5 top tips from our guest blogger, Wedding Planner and Organiser Love Lydia, on how to make planning your ideal day less stressful.
Planning a wedding day is never easy. It’s a day that involves all of your closest family and friends and there’s a huge amount of pressure to ensure everything runs perfectly, as often this day has been imagined for a long time by the couple and their parents alike.
I have planned and coordinated numerous luxury weddings over the years and in doing so, I have gathered a few tips for anyone beginning this beautiful journey and wishing to avoid any anxiety that sometimes this special time may bring.
Here are some of my personal suggestions to make the planning process a little less stressful, thus ensuring you can bring your ideas and vision of an elegant wedding to life without any undue worries.
Number 1
There’s no time like the present – Once you know that you’re going to be getting married, communicate with your partner and bring some of your ideas together as a couple. In doing so, you will have a true essence of each other’s expectations for the day. Then you can begin consulting and discussing your plans with family, but don’t be surprised if you find that they may have conflicting opinions. Whilst this is very much your big day, relationships also matter. To avoid unnecessary stress, try to incorporate the wishes of both families as best you can, where they’ll feel honoured and respected. It’s always wise to prepare in advance and remember, sometimes compromise is the best way forward.
Number 2
Keep calm and be patient – It’s common to have several incomplete and pending elements at one given time. Whether it is securing the perfect venue or finalising your floral arrangements, it is understandable to feel slightly overwhelmed and anxious. Typically, the bride-to-be tends to do more of the organising and there is nothing wrong in that. However, leaving all the work for one person is not realistic nor is it mentally or emotionally healthy. Working together as a couple and distributing the load amongst family and friends can really help alleviate a cluttered mind. Creating a schedule with ‘complete by’ dates will allow you to tackle one task at a time and minimise some of the planning pressure. Furthermore, manage each other’s expectations through communication and taking one another’s situations into consideration.
Number 3
Enjoy the process – I know it’s easier said than done but by turning each task into a mini social event will prevent everything feeling like a chore. Through organising small get-togethers with family and friends perhaps, you’re able to discuss your wedding arrangements whilst in a casual setting.
Provided there are no immediate deadlines or urgent factors to be taken care of, it is equally essential to have days that are not wedding focused. Remember to make time for each other, do something you both enjoy like arranging a special day out, eating at your favourite restaurant or a day of relaxation and pampering.
Number 4
Comparison is the thief of joy – It’s natural for you to want a one-of-a-kind wedding but comparing your day to a luxury wedding you’ve attended as guests or saw on social media is not the way to achieve this.
Whilst we live in a world where the internet provides us with access to unlimited inspiration from around the world and undeniably makes planning easier for the modern couple, it can also raise doubts about your own ideas and create feelings of wanting the same (if not better) wedding than these perfectly portrayed ones.
Do remember that every wedding is as unique and individual as the couple getting married. Once you begin comparing, this in turn robs you of the joy you should be experiencing during this time. To prevent yourself from falling into the trap of obsessive researching and comparing your wedding, make a determined effort to stay off the internet and social media once you’ve decided on the look you want to go for. Try to focus your energy and efforts on filling your wedding or special event with moments and factors that represent you as a couple and your love for one another.
Number 5
Walk the day before the day – One of my favourite client meetings is when we do a private venue walkthrough. It’s essential that this is done at least once or twice and at different stages of the planning process. You should arrange a day to visit the venue and actually walk around as you would on the day itself and maybe even consider meeting with your suppliers there. From a design perspective, it is always easier to discuss the benefits and challenges of an event space whilst standing in it.
This should be your time to think about and really visualise how things will run from one element to the next and will give you the opportunity to realise those small yet important details that are yet to be considered. By thinking about the day from all perspectives i.e. your own, your guests’ and even your suppliers’, you can prepare for and smooth over, any possible issues well in advance
