Pre-Wedding Stress

Yes, with just under 7 months to go until the big day, I am starting to feel the pressure. It helps to be organized and use good time management skills, but what about specifically managing the stress that is bound to come along with planning such a major event? I sought out some good advice and http://www.stayhitched.com/stress.htm has the best plan for managing pre-wedding stress I have seen. According to stayhitched, there are 4 key components in stress management:

1.) Recognize and understand the signs of stress.
They can be a bit different for everyone. Perhaps you get irritable or moody. Maybe your stress gives you headaches, stomach aches, or tight muscles. You may also have racing thoughts, especially during downtime, like as your trying to fall asleep at night, when you can't seem to quiet your mind. Don't worry, read on!

2.) Identify and understand the source of your stress.
Who wouldn't be stressed planning a wedding? With all of the pre-wedding decisions, expenses, and expectations, it's no wonder and it's normal to be a bit stressed! Not to mention, life doesn't stop for us because we are planning our wedding. Additional day-to-day stressors will compound the stress of wedding planning whether, it's running late for an appointment or stress at work or school, pick out the things in your life that are bothersome and stressful to you and ask yourself why this particular thing is stressful to you.

3.) Learn to manage controllable sources of stress.
Realizing that you have limited control over all of the aspects of your life and your wedding is key. On your list of stressful things, what are the items that you have control over? If you are DIYing invitations, you have control over the design of the invite, when they get sent out, etc. What you don't control is when the post office delivers your invite and whether Uncle John remembers to RSVP. Here are some helpful ways to take control of stressors:

-Keep an ongoing conversation with your partner to ensure your wedding plans reflect both of your desires.

-Reexamine assumptions about how much you expect yourself to handle. Delegate whenever possible.

-Accept that there are limits to your control over your wedding and that a few imperfections or snafus are bound to happen.

-Defer some social obligations and lighten a heavy workload if at all possible.

4.) Support yourself during stress.
So what about what you can't control? By the way, if there are no items you can't control on your list of stressful things, you may need to reevaluate! Here are some ways to cope with stress when you have little to no control over the stressor:

-Get adequate sleep.

-Exercise. Make time for your workout! Exercise regulates brain chemicals which can greatly reduce stress!

-Eat regular, balanced, moderately-sized meals. Don't over-eat and don't skip meals. Remember your fruits and veggies!

-Avoid excess sugar, caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol. You don't want to crash from your sugar high mid-way through your day and definitely don't want a hangover while trying to plan your wedding!

-Learn relaxation techniques. Meditation, positive self-talk, creative visualization, or just deep breathing can all help!

-Maintain your perspective, talk your stress over with a trusted friend.

-Make time for FUN! This is a happy occasion, have a good time!

-Make time to connect with your partner. I know I feel better after Bill and I just set time aside for spending with each other, whether we play a game, go for a walk, or just talk, it subdues my stress!

-Don't pressure yourself to do all of this all at once! Same with the wedding planning, smaller doses of wedding may be what you need for a few days until the stress is under control!

Knot-Inspired Timeline Card

I just can't seem to get enough DIY paper products! I have a blast putting them together. So, I was searching photo galleries on wedding websites and found this timeline card on http://theknot.com/ :

I LOVE the design! I kept it very similar but customized to our times and colors and ta-da:

So much fun! VIPs will receive a copy of the card, like the wedding party, the vendors, and out-of-town guests will get one in their OOT gift bags. More wedding-paper-goodness to come...

OOT Bag Insert - Personalized Wedding Crossword

We are putting together gift bags to put in our out-of-town guests' hotel rooms. Among other things like personalized water bottles, wedding itinerary & newsletter, I thought it would be fun to make a crossword with clues about Bill and I. Some of the clues include: Bill & Katie's fave mafia movie, Bill & Katie's fave football team, and restaurant where Bill & Katie had their first date. It was fun to put together! Just pick some questions about you, fiance, wedding party, etc. and plot out the answers on grid paper both vertically and horizontally, making sure to overlap same letters in different words like a real crossword! I blacked out the remaining squares on the grid, scanned it to a publisher doc. and typed the heading and clues, and inserted pictures. Find out how much your guests really know about you! Guests will get a kick out of it, too!

Donate to Haiti Quake Victims

They need our help now more than ever. One of the most reputable agencies to donate to is the American Red Cross: http://american.redcross.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ntld_main . Or if you don't have $ today, text 'HAITI' to 90999 to have the American Red Cross take a $10 donation to be charged to your next cell phone bill.