You’ve dreamed about it. You’ve sat back in your easychair (or office chair) and conjured up images of your wedding day. Maybe you have everything figured out. You know what type of dress you want, and what color your bridesmaids will be wearing. You know what type of meal you will serve. You even know what kind of cake you won’t be smashing into your sweetie’s face at the end of the night.
Or maybe you’re still in a fog. Maybe you haven’t got a clue about where you will have your wedding, or how many guests to invite. Your mind is an open slate waiting for some great ideas to come along.
No matter how clear your wedding day picture, one thing is for certain: you’re about to embark on one of the biggest adventures of your life.
Planning a wedding is an exciting and creative process, but it can also be a strange ride.
Firstly, you’ll be faced with lots of decisions – and some of them might not come easily. Secondly, it’s a highly emotional time in your life. Not only will your emotions be running high, your spouse-to-be, not to mention family members, might also be touchy. Then there’s the issue of money. What if you go over budget? (In fact, breaking the budget is what brides-to-be stress out about the most . As if that’s not enough to worry about, what if you forget a crucial detail? What if your maid of honor backs out on you at the last minute or only half your guest list shows up?
Combine these common bridal anxieties with the pressure you will face from the bridal industry to have the ‘perfect’ wedding and you’ve got a recipe for full blown wedding panic.
If you suddenly find yourself succumbing to what I like to call the “Jekyll and Bride Syndrome” (loving, intelligent woman temporarily transforms into crabby, stressed out vixen-with-claws), take heart. You don’t have to let these temporary moments of insanity overshadow the joy and excitement that comes with planning your wedding.
The worries that make you break out into a cold sweat at night will not likely materialize, and pretty soon you’ll be looking back on these months of planning with a feeling of pride and joy that you not only survived, but created a beautiful event that will always be remembered.
Meantime, don’t let wedding planning devour your entire life. Call a friend and chat about something other than your nuptials. Go to a movie. Read a great novel. Take a walk on the beach. Revisit an old hobby. It is during these moments of distraction that inspiration might whisper some brilliant wedding day ideas in your ear and banish “Jekyll and Bride” from your life forever.
