Surviving Wedding Planning
Monday May 25, 2009
Reader Allison writes,
Here's my advice: Unless you have really pressing deadlines, such as contracts that must be signed today, it's okay to take a few days off! In fact it's not only okay, it's healthy. If you don't, you're going to start to resent your wedding and everything associated with it (like your future spouse!)
If you've gotten behind on your wedding checklist, and you feel like you just can't take a break, maybe it's time to bring in professional help. A wedding planner can take over the most stressful parts of the workload and also help you evaluate how to simplify things. If things are really stressful, maybe it's time to elope or even to postpone your wedding. After all, this is supposed to be a celebration of love, not a second job!
When I first started planning my wedding, I was so excited to frolic in bridal stores and think about favors and vows. But now it feels like wedding planning has taken over my life! All my free time seems to be taken up with the endless tasks, and all anyone asks me about is "How's the wedding planning going?" I only have a few months to go, but I'm really feeling like I need a break! Help!The rest of you have probably felt like this at some point during your wedding planning? How did you cope?
Here's my advice: Unless you have really pressing deadlines, such as contracts that must be signed today, it's okay to take a few days off! In fact it's not only okay, it's healthy. If you don't, you're going to start to resent your wedding and everything associated with it (like your future spouse!)
If you've gotten behind on your wedding checklist, and you feel like you just can't take a break, maybe it's time to bring in professional help. A wedding planner can take over the most stressful parts of the workload and also help you evaluate how to simplify things. If things are really stressful, maybe it's time to elope or even to postpone your wedding. After all, this is supposed to be a celebration of love, not a second job!
Comments
A summer wedding on a beach has a most memorable outcome. The backdrop of the water and hopefully the warm weather make it a great place to get married.
I live in Houston and the temperature and humidity almost eliminates any plans of an outdoor wedding here. Makeup would be running on everyone.
I hoped for a more practial comment, seeing that two persons had left comments… I was disappointed.
Here’s my suggestion, from planning my daughter’s wedding from start to finish several years ago.
Early on, I established a Daily Priority List on a tablet made from a stack of quarter sheets of paper. I put all the dates at the top, then divided the pages as I went into A Priority, B Priority, C Priority. I know it seemed silly to put “make bed” and “straighten livingroom” on the list (C) every day, but it really helped to be able to cross off items as I did them. Many items with a long lead time were also in the C Priority part, moved up to B as the time drew close… I had a Master List also, but that was more general. “Invitations” on the Master List were “order invitations”, “address envelopes” and “get stamps” on the Daily priority lists. I kept the lists on the clipboard at my place at the kitchen table. Each evening, I’d review the Daily list, see what had not been done, write it in for the next day’s list, sometimes moving it up a priority. If I didn’t make the bed (C) but got all the A priorty things done, it was great… If I found myself “spinning wheels”, then to re-focus myself, all I needed to do was consult the list and cross off things done that day or chose another task.
My daughter’s wedding was gorgeous… about 450 guests came(about 50 more than anticipated) and the reception was inexpensive but VERY nice (and we even had enough food!!!) I had a lot of compliments for my “organization” and planning.
I did a lot of delegating, like asking some of my daughter’s frinds to actually decorate the hall for the reception (I had the table decor made in advance), and the caterer did all her own shopping and prep work.
Now, planning my own wedding, I’m using the priority list concept but it’s far enough off (3 months +/-) that it’s from the Master List still… but this time, I’ll be making favors, invitations, programs, instead of purchasing them…