We all know how much stress a wedding can bring into a brides life. There are so many plans and decisions to make that the lists can seem endless. Well, maybe some of us know that better than others. Being our 43rd year in the business we have learned that brides have an aura that changes as they find their way through the process. This has revealed that there are reccommended ways to plan a wedding and ways that we definitely reccomend against. One thing we have learned is that sometimes we create our own stress.
The best laid plans are, well, planned. Many brides embark upon this adventure without a plan or vision of their goal. So the very first thing you should do to cut stress is make a plan. Schedule a time with your fiance and both sets of parents and discuss your dream day. Share what your dream looks like. Where will it be? Do you imagine a country club? Or perhaps in a barn? Is the beach more your style? Will it be a simple cocktail party? Will a luncheon best suit your preferences? Would it be a formal sit-down dinner? Then what would you like your guests to wear? Would you be happy with casual attire? Do you prefer something a little more formalized, something in the realm of semi-formal? Or do you dream of a formal Black Tie affair?
Once you have made those decision you are now ready to move on to the next phase: Setting the date, a budget, selecting vendors. Make a schedule and have a plan. We strongly reccomend that all brides make these decision aproximately 9 months before the wedding. I know! I know! Lots of things you read say six months. Believe me, six months really starts feeling stressful when you get down to the wire. For instance, ordering your gown 6 months before the wedding will have it arriving about 6 or 8 weeks before the wedding. Then you need to start with your alterations. Here at Bella Sposa Bridal & Prom we always aim to have the brides final fitting exactly one month before her wedding day. It is far better to plan far ahead and have the buffer than to have waited until the 13th hour and be grappling to pull it all together.
How you go about things will impact the outcome. The wrong way to plan a wedding would be to have 12 - 18 months to the wedding and decide you will plan a little every day along the way. JUST NO! It's a really bad idea. Why? Because it is our observation that brides who take this route loose focus on the actual goal. They tend to become knit pickers, eating, sleeping and breathing for the day. By the time the wedding comes around: not only are they sick of it and can not wait for it to be over, but everyone around them feels the same.
The right way to plan a wedding would be to take 2 - 3 weeks and get very decisive and take care of business. Cross all those things off your list that will be delegated out to professionals. Half way to the wedding you will need to cover all those bases again. Confirm everything and nail down the details! I can not tell you how many times a bride has not done this and found that her venue was double booked or some other highly consequential event occured and she had to struggle making plan B. It might surprise you, but some of the finer venues in the area are actually notorious for cancelling on a bride to serve someone who is percieved to have a higher priority. I digress, but really want to stress the importance of double checking your vendors to confirm. Then about 3 weeks before the wedding it will be time to finalize all those numbers and plans.
Watch for Wedding Stress Buster Part 2 next week.
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