Congrats! You’re engaged, but that means it is wedding planning season (trust me, I worked in a dress shop for a few years, it is now busy season), and sometimes it can get stressful. Your wedding day should be about you and your fiancé and sometimes it becomes out of hand when others get involved. Take a deep breath and remember you are marrying the love of your life and the little details won’t matter five, ten, or even one year from now when you are spending it with your person. Here are the top 5 tips for planning a stress free wedding.
Planning A Stress Free Wedding – Send Invitations Early
According to the Knot, do not send your invitations out any later than six to eight weeks before the wedding. This should give guests enough time to RSVP and for you to have enough time to tell the venue how many people are coming and to make a proper seating chart. If you are having a destination wedding, there is a larger time frame. Make your response time two to three weeks before your wedding.
Don’t stress about the seating chart. If someone doesn’t respond by the RSVP date, don’t be afraid to call them. It’s your day, you’re paying.
Planning A Stress Free Wedding – Accept Help
You don’t have to plan this whole thing by yourself. Ask your fiancé, ask your bridesmaids, your mom, your friends, etc. Even if it is just taking you out for coffee to get your mind off it. Your loved ones are there for you and want your day to be perfect. Reach out to them.
Whether it is beforehand or on the big day, ask for help. Your Maid of Honor should be the biggest help on your big day. Have her there to calm you down and bring that emergency kit.
Planning A Stress Free Wedding – Don’t Worry About Others Input and Opinions
Your great Aunt Pearl might think it is a good idea to have a traditional church wedding and that you should wear white, etc. Do what you and your fiancé want. Don’t worry about other opinions. They aren’t the ones getting married. If someone is truly curious, then answer them, but when it starts turning into suggestions, just tell them you are taking care of it.
Also, tradition is long gone. If you want to wear a pink wedding dress and have men and women on each side of the altar, and not do the bouquet/ garter toss, that is completely fine. It is 2020. Change is good.
Have a Budget
The average wedding costs $35,000 and that doesn’t even include the honeymoon! Make sure to always have a budget and make sure there is a 5% contingency set aside because you never know what might come up that you might need more money for (open bar, last minute alterations, etc.)
If you are trying to save some money, limit your guest list, have the wedding outside, ask family and friends for vendors they know, and have your wedding earlier in the day or on Friday.
Hire a Wedding Planner
Going back to the money talk, not everyone might have the expenses to hire a wedding planner and that’s ok. In that case, appoint someone (most likely your MOH) to take care of the last-minute craziness, especially on the big day. They can act as the liaison between arguments, problems and so much more. Your DJ is going to be late? You shouldn’t have to worry about that. Your wedding planner should be on the phone or setting up their phone with a Bluetooth speaker, anything to make your big day go right.
If you need more organization, you can buy a planner to write in and make a physical checklist.
If you are stressing about wedding planning, take a deep breath. It is supposed to be a fun time, make sure to do what you want and know that it will all be worth it in the end.
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