Port Angeles Photography Bride Tips- 5 tips to reduce stress on your wedding day!

#1. Have a timeline established

A good share of wedding day stress is linked to time.  There never seems to be quite enough of it.  Establish a good timeline that leaves plenty of time for every event, especially the pre-ceremony stuff like getting ready and travel time.  I personalize this timeline infographic for all of my brides.  It is an easy way to visually track what is supposed to happen when.  Hand one of these babies out to family, wedding party and vendors and everyone will think you are totally on top of things.

So, create a timeline and stick to it.  Which brings me to my next tip.

#2.  Assign someone to keep track of the time.  

Make sure this person is someone who can be friendly but firm. The best timeline in the world will do absolutely no good if no one follows it.  Someone to offer gentle reminders that you are due to travel to the venue in 30 minutes can bring everyone back to reality and put you on the same page.  Bring this person a chocolate bar, because they will totally have earned it by the end of the day. 

#3. Prioritize

There are 2 main ways that this principle can be helpful.  First, prioritize what things are most important in your grand scheme of things.  Take a moment to remember the relationships that are most important to you.  Your future spouse and your family will most likely rank high on the list.  Keep this close to the front of your mind as your big day approaches.  Maybe even develop a mantra like "relationships over things" or whatever helps you to remember what you feel. This will help so much when the stress builds and you are tempted to lose it when someone asks you the same question for the 10th time or your maid of honor is running 15 minutes late.  

The other way to prioritize to cut stress is to think about which part of the day is most important, so that if things do start to run behind, you know in advance what to focus on.  Are you okay with your ceremony starting 15 minutes late to make sure you have a moment to decompress before walking down the aisle?  Do you mind making your grand entrance a little later if your minister gets long winded, but you still want to have your full bride and groom portrait time?  Figure out what is MOST important and be okay with letting things that are less important go.  

#4.  Accept help when it is offered

That sounds super obvious but it can be really hard to accept help sometimes.  Most people will have tons of offers to help, but those offers will usually be really general.  To get around this, make a running list of things that it would be really nice to have off of your plate.  When someone offers say, "Great!  I'll take you up on that!" Go home and check your list and decide what job would be well suited to the person and then send them a text and ask for the help they offered to give.  Have someone bring snacks for when everyone is getting together to get ready, or dinner the night before.  Have someone make phone calls to check in on things you are worried about.  Have big strong dudes available to set up tables or chairs or any other thing you might need.  Delegation can be super liberating and most people really do want a chance to help.

#5.  Look for things you can do to serve others.

I am pretty sure that it is an unwritten law of the universe that the best way to be miserable is to only be focused on yourself.  It is your big day.  There will be TONS of things that you could and should do for yourself, but don't ever forget that it is a big day for the mom whose little boy suddenly grew up without her realizing it and he is about to start a family of his own.  It is a big day for the Dad who is giving away his little girl.  It is a big day for the little girl who walks down a long aisle in front of strangers and can't remember which way she is supposed to go at the end of it.  You get the point.  Not to add one more thing to the end of a long to do list you already have, but take a moment to at least remember these people who love you and have helped you get to where you are and if you can, find a way to show them how much you appreciate them. With a gift, a letter or just a squeeze of the hand, a smile and a wink.  It will make all the difference and you will have those sweet memories much longer than you will anything else.

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Leave a comment with your best advice on reducing wedding day stress!