The first thing I want you ladies to do is stop what you’re doing, close your eyes, and take several deep breaths. Ok, now on to the fun stuff.
I know that wedding planning can be stressful, and if you’re still basking in the glory of that newly engaged feeling, then lucky you! However, if you’ve been going at it for a few months now, you know that your nerves are probably wearing thin. Before you snap and become a bridezilla, I want you to remember why you’re doing this in the first place. Sure a wedding is a big event, but it’s a time to celebrate your love for your fiancee as well as to include your family and friends in your happiness. That’s it. No one will care if you break a nail, mess up on the dance, or if one of your vendors cancels on you. No matter how hard you try, inevitably something will go wrong. It can be a minor detail or something major, but at the end of the day, you’ll still be married and your new husband will still love you just as much, if not more than before.
Of course, it’s easy to remain objective when you’re not severely under stress, so I thought I’d share with you all a few pointers for relieving some of that stress.
1) Relaxing bath: This might sound cliché, but it really does work. Fill up your tub with hot water and pour some lavendar scented bath salts in there. If you’d like you can even toss a few rose petals in there to enhance the spa feeling. Light a few candles and put a CD with classical music or the sounds of nature. Now sit back and open up your favorite book and enjoy the time to yourself.
2) Meditation: Sometimes the stress can keep us up at night, so before going to bed, try to get into the habit of meditating a little to clear your mind. If you’ve never meditated before, try this: lay on your back and close your eyes. Concentrate on your breathing. If you find yourself becoming distracted at all, just focus back on the constant inhaling and exhaling rhythm. As you breathe, imagine your lungs expanding with air, and then deflating as you push it out. Feel the way the fabric of your sheets lays on your body, and focus on all your senses, taking one in at a time. Do this until you fall asleep. Get into this habit and before you know it, you’ll sleep like a baby.
3) Yoga: I have done yoga for a few years now, and I cannot rave enough about it. It’s one of the few exercises where you feel energized and relaxed at the end of every class. If you don’t typically practice yoga, adopt a few daily poses to boost your energy and give your mind a little break. You can find plenty of poses online, but if you need a quick energy boost, bend over as far as you can and hold the pose for 30 seconds or more. The rush of blood to the head will energize you more than a shot of espresso.
4) Swimming or Running: Yes, I am recommending a lot of exercise here, but it is common knowledge that exercise boosts your endorphins and endorphins make you happier. If you’re feeling stressed, go for a 10 minute swim or a jog around the block. These quickie workouts will not only calm your mind, but also help you release any pent-up frustration.
5) Date Night: Be honest here, how long has it been since you spent some time with your fiancee without thinking or talking about the wedding? Plan a night with just him where you can both go back to the time before the wedding took over your life. Shut off your phones, cook a nice meal at home, drink some wine, and watch a movie. At the end of the night, trade massages and prepare to feel all that tension leave your muscles.
6) Mantra and happy place: For my last tip, I want you to adopt a mantra and think of your happy place. It can be any phrase you like, maybe something along the lines of “it’ll be ok” or if you want to get more creative opt for “it’s my wedding, not my funeral.” Then, anytime you feel stress/ frustration/ anger/ *insert negative emotion* close your eyes and picture yourself in your happy place (for me it’s the Dreyer’s ice cream factory), breathe deeply several times and repeat your mantra to yourself 10 times.
There are plenty of things you can do to relax. The key is not to let the wedding get bigger than you and to remember that even if something does go wrong, it will make one heck of a story for the kids. Now head on over to the Beau-coup Wedding Planning Ideas section for some inspiration, shop for some of our wedding favors, and calmly plan this wedding!
P.S. Check out my guest blog post on Brandy’s blog: The Small Details!
Picture Credits:
http://www.eons.com
http://www.allposters.com
http://www.sodahead.com
http://www.iproceed.com
http://www.dragonflycc.com
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