6 Effective Ways To Relieve Stress While Planning your Wedding

Wedding planning is a big deal. Like every other event, a lot of pieces need to fall in place to make the wedding planning a great success. But the journey to get to this blissful ceremony has left plenty of brides worrying, frustrated, overworked, and at times, confused. All these factors lead to one of the most major health concerns in our country. Wedding Planning Stress.

I need to get one important fact out of the way. You can not completely avoid stress. But you can manage and minimize it. Hopefully, you can take away some actionable steps from this article to manage and minimize your stress to keep the wedding planning process enjoyable.

Tip #1 Take a day off, or two

Actionable step: Hire a wedding planner 

I know you hear this all the time right? The next tip will be what you can do internally to manage stress. But I just needed to start with this one because… why not make your life easy, right?

Wedding planners’ immediate job is to handle the worry, so you don’t have to. They handle all the problems for you that arise during the wedding planning process and during the wedding. They can assist in finding venues, caterers, provide recommendations for you, and really act as a human GPS for putting your wedding together. After the venue is found and the officiant is settled up, this should be the next person you seek out.

Tip #2 Periodic Reassessment of To-do Lists and Goals:

Creating a plan of action such as delegating tasks, monthly budget reviews, and making time specifically for relationship building are some very effective ways to relieve stress. 

Delegating tasks: Taking on too much can be overwhelming for anybody. So, don’t feel it is a must to do everything. You have others that are interested in your well-being and are generally happy to help you. 

Monthly budget reviews: Budgets are a biggie when it comes to weddings with the biggest complaint from brides being that planning a wedding can put a little bit of a strain on the wallet. It’s important to continue to revisit the budgets for individual vendors and the wedding as a whole. A good rule of thumb is to prioritize vendors according to what is very important to you to least important.

Relationship building: Take time out to continue to purposefully build a deeper relationship with your spouse because it is very easy for stressful situations to throw a wrench in a perfectly peaceful wedding planning journey.  

Tip #3 We don’t plan to fail. We fail to plan.

Sometimes the stresses in wedding planning derive from surprises. Too often, surprises come from unexpected financial obligations to your favorite photographer or DJ or Venue or a process just not being planned or thought out enough. That is why planning what you will do before you do it can lead to stress-free wedding planning. Just as in life, though, Make sure to always have a backup plan if one thing does not work. With a backup plan, a crisis is now only an inconvenience- leading to less stress. When plans get derailed, just be open and patient to handle these curveballs as they happen, regroup, and get back on track with your plan.

Tip #4 Are you getting your blood pumping?

Actionable step: Exercise 

This comes as no surprise. By exercising regularly, endorphins which are described as the “natural pain killers” of the body, are released. The released endorphins can help to boost your mood and help to relax while increasing the feelings of optimism. Nevertheless, exercise doesn’t have to be rigorous. Sometimes, just a walk outside for some sunshine is just enough to change your mood for the better in a stressful situation. Taking a ten to 15-minute walk outside will drastically improve your mood when you feel bogged down. By exercising, the body becomes fully ready to handle the actual tasks ahead in the wedding planning as well.

Tip #5 Set Clear Boundaries For Work And Stick To Them:

A majority of the world has a cell phone which is practically on us 24/7. While keeping us “in the know” while on the go, mobile devices also put us in a situation where we work more than we need to.

40% of couples categorize wedding planning as “extremely stressful” while 71% thought it was more nerve-wracking than any other major life event such as finding a new job.

There needs to be time out to enjoy yourself. With the inclusion and popularity of wedding planning apps, brides can now conveniently “work” all the time. Working all the time = more stress. Following me? Put the laptop away and cut off the phone. Build a deeper relationship (see above) with the one you are going to spend the rest of your life with.

Tip #6 Get Quality Sleep:

Sleep, like exercise, should also come as no surprise. The average adult needs 7-9 hours of sleep each night, according to The Sleep Foundation. Nevertheless, a good night’s sleep is all your body needs to be rejuvenated, repaired, and refreshed for the next day. So, it is important to ensure you get the best amount and quality of sleep as possible to make the best decisions while wedding planning. Going to bed consistently at the same time each night, while cutting off all devices (ie. cellphone) an hour before sleep, skipping caffeine in the afternoon, and even writing down your goals for the next day can all be significant steps towards a good night’s sleep.

Bonus: Seek Social Support:

I can understand how annoying it sounds sometimes to bore others with our personal issues. But, sometimes discussing our challenges and things that stress us out with a trusted friend or close relative can help relieve us of stress. In most cases, such people can offer us encouragement in difficult situations. A therapist or psychologist is recommended in cases where no one is available to listen. Check with your health care provider. Sometimes, there is a benefit of health care counselors available. 

Wedding planning stress can often be derived from a sense of loneliness. By seeking social support, you drastically reduce that feeling of loneliness.

The various activities involved in wedding planning are stressful. However, the problem has less to do with the stress itself and more to do with how we handle it. To properly and effectively manage stress, remember to reassess our goals, exercise, pursue work-life balance, get quality sleep, and seek the support of trusted people.