4 Useful Tips to Help with Wedding Planning So You Don’t Lose Your Mind or Job in the Process   

Ah, marriage. Finding someone who wants to be with us rest of our lives is very exciting, and can often prompt the warm fuzzies. Then it’s time to plan the wedding: a time for family, friends, flowers and food—all rolled up into one epic night for you and your significant other.

However, with more and more people getting married later in life these days, it’s safe to say that in addition to planning a wedding and order some bridal veils online, at the same time one also has to tend to work at the office and take care of many other responsibilities at the same time. While it’s easy to think that adding one more thing won’t be a problem (since multitasking already seems to be the norm!), even the most organized person can get overwhelmed during this time. But don’t panic—here are some tips on how to survive wedding planning while in full-time adult mode.

Get Help. Lots.
Working women have enough going on in their lives that adding the stress of wedding planning can almost seem impossible at times. How much more can one when their time is dividing amongst the obligations of  job, family, volunteer/social activities and personal time? That’s why it’s great to have help.

Look to wedding websites like The Knot or Wedding Wire to assist you with resources from A to Z. These venues provide helpful check lists, vendor information and reviews, as well as tips on coordinating colors and picking the perfect look for the big day. (This can be especially helpful for destination weddings as the planning process in that scenario isn’t as hands-on as a more local affair.)

Other Resources to Help Plan the Bride’s Big Day:

• Don’t be afraid to ask your family and friends for guidance or advice, especially if they have already been down this road.
• Invite some of your favorite ladies to make a day of seeking out local Bridal Shows to get ideas.
• When in doubt, there is always the tried-and-true wedding magazine at your local bookseller/grocery store.

Stay Focused & Organized
It’s easy to get wrapped up in hours of wedding stuff on Pinterest, but don’t let dreaming about, say, what shade of color tulle would look best to festoon on the aisles at the ceremony distract you from work deadlines and professional responsibilities. This happens, but it’s not worth letting it occur so much that the next day is spent waiting in the unemployment line! In other words, there needs to be a separation between personal time and professional time.

How to Keep Workplace and Wedding Separate:

• Utilize your lunch break to the fullest by making vendor calls, running errands and organizing plans.
• Be sure to keep a planner, physical (yay paper!) or electronic, whatever is preferred to keep track of all the details.
• Set phone alerts for major meeting, appointment or deadline reminders, so that daydreaming or getting a dopamine rush from scoring a huge bargain on centerpieces (during said lunch-hour) won’t derail you from career responsibilities.
• Keep to-do lists for everything so that nothing slips through the cracks. There are hundreds of free, online templates available to help create a wedding dress website, which can be useful in providing guests with a central location for information, and take considerable pressure off the bride.

Relax!
It is entirely possible to drive ourselves, and everyone around us, completely insane if it gets to a point where things bubble up and boil over. So instead of getting to that point of a total meltdown, be proactive and remember what this day is really all about. Be sure take time to let go—not only of the stress of wedding planning, but also the stress of everyday life.

How to Take Time for a Pre-Nuptial Breather:

• Don’t be afraid to take a couple hours of PTO (paid time off) for a spa day; a massage or facial can provide much needed relaxation and positive energy, leaving you feeling beautiful and refreshed.
• Sometimes disconnecting can be the best way to de-stress, so ask a friend or two to meet for an unplugged (i.e. leave the phones in the car) glass of wine.
• Or turn that phone to silent, lock the bathroom door and dip into a warm bath with a good book.

It’s not always easy or feasible to take “me” time regularly, but it’s important for self-preservation and making sure you don’t drive your family and co-workers crazy with all the wedding details and hoopla.

Stay Grounded
When it comes to planning an event as big and important as a wedding, we want it to be perfect. But having high and often lofty expectations can lead to some pretty disappointing moments if and when something goes wrong.

The truth is, it’s okay to want things to turn out a certain way, but the reality is that something (and probably more than one thing) can and will go wrong, both during the planning and on the big day itself. When this occurs, staying grounded and even-keeled will serve you best, both to conserve your stamina, and to keep your mood and presence light enough to elicit good energy from those who can help you with your plans. So follow these tips to keep you on track, psychologically:

The Zen of Wedding Planning

• Be prepared to maybe not get that perfect shade of pink on something, and be open-minded to food and venue options.
• Oftentimes people carry their disappointments over into their next meeting or bring them home, which can be exhausting, so if something goes wrong, step back and regroup so it doesn’t domino into the rest of your day.
• Some people hire wedding planners to forgo the stress of having to deal with any wedding-related drama, while others may enlist the help of someone not in the wedding party to act as a buffer for questions from vendors and, later, on the day of the nuptials, from confused guests.

With all the time and money spent planning just these few special hours, it can be hard to keep cool when we feel let down, but remember what started this whole thing to begin with—celebrating the love that is most certainly the foundation for the rest of your big moments to come.

So following these pointers and taking small moments to unwind will ensure survival (and continued employment!) until the wedding day.