Your wedding day should be one of the happiest days of your life. You’re getting hitched to the man you love and surrounded by people who wish you well. You want it all to be just perfect.
That could be the problem. Expecting your wedding day to be completely perfect could result in a whole load of stress, for you.
Let’s be honest, though, there’s bound to be something that won’t go according to plan, however well you’ve organised the day.
Let’s face it, you’ve had a lot of responsibility. Not only do you want to look and feel beautiful in your wedding dress, you’ve literally planned everything, from the venue right down to the wedding favours.
You may think that your stresses will ease by the time the big day rolls around, but last-minute nerves can take hold of even the most placid bride-to-be.
So to help you banish these wedding worries, we’ve asked a couple of experts for their advice so you can sail through your big day happy and relaxed and enjoy every minute.
Top tips from the professionals
Nina Grunfeld runs Life Clubs personal improvement workshops and suggests some of the follow tips…
Remember you’re the only person who’s going to be judging yourself. Everyone else will be thrilled you’ve turned up smiling. There’s no need to be perfect. ‘Good enough’ is good enough.
Think of three things you’d like to be able to look back on fondly when you reminisce about your wedding day in 10 years’ time and focus on achieving them. Make it three things that you can achieve on your own, for example… something lovely you said to your bridesmaids, the speech you gave, the way you smiled when your photo was taken.
Ignore anything you’ve delegated – flowers, food, photos, speeches, hair, make-up and so on. Let those you’ve delegated to get on with those things. You concentrate on the things you (and only you) can do.
Live in the moment. Don’t worry about the past or the future. Don’t even think about something that’s happening in 10 minutes time. Think about what’s happening now and enjoy it. Be mindful.
Helen Wingstedt of Stress Stop has the following tactics for reducing stress during your big day…
On your wedding day, take 10 minutes out for yourself and sit down somewhere quietly where you won’t be disturbed. Is your heart racing, do you feel shaky and sweaty? Remember that excitement can often create the same symptoms as fear and you are probably excited rather than scared. So don’t be too hard on yourself, your body is just getting the two confused – relax, it’s normal.
Take a few deep breaths, calm down and see the funny side of this. Today is the culmination of months of excitement so your body is obviously going to react. Don’t panic, just sit by yourself for a bit and give yourself a bit of time out.
Fear and stress can cause wedding day jitters. Stress is different from fear and can actually be a good thing in small doses as it gives you energy and can keep the adrenalin flowing when you need it.
Stress is a side effect of mental effort, it’s all the activity you’ve been putting into creating a perfect occasion. Just recognise this and congratulate yourself with an early glass of fizz!
Your wedding day will be over all too soon, so rather than agonise over what might go wrong, you should resolve to enjoy every second. Take time to look around, absorb the atmosphere, enjoy looking at the flowers and decorations you’ve chosen and the sight of all your loved ones gathered together in the same place. Make some mental pictures to keep for the future.
What a relief. All the to-do lists you created have been ticked off and your day is complete and over. The guests have gone home and it’s just the two of you together. It’s time to burst that wedding day bubble of stress you’ve blown up for yourself, it was just a byproduct of you searching for perfection. Your mission has been accomplished and the most important part of the day is done. You’re now husband and wife so forget the stress, and start enjoying your lives together.
Don’t get stressed! Our amazing Wedding Planning section is here to help you organise your big day with ease.
