The floral arrangements, the location, invitations, the guests, the food, your dramatic auntie, selecting the dress - it’s enough to make your head spin! Not to mention a global pandemic and navigating keeping your loved ones safe and while having a wedding with the level of closeness and connection you so deeply crave. Even when entrusting your day in the hands of a trained wedding planning professional, it is common to feel overwhelmed and anxious. After all - this is your big day! You want everything to be perfect, and there are no do-overs. Too much unnecessary stress removes to bliss out of your perfect day, and may bleed over into stress on loved ones and your partner. And let’s face it - no one wants to feel like they’re going crazy, or feeling dread for a day you have been looking forward to for so long!
Here’s some advice for moving through this complex process - how to stay calm during your wedding planning and how not to sweat the small stuff!
When your stress response is high, your body because edgy, irritated, or lethargic. No one wants to feel this way! Box breathing is one of many wonderful practices that can help calm you down in a pinch. I am not a medical professional and cannot give medical advice, but it is understood this technique can be quite useful for effective stress relief.
Step one: Exhale the air from your lungs to the count of four.
Step two: Keep your lungs empty for a count of four.
Step three: Inhale for a count of four.
Step four: Keep lungs full for a count of four
2) In Stoic philosophy, it is acknowledged that our anxieties come from within. When we find ourselves in the midst events out of our control, we can remind ourselves that the one thing we CAN control is our response to this stress or circumstance. We can chose to be very upset, to lash out at others, to cry, to keep ourselves awake at night - or we can chose to remain unchanged, to stay positive, and to calmly work through the issue to create a viable solution, or to let things go which can truly not be changed.
“If you are pained by any external thing, it is not this thing that disturbs you, but your own judgment about it. And it is in your power to wipe out this judgment now.”
- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
3) Take a break! Perhaps it seems counter productive to suggest we step away from our planning rather than to work through the issue at hand, but breaks will allow us to be more effective when we are actually working. This is especially helpful when light exercise is involved, as getting the blood flowing can be an instant mood-booster! Go for a walk, do some yoga stretches, have a cup of tea on the patio. But please, PUT THE PHONE DOWN! Emails, texts, and calls can wait until you feel mentally recharged enough to handle anything that comes up.
