Struggling to prepare for your wedding day?
Behind every runaway bride, bridezilla, or cold-footed groom is an emotionally unprepared person, in need of some support.
You, however, don’t have to weather your wedding-related emotions on your own. Definitely, don’t beat yourself up if you feel blindsided by all of your feelings. Most people are emotional in the weeks and days approaching their weddings.
In fact, weddings are built for repeated tugs at our heartstrings. More than likely, you’ve prepared for your wedding day the way most do, planning every detail, fielding the needs of your extended families, and gathering together with joy and anticipation.
And we do it all believing that all of the appropriate emotions will fall into place with the wedding plans. Like a Hallmark movie.
Yet, the truth is, you’ll experience lots of surprising emotions too. Not-so-romantic, somewhat worrisome, even downright negative emotions. It can be overwhelming if you don’t plan as much for your emotional wellbeing as you do for your first dance and the DJ’s playlist.
Not sure what emotional preparation looks like in this particular circumstance? That’s okay, weddings are unique situations. Feeling overwhelmed by the idea of another to do list? It’s okay to seek help.
In fact, take some deep breaths, relax, and read on:
Your Daily “I DO” List to Prepare for your Wedding day
Make Time for Meditation, Prayer, Long Walks…
Time for yourself is imperative. Give yourself time to notice, accept and cope with all the changes, plans and choices in your life. Let your mind slow down and absorb what’s going on so that you actually have time to be present, seek wisdom, and appreciate your life and relationships as they are happening.
Talk to your Spouse-to-be…a lot.
You are in this together. So, don’t let anything keep you from experiencing the lead-up to your wedding together. Check-in, meet up, text, call, keep going on dates and talk about something besides the wedding. Lighten up and have fun. Cozy in and talk about the future. Your relationship is paramount. When you feel grounded in your connection, you ’ll be less bothered by wedding day drama.
Try Journaling, Blogging, Vlogging…
Why not get outside of the wedding experience a bit to help gain some perspective when things get to be a bit much?
Journaling is a great way to prepare for your wedding day, chronicle the experience, and explore your feelings about it. The web is filled with blogs and vlogs (video blogs) of people sharing their wedding plans from an instructional, editorial, and visual diary point of view. These tools can help you notice, record, and reflect on less obvious feelings that might escape you amid the excitement and expectations of your planning.
Don’t Skip Premarital Counseling
Premarital counseling is proven and particularly helpful in providing emotional preparation before the wedding and for stability afterward. This tool is invaluable for securing the communication skills, personal awareness, and conflict-resolution strategies every couple needs for a successful marriage. Consider it relationship insurance worth having.
Boundaries Boundaries Everywhere…
You two have three families now: your family of origin, your in-laws, and the brand new family you and your partner are creating. A lot of personalities and expectation come with that many folks.
To protect your peace of mind, guard your level of interaction and limit how much advice and people-pleasing you engage. It’s okay to gently share that you feel stressed or overwhelmed by well-meaning demands or expectations. Be okay with prioritizing the needs of your own, brand new, little family and take pride in doing what’s best for you and your spouse-to-be.
Finally, Cultivate Your Sense of Humor
Your ability to find the funny in all of the wedding hubbub is crucial. Slow things way down, extract the absurd, awful, or exaggerated overreactions that accompany most weddings and choose to laugh rather than cry. At the end of the day, you get the guy or girl. You win! The rest of this experience is very interesting, frustration, crazy-making icing on your (wedding) cake! Take pleasure in doing what you can to prepare for your wedding day by taking care of you.
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