Planning a wedding can be super stressful and overwhelming on its own, but even more so if you already lead a busy lifestyle. But you already know that 😉 The good news is that there are ways to keep your wedding planning simple.
But there’s a catch: you have to fight complexity. And it’s not easy! Complexity is the default when it comes to wedding planning – just take a close look at your own experience so far.
Have you noticed how easy it is to get caught up in the excruciatingly intricate details that you didn’t even care about before?
Well, keep reading because I’m offering five tips to simplify wedding planning. Plus I’ve included some really cool tools to help you implement these strategies!
1. SKIP THINGS
Hey, this is your unique wedding, so if there are traditions that you’d rather skip – skip ‘em! Or if something starts feeling more complicated than you expected, or if an “easy” DIY project turned into a nightmare – stop for a moment. Ask yourself if the idea/task/project is worth all the extra work and stress. If you find that you’re better off without it – skip it!
Skipping even seemingly small tasks can make a world of difference. For example, for our wedding, Luis and I wanted to have a photo booth, but we ended up skipping it because it wasn’t really that important to us. When we skipped it, we didn’t have to worry about: (1) finding a photo booth vendor, (2) paying for it, (3) providing a space with a backdrop and props, (4) announcing it at the wedding, (5) coordinating set-up and tear-down, etc. Something as “simple” as a photo booth is not as simple as it may seem! It requires quite a bit of time, effort, and coordination. So for us, it just wasn’t worth all the trouble (and we have no regrets)!
>>TAKE ACTION: Think of something you’d rather skip. How much time and effort will it save you?
2. LET GO OF PERFECTION
Fact: chasing perfection will make wedding planning a nightmare. “Perfect” is not realistic, and striving to be “perfect” will only cause more stress and frustration. Don’t do that to yourself or the people around you. Do your best and move on.
Your wedding doesn’t have to be “perfect” to be special, meaningful, and fun. On your 20th anniversary, you’re not going to remember that the bridesmaids’ bouquets didn’t perfectly match the groomsmens’ boutonnieres. That’s nonsense!
When I find myself falling into a perfectionist trap, I like to remind myself of this great quote:
Done is better than perfect.
– Sheryl Sandberg
This quote truly reminds me that the bottom line is about getting things done. Fussing over details that no one will even notice is NOT worth obsessing over.
>>TAKE ACTION: If you find yourself slaving over the tiniest details to achieve perfection, ask yourself:
- Will anyone (besides you) even notice?
- Will it ruin your day?
- Will you care about it when the wedding day is over?
If the answer is “no” to any of these questions – it’s time to let go of perfection. Instead, focus on the overall feeling of the wedding day, rather than tiny details that can take up major mental energy – save some of that energy to celebrate!
3. SCHEDULE WEEKLY MEETINGS
This is one of my favorite ways to simplify wedding planning: limit your wedding planning to a weekly meeting with your partner.
This makes wedding planning (and life!) much simpler. Plus, wedding planning won’t take over your life, your free time, or your relationship – because it’ll be contained into just ONE day per week 🙂
When we began planning our wedding, Luis and I would argue about wedding stuff all the time – it really took a toll on our relationship. When we started limiting the wedding talk for a single day of the week, our relationship was 10x better and our wedding planning process was MUCH more enjoyable and efficient. That’s why I HIGHLY recommend weekly wedding planning meetings!
>>TAKE ACTION: To help you get started with weekly wedding planning meetings, I created a free mini guide for you. Just click below to download it!
4. STOP OVERTHINKING
Sometimes, you’ll get stuck trying to make a decision. Maybe you have too many options and don’t know how to narrow down your options. Or maybe you have two really great options, and you can’t decide between the two. Either way: don’t spend too much time agonizing over a single decision. Don’t overthink it. Do your research, know your options, and go with your gut so you can move on with your life.
I have two quick tips to keep yourself from getting stuck in “overthinking” mode:
- Don’t ask for too many opinions. Because you just might get a lot of opinions, and you’ll overthink your decision even more. In my opinion (ha!), asking for too many opinions just slows down your decision-making process.
- Don’t overwhelm yourself with wedding ideas. Sure, browsing Pinterest all day may seem productive – but you’re really just giving yourself more ideas, more options, more work. So browse Pinterest for a few minutes at a time with a specific goal in mind – and pin ideas that are realistic enough to actually implement.
>>TAKE ACTION: I wrote an extensive article about how to stop overthinking – if you’re an overthinker, this one’s for you!
5. DO EVERYTHING ONLINE
OK, if you’re a regular reader of Planning with Poise, you’ve heard me say this time and again: do as much of your wedding planning online.
Here’s an example: create a digital “wedding planning binder” (using free apps), rather than using a big, heavy, bulky, paper binder. When you keep all your wedding stuff online, you can access it from anywhere and you can share access with your fiance so that you’re both on the same page.
Another example: use email for everything – including hiring vendors, doing research, communicating with the wedding party, etc. By far, the biggest time-saver for me was using email to hire wedding vendors. Email makes contacting vendors 10x easier, faster, and more convenient than calling each vendor individually or scheduling premature meetings that end up being a waste of time.
>>TAKE ACTION: Click here to download the FREE email templates to contact wedding vendors!
Try It!
Now that you know how to simplify wedding planning, I hope you’ll take action on at least one of these strategies to feel more calm, controlled, and confident about planning your wedding.
I’m curious – leave a comment below and tell me: which of these tips will you use to simplify wedding planning? Do you have any other tips on how to simplify wedding planning? I’d love to hear them – comment below!
I agree with your 5th point : Do everything online
Because in today’s digital world no one is free to spent time when we can do everything in short
The way you describe to simplify wedding planning is incredible.
Your ideas are so good that can be applied.
My niece’s wedding is coming up next spring and I was recruited to be apart of the planning committee. I love that you talked about not worrying about having a perfect wedding and adding that unnecessary stress. It’s more important that you just have a memorable day that was fun and special.
I liked your tip on doing wedding planning once a week so you’re not too stressed out. My fiancee and I are preparing for our wedding and we were wondering how to stay calm while planning for our big day. I’ll be sure to tell her that we should limit ourselves to planning the wedding once a week.
It made sense when you said that letting go of perfection will help us relax and have a more meaningful experience. Additionally, you should consider hiring professionals to relieve as much personality responsibility as you can for yourself and your fiance. This is especially important for time-sensitive aspects of the ceremony such as flowers, music, and the bride’s hair and makeup!