Couples often get stressed out when planning their weddings, but this doesn’t have to be the case. Making use of the strategies below makes a low-stress wedding more likely so you and your future spouse can enjoy both the wedding planning and the big day itself.
Hire a Wedding Planner or Wedding Coordinator
These professions use their experience to handle all the little details that sometimes cause the couple stress. This is their job. A full-service wedding planner helps with all the planning, while a day-of-coordinator makes sure the wedding day itself goes as planned. Either option makes a low-stress wedding more likely.
Establish Priorities
Pick a few things you really care about and focus on getting those perfect. Be more open and flexible about the other parts of the wedding to limit stress.
Set a Realistic Budget
Set a budget and stick to it so you don’t end up overspending and worrying about money. Having a budget also makes planning easier by eliminating unrealistic locations and vendors.
Consider Renting
Rather than trying to track down all the little details you want for the wedding, consider contacting a rental company and choosing from what they have available. This saves money and time. Also, there’s no need to figure out what to do with the wedding decor after the wedding is over. It just goes back to the rental company. You can even rent wedding outfits, such as bridesmaid dresses from Rent the Runway.
Skip the Wedding Party
This eliminates the need to coordinate their outfits and schedules and makes it less likely people will experience hurt feelings or conflict over who’s in the party and who isn’t. If you don’t want to marry with no attendants, consider just a best man (or woman) and maid (or man) of honor for a more low-stress wedding.
Minimize the Guest List
The fewer the guests, the less the wedding will cost and the fewer financial worries it will cause. It will be easier to seat people, and you’ll have fewer RSVPs to keep track of and more venue options.
Practice the Art of Delegating
The less you worry about handling all the details yourself, the more you can pass off tasks to other people. Let these people take care of some details to minimize your work. Use an app or something like Google Docs to keep track of all the details of who’s doing what and where they are in the process. Don’t forget to delegate some things to your fiance. Have regular planning meetings to go over where things stand, what people need to do, and who will do it.
Set Deadlines
Make a planning timeline and set deadlines for each task. Stick to these deadlines to avoid having to rush around like crazy right before the wedding finishing up all the last-minute tasks.
Set Boundaries
While many people may want to help, including parents and relatives, set clear boundaries on what they can and can’t do on their own and what you want to approve first.
Learn to Say No
If you don’t like someone’s ideas or don’t want to include something in the wedding, just say no. It’s your wedding and you need not feel pressured to make anyone happy but you and your fiance.
Make a Stress Management Plan
Plan what to do if you feel stressed. Do some activity that makes you relax and feel happy. Whenever you get stressed out by wedding planning, implement your stress management plan. Have loved ones keep an eye out for signs of stress and nudge you into doing something relaxing when you freak out. Consider taking a short break to meditate and slow down your breathing if you enjoy meditating. Or keep a journal where you jot down anything stressful you want to go back to revisit when you’re calmer.
Take Time Out to Spend With Each Other
Don’t let wedding planning take over your life. Schedule time to do things together as a couple throughout the planning process that aren’t wedding-related.
Take Care of Yourself
Looking less than your best on the wedding day will induce stress, so take time out of planning to take care of yourself. Continue your regular exercise routine and any beauty routines you swear by. Pamper yourself when you get stressed by taking a nice warm bath or getting a massage.
Keep Organized
Have a wedding file where you keep everything wedding-related or use a wedding planning app to keep organized. This limits the risk of stressing out when you can’t put your finger on some important document or detail related to the wedding. It also means you’re more likely to remember important details.
Let Go of Perfect
Don’t expect everything to be perfect and be willing to go with the flow to have a low-stress wedding. Don’t stress over things you can’t control or change (although it makes sense to have contingency plans for things like the weather).
Assign Wedding Day Tasks to Friends or Family
Appoint someone to gather everyone for photos, someone to gather up presents and belongings at the end of the night, someone to handle any returns (such as a rented tux), and someone to collect keepsakes for you. Assign a point person for dealing with vendors on the wedding day and give the vendor’s final checks and tips at the end of the night. Make sure vendors know who to contact instead of you on the day of the wedding.
Consider an All-Inclusive Destination Wedding
Some destination wedding locations have venues where you check off which options you want off of their menu of services, food, and other wedding-related items. This makes for a low-stress wedding as long as you’re willing to let go of the details. If you can’t do this, book as many services as you can with a single vendor, such as the venue.
Have Only One Venue
No need to transfer people and belongings from one venue to another, fewer vendors to deal with, and lower costs all contribute to a lower-stress wedding when the wedding venue is the same as the reception venue.
Simplify Wedding Stationery
Put just the invitation itself in the envelope with the wedding website and a phone number as RSVP options. Include all other necessary info on the wedding website. This eliminates the need for many of the enclosures and saves money and time.
Ditch the Traditional Wedding Cake
If you’re stressed out about the design or the cost of a wedding cake, go with another alternative. Opt for a single-tier for cake cutting if you want but otherwise have your favorite alternative dessert. Common alternatives include cupcakes, pies, cookies, and doughnuts.
Elope or Have a Civil Ceremony for a Truly Low-Stress Wedding
For the least stress, either elope or have a civil ceremony with just immediate family. You can have a party afterward like a reception for whatever friends and family you want to invite. Or just surprise everyone and get married at your engagement party.