I feel like even thinking about preparing for “the big day” can be quite stressful on everyone involved. But who usually takes the stress the hardest? I am convinced it's ME! The DIY bride! As a bride-to-be, I have experienced all sorts of wedding planning anxiety. So I made a quick and easy list of ways to make things much less stressful for all of you other brides out there.
Don’t feel like you HAVE to invite everyone you know:
Sure, it’s nice to have lots of friends and family around you to celebrate your special day. However, not everyone that you have ever made acquaintances with needs an invitation. Just because you used to be friends back in middle school, are friends on social media, and occasionally comment on each others' pictures does not mean you are obligated to send them an invitation to your special day. I, myself, found this out the hard way! It seemed like once I got engaged, I had people I had barely spoken to in YEARS asking for an invite. At first I wanted to be nice and give them all invitations, but then we booked the venue and found out there was going to be quite the restriction on how many guests we could have. Particularly for someone with a more limited space, keeping it to close friends and relatives can really lessen the stress from making the guest list. If you do choose to use a San Diego wedding coordinator, someone at San Diego Life Events can certainly help you with the guest list specifics!
Don’t feel like you have to take everyone’s input:
This is you and your partner’s day, not anyone else's. Yes, it’s been nice when people give suggestions or offer opinions, however I get a little overwhelmed when I have ten different people coming to me saying “Oh look! How cute is this?” or “Hey, why don’t you do this instead? That’s what I did at my wedding!” If you take everyone’s opinions into account, your wedding day won’t be yours anymore. Do your wedding the way you want to do it!
Don’t be afraid to tell others “no:”
If you don’t like a suggestion someone makes, or an idea they want to use, or even the food someone else says you should get- speak up and say no! It does not make you selfish or a bad person for voicing that you don’t like something or don’t agree with it. If you are nice and respectful, people should understand that. If someone who wasn’t offered a “+1” asks if they can bring a date and you either aren’t comfortable with it or don’t have the seating, tell them they can’t. You, and your San Diego wedding coordinator, are in control of what does and doesn’t happen on this day… for the most part (haha).
Give yourself enough time:
Whatever “enough” time is for you to plan your wedding or to get prepared for it, make sure you allow for that much time. Some of my married friends felt confident that they could do it in two months, some waited two years. Whatever it is, make sure you are totally comfortable with the time frame. My mother-in-law bugged me and bugged me about how far out we made our wedding from the engagement date, but I simply did not want to try to get everything done all by myself in too short of time. I know myself, I’m not the most organized and focused all the time, so we waited a little over a year and a half. Feeling rushed to get things done can be a major source of stress for everyone involved. If you have one, talk to your San Diego wedding coordinator about any concerns you have with time constraints.
When the day finally comes, be flexible:
You NEED to know this! There WILL be some snags and bumps in the road when it comes to the day of, no matter how well you plan. This is why it can really make a lot of sense to have a confident wedding coordinator on your side, even if it's just for day-of wedding coordination. Just take a deep breath, and go with the flow. Getting upset will only ruin your special day! So, enjoy yourself, and focus on all of the positives... not to mention the fact that this really will be the best day of your life!
***BONUS TIP!!!***
If I could do it all over, I would have started by calling a wedding coordinator. While it’s doable to plan a wedding yourself, (being a DIY bride is popular these days,) it is a lot more stressful in general and takes a TON of time and energy. While I loved the idea of being totally in control of the planning, I constantly felt like a chicken running around with my head cut off. Not to mention, I have never done this before so I really was just winging it. I’d recommend calling San Diego Life Events to help you, because they have the experience to keep you calm and expertise to make your big day great!
Blog post by Guest Blogger Chey Christy, exclusively for San Diego Life Events
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