How To Balance Wedding Planning and Work

Today’s Wedding Wednesday post is inspired by this Style Me Pretty article about the same topic. Wedding planning is incredibly time consuming but weirdly enough, while the internet is generally full of tips on all things bridal, this was really the first article I’d seen on this topic. I always knew wedding planning would take up a lot of my time but I wasn’t quite prepared for how much – there seems to be a never-ending list of things to do and for someone as detail oriented as I am, it can be a bit of a black hole in terms of time. I obviously have to fit in wedding planning alongside my work and YouTube, blogging etc. which poses even more challenges! So, I thought I would  offer up some of my tips on how I’ve been managing it whilst trying to stay sane!

• Get the most unpleasant stuff out of the way first. This is a good rule for life and it definitely holds true for wedding planning. It also so happens that when you get the difficult stuff out of the way (i.e. venue hunting, vendor securing etc.), everything else falls into place remarkably easily.
• Designate wedding-free nights and date nights. For both you and your partner’s sanity, this will be necessary. As exciting as wedding planning is, it can also be all consuming so make your sure you set apart enough time to remember why you’re getting married! You’re only engaged once so take the time to enjoy this special time 🙂
• Give yourself enough time. If you can, I would always say leave as much time for wedding planning as possible. We had just over a year but I would have had two if I could have! Venues and vendors get booked up quickly so if you have a generous amount to plan, you will save yourself a huge amount of stress.
• Ask for help if you need to. Hire a planner if you’re finding it too much or if that’s not in the budget, then ask an organised friend or family member to help. And don’t forget your significant other! Dan isn’t so keen on getting involved with the flower arrangements but fortunately, he has the exact opposite skillset to me – so he’s taking care of the tasks which I’m not so great at. Talk to your partner about how to split up the work – they might surprise you!
• Use pockets of time productively! My work now is a lot more flexible than it used to be which has been a god-send for scheduling wedding-planning related calls but as with pretty much every job, I still have those pockets of time which I always used to consider ‘lost’. Whether that’s commuting or waiting for a meeting to start that’s running late or otherwise when you’re just plain waiting (anyone else that works in marketing will know what I’m talking about), these are precious ‘pockets’ of time that you could be using for more of the admin-related wedding planning. I’m talking catching up on emails, reviewing a proposal, scanning over a contract or updating your budget spreadsheet! I used to be someone that would only want to tackle a job if I felt I had enough time to really get stuck into it. As I’ve gotten busier over the years though, I’ve realised how incredibly valuable these pockets of time can be and how much you can get done if you want to!
• Ask for recommendations from vendors – the wedding industry is small and knowing how many vendors I ended up booking through recommendations, I can’t believe all the time I wasted doing my own (fruitless) research. Asking for recommendations from your vendors is a shortcut to all wedding planning – plus it means they’ll all naturally work great together on your big day!
• Take your wellness seriously. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be taking your bridal beauty regime very seriously but remember that it starts from the inside out. So light a candle, go for a walk, meditate or whatever else works for you – just remember to take some time out. Wedding planning may feel like it’s still ‘for you’ but it’s also hard, can feel stressful at times and can even be lonely if you feel like you’re doing it all yourself – all of which can leave you feeling exhausted. I’ve recently picked up yoga as a daily activity and can already feel the difference so I can definitely attest to this one!
• Accept that you may not be able to do it all. Life comes with a lot of obligations and pressures – it’s important to go easy on yourself when you feel like you’re not living up to expectations; chances are you’re the only one that thinks that anyway. I’m well aware that my video and blog posting isn’t as regular as it used to be – I would love for everything to run like clock work but the world often has other plans! I could beat myself up about it but instead, I just try to remember that life happens and as long as I do my best, I shouldn’t feel bad.
• Remember the joy in it. Whenever I’m feeling stressed about my mounting to do list, I try and take a step back and remember that this is a time that I will always want to remember. I will hopefully only get married once and when you strip away all the minor annoyances and worries, the truth is that I love wedding planning and I feel so lucky to be planning to marry someone I love so much. Things (and life, in general) are as fun as you make them so take a deep breathe and remember why you’re doing this 🙂

I hope you found these tips useful and thank you so much for stopping by!

Photo credit: Jose Villa