5 Mental health tips to keep in mind while planning your wedding

May is mental health month and we are here for it.  We believe so strongly in mental health awareness!  We live in an awesome,  but crazy world and mental health professionals are truly invaluable! With that said, we thought it might be a good opportunity to talk about your mental health while wedding planning.  Planning a wedding is such an exciting time and while some love the process and the whole experience, it can also be a time of uncertainty, entering the unknown, trying to please too many people, too many decisions and all out stressful. You aren’t alone in feeling stressed about wedding planning.  According to a Zola survey of 500 engaged or newlywed couples,  40 percent of couples categorized wedding planning as “extremely stressful”, while 71 percent thought it was more nerve-wracking than other major life events like finding a new job. If you notice your mental health being impacted while planning your wedding, seeking out professional care is a great idea. Below are 5 quick mental health tips to keep in mind while planning your wedding.

1. Don’t go at it alone.  Lean on your partner, friends and family for support, advice, and collaboration in planning the wedding.  Be sure to delegate tasks to your partner and friends and family that are willing to help.

2. Do activities with your partner other than planning.  Planning the wedding shouldn’t be all you and your partner talk about and do. Be sure and set aside time to do the activities you loved doing together before you got engaged.  More simply put, go on a date!

3. Along those lines, set aside specific times or days of the week when you focus on wedding planning. Maybe you to set aside one hour each evening when you answer wedding planning emails or wait until your day off to handle all wedding planning tasks.  Whatever schedule you set, stick to it and don’t allow yourself to fall into the mindset of “I must respond right now!” You have a job and many other responsibilities.  Wedding planning cannot and should not supersede those.

4. Let the idea of a “perfect wedding” go.  Perfectionist ideas will only set you up for disappointment and nothing will ever be perfect or go perfectly as planned.  You cannot control the weather or other people’s behavior.  Remember that the most important part of your wedding day is marrying your partner.  The guest list, flowers, music, and food are a wonderful part of your day, but making a lifelong commitment to your partner and sharing this incredible moment with your family and friends is the most important part of any wedding.

5. Don’t rush and feel like everything needs to be done “right now”.  Enjoy your engagement and allow yourself ample time to plan.  Not every decision needs to be made today. Find a great wedding planning checklist made by a professional and use this as your guide.  It will ease your mind that you are forgetting anything and keep you on track without feeling like it all needs to be done right away.

Finally, hire a professional.  We often joke that as wedding planners we are 50% planners, 25% mediators, and 25% counselors.  In all seriousness, hiring a professional planner will take items of your to do list and ease your stress knowing that a professional has it handled.  The same goes for all vendors.  Hiring professionals will always ease your stress in knowing you have the best taking care of all the special moments of your wedding day.  Now take a deep breath, grab your coffee, tea or wine, and dive into planning.  If you get overwhelmed, give us a call!  Our team loves helping ease your wedding planning stress.