Secrets To Stress-Free DIY Wedding Planning

Hello All,
I haven't posted in a while because work picked up and I've been planning a wedding!

When I first got engaged and talked to my fiance about the wedding I started to realize that my vision of an intimate gathering of 10 people on an exotic island was probably not going to happen. As I mentioned in one of my first posts, I have a house that I'm renting out. I was able to buy that house with a LOT of help from my parents - pretty much in lieu of a big fancy wedding. Which I never even wanted anyway. My fiance has different views. He has a large family and wants everyone he is close to to be able to come and celebrate our marriage with us. I have nothing against that. But when I heard the news, I knew that we would be financing a great deal of our wedding ourselves. It got me into my "money-saving mode." I started looking at DIY books, and blogs and tried to figure out what I could do myself, and what I needed professional help with. We are having our wedding at my parents home. Huge savings in money, but huge undertaking in what needs to be done ourselves. Here are a few of my "Secrets to staying stress-free!"

The first step to keeping things stress-free, is to formulate a plan. You should know that anything in life is easier to handle when there's a plan. There are plenty of unplanned events to deal with, you don't want to be on overload with the things that could have been planned. Formulating a plan is relatively easy. Figure out your end goal, and then the easiest ways to get there..

Make a list, and be organized. Sounds so simple, but having a place where you can write down all the tasks you need to get done (make sure it's all in the same place) can really help you be on top of what needs to be done. Some people think that list making is for anal, over-organized, control freaks. That may be true, but it's for normal, disorganized people too. There really is something to be said about being able to cross off a task on your to-do list. (Try it, it feels good!)

Next, do what you can when you can. You know when you get stressed- it's because something needs to be done, and it needed to be done yesterday, and you left it until the last minute, so either it doesn't get done, or it doesn't get done right? Leaving things until the last minute is the worst thing you can do when you are trying to be stress-free. Do the little things early. Start looking for vendors early, browse wedding websites for centerpiece ideas, and think about what you want the invitations to say. You don't have to decide on anything right away, but you'll find just thinking about these things gets you on the right track of staying stress-free, because when it comes time to actually decide on these things, you will already have an idea of what you want, and sometimes the hardest part of all this is just actually making the decision.


Don't be afraid to ask for help. Wedding planners are expensive. But they get paid the big bucks so that you don't have to worry about things yourselves. If you can afford it, it's worth it, if not- then you have to know that you can ask for help. Don't heap all the responsibility on your maid of honor's shoulders or your mom's. You can ask a few special people for a few small favors, and before you know it, it's getting done, you don't have to worry about it, and no one is resenting you for asking them to be your wedding planner without the paycheck in the end. Even for the most independent, self-sufficient, perfectionist bride, doing it all yourself is not the solution to a great wedding. You will be so stressed you won't be able to enjoy your special day.

Stop and smell the roses. This is a very important step to staying stress free. Remember what the day is all about. Remember that the details pale in comparison to the fact that you are marrying the love of your life. Remember that something WILL go wrong, and it will just be a funny story when you look back. Remember that even the most amazing events have some hiccups along the way, and that you can't control everything. Enjoy yourself, have a sense of humor, and especially if you are doing it yourself - take the pressure off! There are more important things in life than to worry about a few hours of one day (it's a big day... but it's JUST ONE DAY!)

I started my planning early, made my list, and crossed off things as I went. I only have 4.5 months until the wedding, but I'm right on track and not stressed at all. This is a DIY wedding, and these are my secrets to staying stress-free.

This post is about wedding plans, but the steps can really be used in any situation. Being organized and having a sense of humor can get you through most things!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

xoxo