From the time we were young, many of us have been anticipating our wedding day with joy and excitement. After all, shouldn't weddings always be picture perfect and joyous? Unfortunately, the days and weeks leading up to our nuptials can become very stressful as we try to squeeze in some planning while juggling last minute details with a little occasional drama. These feelings of wedding stress can cause us to experience jitters, anxiety, and even anger. Thankfully, we don't have to allow stress to crash our wedding. With a little forethought, planning, and mindful choices we can keep stress at bay and practice some self-care so we can kiss the extra burden of stress goodbye and enjoy our walk down the aisle.
Listed below are 7 tips to be less stressed before your wedding:
Learn to prioritize. When you feel stress creeping in , step back and ask yourself, "Does this really matter in the long run?". Surprisingly, many of the decisions and problems that are causing us stress won't affect or matter after the wedding. Avoid stress by prioritizing tasks and asking for help from your friends and family. This will reduce you having to juggle every detail while preparing for a big life commitment.
Don't skimp on your beauty sleep. Sleep plays a vital role in our ability to regulate our moods, memories, judgment abilities, and yes, even stress levels. In fact, studies have found that an additional extra 60 to 90 minutes of sleep each night can increase our health and happiness. Go ahead and give yourself the okay to get a good night's sleep to be less stressed before your wedding.
Pen a journal. Spending a few minutes writing down our thoughts, ideas, and feelings can provide many therapeutic benefits that range anywhere from improving communication skills to sparking creativity to discovering yourself and even problem-solving. These are all benefits that can greatly reduce stress levels! Just think of journaling as a way to release negative emotions and thoughts.
Find your "ohm". An easy and surefire way to reduce wedding stress is to practice meditations. This stress reliever doesn't require athletic ability, special equipment, or pricey gym memberships, you just need to put aside a few minutes where you can focus on breathing and calming thoughts. Meditation can allow you to calm your body, nerves, and mind to help you find some much needed peace from all the planning. To maximize this effort, tap into flaming colors, aromatherapies, flowers, and cozy furnishings to create the ultimate sanctuary from stress. This place can be a refuge from stress, an ideal area for mediation, or just a place to collect your thoughts.
Get physical. It stands to reason if our bodies feel better, so will our minds. Use exercise to breathe, stretch, and tone away stress. Sign up for yoga, an exercise class, or a physical activity that you enjoy to workout tensions while releasing feel good endorphins to be less stressed before your wedding. You can join a gym, sign up for a class, or exercise in the comfort of your own home- the key is to just get moving.
Create a spa at home. While a day of pampering at the spa is a great way to relax, it's not realistic for us to drop everything when we feel stressed and hit the spa. You can, however, bring the spa to you in your own home. Run yourself a hot bath, choose flowers, find your favorite indulgent bath products, turn on a relaxing playlist, and light a few candles to create your own spa at home without needing a reservation or paying costly fees.
Organize a girl's weekend. Schedule some much needed girls' time with close friends to unwind and recharge. Spending a few days with your besties can provide you some much needed laughter, spa treatments, or therapeutic shopping. As a bonus, this time with the gals is a fun and easy way to be less stressed before the wedding.
As a busy bride, what tips can you share to be less stressed before the wedding?
*Guest post is written by Emma Gibson. Emma is a psychology PhD candidate from Jacksonville State University and a talented communicator. She has a passion for the written word and has a remarkable ability to explain complex topics in layman's terms. She engages readers with her creative ability to teach as she entertains.
