Remember What All This Is For
Wedding Planning Stress?
The Most Important Thing to Remember to Handle the Stress of Wedding Planning
The Details Are Overwhelming!
I see it all the time. Brides and grooms get so involved with all of the small details. They want to make sure that the blue favor is alternated with the pink favor at every other seat at each table, and there are exactly 3 votive candles on each table set in an equilateral triangle in the center of each table, and each guest receives 24 rose petals to toss at the ceremony because we got engaged on the 24th of November …. Okay… maybe not that detailed, but some brides can be. And that’s ok.
My life is centered around the details. I come in as the Fire Fighting Fairy Godmother to swoop in and make everything magically come together. I help brides and grooms take care of the tiny little details that they have spent hours upon hours diligently planning to make sure their guests have a good time.
That’s IT! Let’s just elope!
At some point, in every wedding plan, the inevitable questions come up. Why are we doing this? Why am I spending the money? Why don’t we just elope? Do we really even need the wedding with all of this drama?
14 years ago, while planning my own wedding, my now husband and I thought the same thing. We had a guest list of 175 people, an hour ceremony in the church I grew up in where my dad was the Pastor, an over-the-top reception at an aquarium with a buffet line through a shark tank cave… 5 bridesmaids, 5 groomsmen, 1 junior bridesmaid, 1 junior groomsmen, 2 flower girls, and 2 ring bearers. Out of the 175 people, at least 100 were related to me personally, and most weren’t even in the wedding party! It was stress! I totally get it. At 2am as my bridesmaid and I sat cutting little pieces of tulle to place a personalized chocolate bar, seashells, and pink rose petals to be wrapped and tied with teal ribbon and a little tiny pink flower in the bow… yeah… those same questions went through my head also.
I would not have gotten through my wedding without knowing it was Chris at the other end of all of this. He makes me laugh. He gets me through the day. A simple text message from him changes my whole day around. Through all of the details that I wanted about my wedding day, I knew that I wanted to just be with him.
I have been actively running weddings year for the over 10 years. I have coordinated, I have planned, and I have executed. I manage the staff and together we make every bride’s dream come true. I have to honestly truly say that the most beautiful weddings, the ones where it really all comes together, is where you can truthfully see the two of them in it.
The weddings where the guests have the best time, and the celebration is truly a celebration, is when there are little touches of who the bride is… and who the groom is… and who they are together. It is fun for everyone when they can see how much you are in love.
Remember why you are doing this.
Remember that beautiful vision you had for your wedding? The one where you are walking down the aisle to your smiling groom who just can’t take his eyes off of you? Do you remember that feeling you had that made your heart skip a beat just thinking of him? Now think back to when you were dating, and all of the fun times you had. Remember that moment you fell in love with him. The moment you knew, you just knew, that you were going to spend the rest of your life with him.
The reason you chose to have a wedding is because you are in love. This is a time to celebrate the two of you. This is your time to just be in love. The wedding is a way for your whole world, the people who love you as much as you love each other, to just celebrate you two being together. You are doing this because you know that everyone wants to celebrate you two being together.
Wedding planning shouldn’t be stressful because of the details. When you are overworked, and stressed out, then it means you have lost your vision. The very first thing… the only thing… that really matters in all of this chaos you are going through… is the two of you! You are the reason you are doing this. You are the reason people want to be there. You are the reason people want to celebrate with you. They love you, and they love being around you. They want to be there to cry and laugh and dance and celebrate!
Move forward and enjoy it all!
Go ahead with the plans, and have your wedding, but do not ever lose sight of what you are doing this for. This is a celebration of the two of you. This is your time to shine. This is the time for everyone around you to just love you. This is your chance to just be together and enjoy an amazing day.
Trust me, the day really does go by faster than you think. It will be over before you know it. Take a few moments on your wedding day to just truly understand how much you mean to each other, and to revel in what you’ve just done.
Enjoy it all. This day is about you.