Planning a wedding is a lot of work.  There is a reason why people have careers in this field after all! However, while planning wedding can be fun, not everyone enjoys planning events and it can get stressful sometimes. It is important to remember why you are doing this and not to get weighed down by all the trends and must haves. Concentrate on who you are, who you are marrying, and what is important to you both. Here are a few tips to help manage the invisible stress of wedding planning:

Tip #1 Set a budget

This is a repeat theme in my blog posts, but having a budget reduces the financial stress of planning a wedding. Planning on saving a certain amount per month, discussing how much you are comfortable spending, and keeping track of how much you have left will make planning your wedding a lot less stressful.

Tip #2 Delegate responsibilities

Speak to your partner about splitting the responsibilities of wedding planning amongst yourselves and perhaps some family members or friends. It is important to know when you need help and to ask for it. Most people are excited to be involved in the wedding planning process. Decide what's important to you and your partner. Focus your energy on those items. Assign tasks to others that are less of a priority, let someone else make the call, or just let it go if it's not doable/in the budget.

Tip #3 Plan ahead

Put together a timeline or to do list broken down into each month leading up to the wedding. This will break out the long list of to dos into tangible smaller chunks which feels more manageable and achievable. As you book your vendors make sure to add any payment deadlines so nothing is missed.

Tip #4 Prioritize

It may not be possible to check off every item on your wedding wish list, whether for budgetary reasons or other limitations. Your wedding does not have to replicate those on Pinterest or Instagram to be beautiful, memorable, and fun. If you find yourself stressing about the little things, take a step back, and reassess. Prioritize the most important things that make the day run smoothly and bring you joy. And remember, guests don’t remember all the details of the day, they remember how they felt, whether the food was good, and if they had a good time.

Tip #5 Hire a planner

If you are really struggling, bring in someone to help reduce the load and help with that invisible stress – hire a wedding planner. Whether it is to help plan everything, guide you through the process, or just to take over for the day of the wedding. Your mental health, happiness, and wellbeing are so important and if you are struggling we are here to help.