New Year's Resolutions: For the Bride-to-Be

Happy New Year ! The new year always brings plans to better oneself and the new year often brings new 'bling' (congratulations on your recent engagement!!). So it only made sense for my first blog post of 2013 to be resolutions for the bride to-be. Don't worry, it's not going to be "drink more water" or "get in shape" or "don't go over budget". Those are resolutions you already know, the ones I have made below are ones that I think are often forgotten but just as important from seeing years of wedding planning with our clients.

1) I resolve to tap into my wedding planner's creative juices
We're here to help and you are paying us for a reason. We live and breathe weddings and it's never a bother to research something for you. In fact, often times, there is very little research needed because we've been doing this for so long that ideas and answers come so easily to us. So save yourself some stress and time and shoot us an email, the worst that can happen is we don't have an answer to your question and we can search for a solution together.

2) I resolve to stick to my gut when designing
Wedding planing can be overwhelming, and wedding blogs and Pinterest have made it almost impossible to settle on any decision. One click brings you to an idea even more beautiful than the last idea you thought you loved.  How will you ever make a decision !?
You have to get offline and away from the magazines for at least a day, be by yourself or with your fiance and think hard about the weddings that have always made your heart skip a beat. Modern and structured? Soft and romantic? Outdoor during the summer? Winter wonderland? Once you decide on that, when you are looking for inspiration online, look only with those search terms. Planning and Pinterest will be your friend again.

3) I resolve to not sweat the small stuff
I can't tell you how many times I have seen a bride stress out about a small detail that only her, myself and her mom knew about. Yes, we get it that this is the most important day of your life and you only get to do this once. But that is exactly it, you only get to do this once. So why would you spend your morning with your mom and bridesmaids stressing out that your florist gave you white roses in your bouquet instead of eggshell-coloured roses. Your guests are so happy to see you and to celebrate with you that they would never notice if anything went wrong. Plus, we're there to handle any thing that goes wrong that can be fixed. Never lose sight of what is important- the marriage, the wedding is just one day in your future together.

4) I resolve to keep control of my wedding
As much as you'd like to believe your wedding day is for the bride and groom, it often becomes about the families that are about the be joined as well. Even more so when cultures and deep rooted traditions are involved. It can be hard to fight families and the planning process can become difficult if you resist requests proposed by your family- or even more awkward, your in-laws. What you have to do is meet in the middle somewhere. Don't give up complete control of your wedding, but choose your battles wisely. Inviting your mom's 10 extra guests may be worth it if you can have the venue you want.

5) I resolve to not get lost in the planning
It takes over 200 hours to plan a wedding. We'll be the first people to tell you that it's difficult and it's easy to get lost in the planning if you're not careful. So before things get out of control, plan a weekly date with your finance that does not involve wedding planning. Take the dog to the dog park for an extra 30 minutes, watch a movie, work out, attend cooking classes- anything, just set aside time to do something not related to the wedding and don't talk about the wedding while you're doing it.

Happy new year and happy planning !