about planning your wedding:

I thought I'd tell you about one thing today that just might keep a lot of hair in your head as your big day approaches. In this case it's a book. Yes, a book.

You see, as we've discussed before, weddings are generally considered to be a woman's world. The problem is that weddings demand a groom - and in most cases that means a man.

So you can help yourself by getting your groom a book that prepares him to graciously meet the demands of the wedding day. This book is essentially a leather bound 'cheat sheet' to help him be the courteous groom you've always dreamed of throughout the wedding planning process and especially on the big day.

It's called, "The Grooms Guide," by Marguerita Smolen and it's available now through the wedding essentials page of our website.

Fun Wedding Planning Organizational System

This really is an incredibly useful tool. By using this one single tool you will find your self more prepared to plan each step of your wedding as the time comes.

What is this tool?

Scrap booking!

You read that right. Create a scrapbook of wedding ideas from pictures that you find... wherever you find them.

You see, every bride needs a way of organizing her wedding planning materials and if you are already one that likes to scrap book then this option is a natural - assuming you take the time to actually do it.

If you attend a wedding and see something you like, take a snapshot of it, then print the picture out when you get home and put it in your wedding planning scrapbook. If you see a picture of a wedding cake or dress in a magazine, get a copy and put it in your scrapbook. If you find a picture of a bouquet on the Internet print it out and put it in your scrapbook. That way when you get to time to plan any particular aspect of your wedding you aren't wasting time looking for that picture of... and your wedding professional will actually be able to see exactly what you have in mind. It saves a lot of time and difficulty. And it's fun too!

Now you have an excuse to play! Have fun.