Self-care leading up to your wedding

Wedding planning can be a rollercoaster of emotions and so you should invest time in self-care leading up to your wedding.

The planning stages can make you excited, anxious, upset, happy, nervous the list of emotions goes on and all couples go through this. You put yourself under pressure, worrying about others’ opinions and ideas, guest list and table plan woes, managing a budget, juggling wedding planning with work, whether you will forget something important, hoping that everything you have planned will actually happen on the day, that your guests will enjoy the experience and that you and your other half will have that memorable day. There’s A LOT to think about and looking after yourself tends to be at the bottom of the list – if it even makes the cut.

Self-care leading up to your wedding:

• Book some pamper time. A massage will help you as you will likely be carrying the stress physically without realising it.

• Plan some date nights or a mini break – planning a wedding can take its toll on both of you and when doing so much wedding planning in addition to your work and social life, time together is often sacrificed, but its exactly what you need to re-charge your planning batteries. To remember what you’re doing it for and to get excited about the celebration to come.

• Do an activity. You may think you don’t have an ounce of time to spend on something else but making time for self- care leading up to your wedding will ensure that it is a positive period in your life. You should make time for yoga, an exercise class or dancing. If this isn’t your thing you could try another new activity. Have a friend with you, be active and keep it fun.

• Sleep – it sounds easy but the reality of a busy life is that you tend to start your day early and finish it late. Sleep/rest will ensure you can be refreshed, focused, and can even benefit your skin and possible weight loss!

• In the run up to your wedding you should just receive calls from excited guests, not suppliers asking for the schedule or parking instructions. The morning of your wedding you should be excited, getting ready with your bridal party and celebrating the day’s arrival, not worrying if the cake has arrived in one piece and the tables have been set up as per your plan. To avoid these concerns you should delegate the final wedding admin and on the day set up to a coordinator. Some couples delegate to friends or family but this just essentially passes the worry to them. So, if you can get a professional to do it, it is money well spent and a big tick for your self-care leading up to your wedding!

Self-care on the day of your wedding:

• First things first, make sure you have something to eat. You may not feel up to eating a full breakfast, but you should eat something as it will set you up for the day, improving your energy and importantly your mood.

• Pamper yourself and enjoy every moment. Whether that be a bubble bath with a glass of fizz before your make up artist arrives or going for a run to get those happy hormones going – whatever you want to do to help start your day happy, that is what you should plan for.

• Create a positive environment - whether that be with your favourite lit candle to relax you, or your favourite tunes to get you dancing around.

• Surround yourself with a good support network. Whether it be your family or bridesmaids, make sure you choose people that will be positive around you. You don’t want any negative Nellies around to make you anxious!

If you would like an experienced professional to take on the full planning of your wedding or perhaps offer you some assistance with planning your wedding, then please do browse my main Services or Training offers. I’d love to hear from you and ensure your wedding is the fun and positive experience that it should be.