Bridal Club Magazine
10 Ways to Keep Your Sanity While Planning a Wedding
1. Load up your iPod with a "Wedding Countdown" playlist
to keep you energized and positive. Think of this as your
emotional pacifier-it's basically impossible to be in a bad mood
while lipsyncing to "Call Me Maybe." If all else fails, break out
the heavy artillery: ABBA and old-school Britney Spears.
2. Set aside five minutes every day for some "lite
yoga." Minneapolis-based yoga instructor Catherine Justice
recommends the following visualization exercise: sit cross-legged
on the floor with your back against a wall in a cool, quiet room.
Send out kind thoughts to someone you love deeply, someone you're
having conflict or emotional difficulty with-and yourself. "Your
wedding is exciting, but it's also stressful," Catherine says.
"While you're trying to accommodate everyone else's needs, remember
to also take care of yourself."
3. "Wine down" with your BFFs. Hit the local
wine shop and stock up on vino with whimsical labels. Suggestions:
True Love Riesling, Bliss Chardonnay, or Princess Moscato. (If
you're feeling feisty, try Wit's End Shiraz!)
4. Designate a cell phone wrangler for the day of the
wedding. Guests who are stuck at the airport or lost en
route to the ceremony site should be able to ask someone for
assistance-but that someone should not be you. "Guests don't want
to bother the bride while she's getting her hair done, but they
might not have anyone else's number," says California-based wedding
planner Melody Walker. "Ask your wedding planner or one of your
bridesmaids to field last-minute texts and calls." You need to stay
focused and calm (and so does your hairstylist!).
5. Ask your loved ones to share stories of their wedding
disasters. Bride tripped halfway down the aisle? Flower
girl brawled with the ring bearer? Everyone has a tale to tell,
because something tends to go wrong at nearly every wedding.
Listening to these anecdotes helps you keep your sense of humor and
reminds you that these little mishaps make the memories you'll
share with your grandchildren someday.
6. Agree on a "safe word" for family
gatherings. Make a plan with your groom before the guests
arrive. Then, if you're cornered by his crazy Uncle Gus and
subjected to a political rant, you can simply turn to your beloved,
murmur "licorice," and wait for his extraction team to come to your
rescue.
7. Go back through your e-mails and texts and re-read
the messages you and your fiancé sent to each other when you
started dating. Remember why you fell in love and dream
about the future. And while you're at it, send him a little love
note to remind him that you're thrilled to be his bride.
8. Don't go nuts - eat them! "Plan to have some
protein available in the bridal party's dressing room," suggests
Walker. She recommends prepping for your walk down the aisle with
light snacks that are healthful, filling and nonstaining, such as
string cheese and raw almonds or cashews.
9. Make arrangements to spend the night before the
wedding at a hotel near your venue. This gives you a
chance to have some much-needed alone time on the morning before
the ceremony. A little bit of solitude will make the upcoming
celebration that much sweeter.
10. Hop into a bubble bath with a book. The
warm water will soothe the aches after all those hours in high
heels, and a novel offers a mental mini-vacation. Read a few
chapters and save the rest for the plane ride to your honeymoon
destination.