April 29th, 2010 Stressing Over the Small Stuff at a Wedding

When you first start planning a wedding, a list is usually created. This list is begun the day after the engagement, usually on something unassuming like a post-it note or a scrap of paper you found in a drawer. This is a master list: a list of everything that you need to do between that very moment and the ceremony to make sure that your wedding goes off without a hitch. This list will be added to, subtracted from, crossed out, copied and, usually, thrown away accidentally once or twice. It’s an important list that’s main purpose is to make sure something major is not forgotten.

Of course, it’s never the big stuff that causes you unneeded stress at a wedding, it’s the small stuff that will kill you (not literally, of course). Take my friend for example: She made sure to shop around for the perfect wedding invitations. She spent weeks going from store to store, boutique to boutique and finally found the perfect set at the perfect price. And trust me, they were worth it. Very beautiful. Unfortunately, she didn’t find out until after the cards were sent out that she had forgotten to add directions from the ceremony to the party. Because of this small tiny little oversight she had to send out dozens of extra cards and e-mails with these directions. This caused so much extra stress for her and her fiancée. Of course, she had invitations on her list, but she forgot the important little detail of adding directions.

For me, my friend’s plight was the perfect analogy for planning a wedding. A wedding is a big deal, probably the biggest thing that you will ever have to put together. There are a lot of big pieces to worry about: finding a chapel, a room for the reception, getting a priest, finding a dress, picking a wedding party, etc., etc. Unfortunately for a bride and groom, these big things tend to over shadow a lot of the smaller little details that are so vital to making the ceremony run smoothly. I’ll give you another example: my sister’s wedding. Her and my mother spent hours making chocolate candies as wedding favors for the attendees. Unfortunately, in the stress of the final day, the groom only brought half of the candies as he forgot the other cooler full in the freezer. It wasn’t a big deal, but try telling that to my mother who was inconsolable.

The main thing to remember when planning a wedding is to take a deep breath and make sure you go over everything in steps. Think deeper than just the big strokes, think of the small little, minuet details. This deep thinking enables you to have a smooth and fun wedding without any of the added stress of last second surprises.

Kimberly Green likes to share stories of her friends who find great deals on all wedding supplies and wedding invitations.