After planning my own wedding and being a part of dozens of other weddings, I know that stress is often a big part of planning and the wedding day. There are deadlines to worry about, the opinions and feelings of others to consider, and TONS of decisions to be made. It’s a lot! And it can often feel overwhelming. But wedding planning doesn’t have to be that way! It should be a fun, one-in-a-lifetime experience that you can truly enjoy. Here are my four best tips to reduce wedding stress, from planning to the wedding day!
Wedding Planning
1. Break up your to-do list!
Unless you have a very short engagement, you probably have quite a bit of time to plan everything! Even if your to-do list is long and overwhelming, you don’t have to look at it all at once. Break things up to make them more manageable and reduce all the wedding stress!
Select one or more tasks for each week in the upcoming months. Once you accomplish your weekly tasks, you’re done! You don’t have to worry about anything else wedding related until the next week if you don’t want to. And you can feel accomplished after crossing off your task for the week.
This step takes some planning up front, but you will thank yourself later! There are tons of resources with wedding planning tasks and timelines to give you some help. Once you know everything you need to do (booking vendors, creating guest lists, sending invitations, etc), you can choose when you want to accomplish those things and put it in your calendar. This way, you won’t miss deadlines and you can give yourself breaks after you cross off your weekly task.
2. Ask for help!
This is probably the most important advice I can give you. Delegate! Choose who you can ask for help and then give those people specific tasks that will help take things off your plate. In most cases, your bridesmaids, mom, future mother-in-law, aunts, cousins, and whoever else will be super excited to help make your wedding amazing.
You don’t have to give up decision-making power when you do this either!
Here are some ideas of tasks you can hand over to others:
– Researching wedding vendors – need a makeup artist and have no idea who to hire? Ask someone to do some research for you and compile a list of makeup artists and their information. Even just a list of websites would be helpful. That way, you make the final decision but with narrowed down options.
– Making appointments – before going wedding dress shopping, ask someone to make appointments at bridal shops for you. Or when you’re ready to tour venues, ask someone to schedule the tours.
– Tasks like stuffing invitations or making favors is a great time to ask for help! Invite all your friends over for an invitation stuffing party and it will be a blast!
Your vendors are another great resource if you are looking for help or information. If you have a question about something, there’s a good chance they can help! Vendors have a ton of wedding experience and most are more than willing to share their knowledge.
Wedding Day
3. Rely on your bridal party and vendors.
On the wedding day, your bridal party and vendors are the ones that deal with the problems, not you! Choose bridal party members and vendors you can trust, so that they can handle anything and everything! Beforehand, make sure to set clear expectations so that they know exactly what you want. For example, make sure each member of the bridal party knows the timeline so that they can stay on top of it and you don’t have to even look at the clock.
4. Let it all go!
This is my biggest piece of advice on your wedding day – just enjoy yourself! Do everything in your power to not worry and just fully savor your big day! You have put in the work, you’re prepared, and anything that goes wrong at this point is going to be fine. Ask someone else to deal with any issues that come up so that you don’t have to. Things won’t be 100% perfect and that’s okay! Your only job is to enjoy yourself and soak it all in. I know that can be easier said than done, but do your best to relax and everything will work out wonderfully!
If your partner is stressed about the wedding day, tell them the same thing. Don’t let anything get either of you down! Mentally preparing to let everything roll off your back is super important.
You Got This
Overall, you deserve a pat on the back for all of your hard work put into planning a wedding! It is not an easy task and you are doing a great job. It’s totally okay and normal to feel stressed and overwhelmed about your wedding. I hope these tips help you reduce wedding stress and make the whole process more enjoyable for you. You deserve it!
Styled by: @ashfrenchphoto | Models: @meganpliler @austinpliler | Studio: Studio Noire Noir | HMUA: @peacock.artistry | Dress: Bree Lena | Tie: Dazi USA | Florist: Olive & Sage Floral | Invitations: Kari Dawn Avenue | Cake: The Dessert Studio Utah
Hi, I’m Emma! I’m a wedding and portrait photographer based in Idaho Falls, Idaho! I also serve surrounding areas like Utah, Wyoming, and beyond. I offer bright, natural, timeless images for my clients with a seamless, enjoyable overall experience. Contact me about your wedding or session to get started!
