1. Break in your shoes.
Nothing can put you in a bad mood faster than blisters on your feet. Pick shoes that are beautiful AND comfortable, then break them in anyway. Trust me. Just... trust me.
2. Delegate! And then delegate some more!
It's tempting to think that no one could possibly do it better than you. It's difficult to let go of control and have someone else take the reigns. What's more important than being in control? Having a stress free day! Do not overwhelm yourself with a million tiny tasks that someone else is perfectly capable of doing. Hire a wedding planner or day of coordinator to be in charge of decorating and cake deliveries. That's what they do best! Spend your day completely living in the moment. Let someone else do the rest.
3. Only surround yourself with positive.
Don't choose bridesmaids who are going to complain about the heat, or the dresses, or the timeline. Don't spend time with your sister if she's stressing you out. Don't let your future mother-in-law boss you around. Surround yourself with an awesome team of friends and family who are going to help you stay calm and have the day you want. On your wedding day you only need positive vibes surrounding you. Ditch the rest.
4. Stay connected with your partner.
In the throws of wedding planning couples often forget to spend time with each other, especially in the week leading up to the event. Family and friends are in town, everything has to be finalized, stress levels are high. It's easy to get caught up in it all and forget to have a single "non-wedding" conversation with your special someone! I recommend taking a little time out of planning and going on a date the week of the wedding. Just the two of you, no wedding talk, no phones allowed, remember why you like each other.
5. Remember what actually matters.
Here's a little story about me. Lots of people I invited to our wedding couldn't come. It was too far away for most of my friends. I left my iPod (the source of the ceremony music) sitting in my car for several hours (IN JUNE IN TEXAS) and the poor thing got overheated and couldn't play my music on time and my ceremony started like fifteen minutes late. I spent a couple hours creating a beautiful toss bouquet for the reception and forgot all about it and left without tossing it. My adorable navy blue pumps that I bought as my "something blue" were apparently not designed for Texas heat and the blue started to peel off of the shoes. Kyle and I didn't arrange for anyone to bring our car around so when we did our "exit" there was no car for us to get in to.
Things WILL go wrong.
And it won't matter at all.
All of this happened on my wedding day and it was still an absolutely amazing day. Things went wrong, and none of it mattered because Kyle and I were married and having a great time.
The lesson here: STOP FREAKING OUT! This is supposed to be fun! Pick your battles, don't sweat the small stuff, soak up this awesome time in your life, and plan an amazing wedding. Plan your perfect day. Then when the plan falls apart know in your heart that it is STILL the perfect day.
