Dealing with pre-wedding stress: How to relax before the big day

Planning your own wedding can be daunting, especially when there are so many little details to remember, from the guest list, to the bridesmaid’s dresses, to catering. Added pressure from relatives and loved ones only adds to the strain. Managing your stress is crucial to making the lead up to your wedding a positive experience for you and your partner.
Here Angelic Diamonds, who create bespoke engagement rings, give us their best methods for dealing with pre-wedding stress.

Don’t fret over tiny details
Have you been spending hours worrying about tiny details? Try to separate your tasks based on urgency, and never let your to-do list reach arm’s length; being realistic is essential and keep in mind that you can only do so much in a day. Keep your sense of perspective and always keep a go-to confidant, a problem shared is a problem halved after all. Further, you should make sure that your other half is as involved as you are, and if this isn’t the case then it should be addressed. While you may feel responsible for ensuring that no detail is left unchecked, it can become draining and take away from some of the excitement that you should be feeling. Many couples still enlist the help of a wedding planner for their big day, as it can provide some relief from what might seem like an endless mission to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. If you tend to be indecisive, then now is the time to kick your hesitation to the curb, as making choices will be unavoidable and leaving things to the very last minute will not be helpful.
Put self-care first
It’s very easy to get caught up in the planning, so you need to take some time to pamper yourself – this is your day, after all. For many, anxiety reaches its peak within the final month before the wedding, and this is prime time for taking some time away from it all. Spare a morning and get your bridesmaids on board for a trip to the spa or a salon and treat yourself to some well-deserved relaxation. As the wellness trend continues to thrive, many brides to be are opting for yoga retreats or even exercise boot-camps before they walk down the aisle; as physical activity has long been known to release stress busting endorphins, so getting in to a good routine beforehand can be a natural remedy to these pre-wedding worries. By ensuring that there is plenty of self-care time scheduled into your diary, you can overcome your bridal stresses and enjoy the lead up to your big day. Whether you choose to sweat it out in the gym, or simply spend a night in with a hair mask, face mask and some comfy pyjamas, make sure that you take yourself away from planning occasionally — organising a wedding shouldn’t have to feel like a full-time job after all.
Enjoy the whole process
It’s important to be assertive and stick with what you want on your wedding day – but don’t go overboard! While many brides use the adrenaline of organising as a boost, turning into a wedding-monster can bring the overall atmosphere of your day down a notch. Tackle bridal anxiety in the simplest way possible, by choosing to enjoy the entire process. On the day, the most important thing will be enjoying the day and the company from family and friends, there with you to celebrate the start of your married life. After the all-important ceremony and speeches, don’t be afraid to let your hair down, as bridal anxiety will become a thing of the past when you take your shoes off and head to the dancefloor.
Avoid comparisons
Memories of other weddings, as well as social media pictures can cause you to fixate on making your own day just as amazing. Weddings can be stepped in rivalry, dramatised through popular films like Bride Wars, but thankfully this kind of bridal stress is mostly reserved for fiction. With the rise of social media, weddings have become a spectacle of sorts, and you might find yourself stalking the Instagram feed of an ex-school friend, wondering how to ask your hairdresser to replicate her look without seeming strange. If you are banking on your centrepiece looking a million times better than the ones at a wedding you attended prior to your own ceremony, then you could be focusing on the wrong things. Maintain the understanding that your wedding should be unique to your partner and yourself, so focus on the small details that will capture your character as a couple. Variety is the spice of life, so be as true to yourself as you can, and your time spent sat at the top table will be far more memorable.
Like any big day, your wedding day will fly past so by sticking to some good habits, getting plenty of rest and taking time out when necessary, bridal anxiety doesn’t have to dominate your mind in the lead up to your special day.