If there was one gift I could give every engaged couple it would be a stress-free wedding day.
I know I’m not the first to tell you that your wedding day will fly by; from the moment you take your first sip of coffee in the wee hours of the morning, to the final slow dance with your love under the moonlight (and all the priceless moments in between). This is your once-in-a-lifetime day, and you deserve to spend every moment of it enjoying yourself and soaking up the happy memories.
After all, it’s not every day you tie your life to the one person you love the most in the world.
Your wedding day is so very special, and that’s why I promise to do everything I can to put your mind at ease. From pre-planning your shot list and photo priorities before your wedding day, to giving you helpful wedding day timeline insight, I am here to make your life easier.
As you can imagine, when you attend as many weddings as I do, you learn a few things! So today, I’m sharing six tried-and-true tips to help you have the stress-free wedding day of your dreams.
1. Give Yourself the Gift of Time
You can’t control whether or not the best man will remember the rings or your sister will get a flat tire on the way to the reception, but you can make space for the uncontrollables.
I’ll be honest, I have yet to attend a wedding where everything goes as planned; but when couples plan a little extra buffer time, those unexpected mishaps are easy to laugh off.
If you want stress-free vibes on your wedding day, make space in your timeline for the forgotten shoe, makeup snafu, or late arrival. Adding small chunks of buffer time will help us stay on schedule regardless of what the day throws at us. The best part about planning buffer time is that there’s really no downside; if your day goes exactly as planned, you’ll simply have more time to relax and enjoy the company of your loved ones.
2. Hire a Wedding Planner
Seriously. Hire a wedding planner. It may feel like a splurge, but hiring a wedding planner is a luxury that you won’t regret. The benefits of hiring a wedding planner are exponential; they will be able to guide you through the wedding planning process, from start to finish. They’ll draw your attention to things that are easy to overlook, and help you prepare mentally and emotionally for your day because they’ve done this before, many many times, and certainly more times than you!
Your wedding planner will help coordinate your vendor team, be a point of contact for family and friends, and field questions for you so you can fully relax into the day.
Not only will your wedding planner help you alleviate stress during the planning of your wedding, they’ll be there to problem solve for you as your wedding day unfolds so that the only thing you have to worry about is which bottle of champagne you’re going to open first.
Need a wedding planner in the Pacific Northwest? Here are a few I recommend:
- Kamea Events – A boutique woman-owned, full-service wedding planning company that will bring those super chill vibes to your day.
- Bridal Bliss – A stylish and authentic full-service event planning company for all your wedding needs.
- Jaime Ta Creative – –– She’s a seasoned wedding planner and self-declared ‘hype-woman extraordinaire’.
- Gather Events – This all-women company values collaboration and offers both wedding planning and event design.
3. Choose Your Helpers
If there is ever a day to treat yourself to a personal-assistant, it’s your wedding day! I highly suggest that both you and your fiance choose someone to be at your beck-and-call throughout the day (tiny bell, not included).
I recommend designating someone who is close to you but is not in your wedding party so that they don’t have other important obligations (like hair and makeup and group photos). Make sure they are familiar with your family and friends and are 100% thrilled to play this role for you.
Before the wedding day, give your helpers a rundown of the timeline and wedding details so that they can answer questions on your behalf, discuss timeline adjustments with your wedding planner, and field any issues that may arise so that you can remain blissfully unaware.
In addition to generally supporting you on your wedding day, I love having a helper on hand to support me during the group photo portion of the day. It’s so valuable to have someone who is familiar enough with family and friends to help me group people, track down stragglers, and make sure that no one is missing!
4. Turn off Your Phone
I know, the temptation to keep your phone on ‘just in case’ is so real! But consider this a warning: Between well-wishers and guests who can’t figure out where to park, your phone will buzz constantly if you leave it on.
Give yourself permission to be unavailable.
Nobody should expect you to take their call on your wedding day. If you’re worried about vendors needing you, give them the number of your wedding planner ahead of time. If you’re worried about guests needing you, give them the number of your helper ahead of time.
Future-proof your wedding day so that you can put your phone down and be fully present.
If turning off your phone is simply not an option for you, at the very least, set your phone to take emergency calls only (your fiance, wedding planner, and photographer, for example) and block everyone else. Then, hand your phone to your helper with strict instructions.
5. Breathe
This is it. This is your wedding day. Take time to sit with the magnitude and excitement of that. Find moments throughout the day to actively bring yourself into your body and into the present moment with your breath. Take it all in; every emotion, smell, sight, all the sensations. You will want to remember this day.
Above all else, remember that the most important thing on your wedding day is that you marry the person you love; everything else is extra.
So breathe, smile, and focus on what matters.
6. Ask for Help
It doesn’t matter how many parties you’ve planned, nothing (and I mean nothing) can prepare you for your wedding day. Big or small, there are so many variables; from wedding planning, to organizing vendors, to managing lodging and transportation, to inviting all your loved ones, to saying ‘I do’ to your life partner. It’s not just a big party, it’s one that is draped in emotion and sentiment.
It’s 100% ok to ask for help. Nobody expects you to do this alone; in fact, your loved ones (and myself!) want to help you however we can.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed researching wedding venues, ask your wedding party to help. If you need help getting to the bathroom in 20 layers of tulle, give your closest friend the signal, if you need a moment alone, ask your sister to advocate for you and make it happen. Heck, if you need a moment alone with your fiance before you walk down the aisle, don’t let anyone stop you!
You are surrounded by loving friends and family who want to support you on your wedding day and a team of vendors who want nothing but the best for you.
Lean on them and lean on us. We’re all here for you.
Do you feel that? That’s the feeling of stress leaving the body 🙂 It feels good, huh?
My hope is that all these little tips enable you to spend less time worrying about wedding-day details, and more time basking in that carefree wedding day glow. Because you deserve to enjoy every moment of your very special wedding day.
For some stress-free wedding planning, I encourage you to read my previous, 5 Tips to Reduce Stress While Planning Your Wedding.
