For brides all around the world, your wedding can be one of the biggest days of your life. So much thought, resources, and planning go into this one event, and it’s almost inevitable that you experience some kind of wedding stress mixed in with excitement. In fact, a Zola study reported that 71% of interviewed couples described wedding planning to be more nerve-wracking than other major life events.
In itself, planning a wedding can already be pretty hectic, but the last three to four years have made it especially challenging for couples planning to get married. During the COVID-19 pandemic, wedding hiccups disrupted the wedding industry globally. As couples chose to postpone the big day or downsize to home or Zoom ceremonies, many businesses whose income relied on weddings were significantly affected.
Now that the economy has opened back up, couples are freer to plan the wedding of their dreams. Unfortunately, this comes with its own challenges post-pandemic, as there is still a large backlog of weddings in the UK. While restrictions have eased, many UK couples have had to proceed with lower budgets, overbooked venues and suppliers, and new considerations for health and safety.
With that, it can be quite stressful to plan a post-pandemic wedding. It can be easy to get lost in one’s preparations, causing some to ignore their own well-being leading up to the big day.
However, it’s not impossible to take care of both your wedding planning and mental health. There are various ways to check in on yourself and make sure that you’re equipped to deal with the stressors you’re facing in this engagement journey.
In case you need a reminder to keep your well-being afloat as a bride-to-be, here it is. Read up on why it’s important for brides to maintain good mental health below.
Healthy ways to cope with stress
As a big life event, you’ll need to invest a lot in your wedding. This goes not only for resources, but also time and energy. You’ll need a good amount of self-awareness to determine your stressors and how to deal with them healthily. Doing self-care practices, spending time with loved ones, and other activities to boost your well-being may be able to help you deal with stress healthily.
Proper planning
Your thoughts and emotions can affect your behavior. Being in a state of openness and stability can allow you to think more clearly—especially when it comes to wedding planning. Big decisions that involve your wedding require mental clarity, so it’s best to take care of your mental health during this exciting time.
Relationship satisfaction
In spite of the hectic nature of wedding planning, don’t forget to stop every once in a while and appreciate where you are in your engagement journey. Your relationship with your partner deserves to be celebrated, even prior to the day of your wedding. Staying connected with your partner—whether it’s through sharing the burden of preparations or date nights, among other bonding activities—can even help you remember your “why” for showing your love for the world to see.
Being in the present moment
Lastly, maintaining your mental health leading up to and during your wedding day will allow you to fully experience each moment as it happens. Even with the challenges that come with planning the event post-pandemic, you can trust that everything will go as smoothly as you’ve dreamed. Let go of the internal pressure to be “perfect”; what better way to reap the fruits of your wedding planning than to take in the beauty of everything as they are?
