Maybe brides assume that if they just get the right dress, the right flowers, and the right caterer, everything will be perfect. But feeling good on your wedding day is about more than a poofy dress and a bunch of flowers. It requires taking care of yourself, planning your schedule, and remembering what’s important. Here are four tips to help you enjoy your day as much as possible!
Get It All Done Early
No matter how many months in advance you begin your planning, big events like weddings often involve some last-minute preparations. And unless you have the money to hire a wedding planner and a dozen staffers to do everything for you, chances are that you, your fiancé, and your bridesmaids will be scurrying around the week before the big day doing errands!
But don’t plan to leave anything until the day before the wedding. You’ll want to spend that day socializing with friends, family, and any out-of-town guests who may have come a long way to see you walk down the aisle. You won’t want to be finishing the favors, dealing with last-minute seating arrangements, or picking up the flower girls’ baskets.
About two or three weeks before the wedding, make a list of everything you have left to do, then fit each item into a schedule that makes use of your free time and the volunteered time that friends and family members may have offered. Make sure to get as much done as you can before the last few days.
It’s okay to do a few things on the day before the wedding, but try to make them things you can do with others, like arranging flowers or folding programs. Then you can talk to your loved ones and work at the same time!
Hair And Makeup? Don't Sweat It!
One of the most common aspects brides complain about after their wedding day is dissatisfaction with their hair and makeup. “I didn’t look like me,” they say, “and I paid all that money to look made up!”
Don’t stress about hair and makeup, particularly if you don’t usually do your hair or you don’t usually wear a lot of makeup. No one is really going to notice your makeup – and they’re all going to be too busy oohing and ahhing over your dress and crying into their handkerchiefs to notice your hairstyle. Stick with what feels natural and beautiful to you, and don’t be afraid to go with simplicity. Keeping it clean and natural will make you feel less fussy and “made up,” and more like a beautiful bride.
Rest and Healthy Eating
This is important: don’t stay up late the night before the wedding, or else you’ll have baggy, puffy circles under your red-rimmed eyes. No amount of cover-up will really be able to disguise your exhaustion, particularly if you fall asleep at the altar! Plus, no one wants to feel cranky and tired on her wedding day, right? Plan to stay in the night before with family and friends, or treat yourself to some alone time and relax with a hot shower and some tea.
Also, remember to eat healthily (and heartily) in the week before and the day of your wedding. It won’t do to be undernourished at the wedding— you’ll look tired and drawn, and you might faint if you don’t get enough breakfast.
There’s a lot of pressure on brides these days to go on a diet before the big day. Slow, moderate weight loss over a period of months is acceptable, but only if accomplished through healthy eating and exercise: never starve yourself. If you do, not only will you gain all the weight back after the wedding – you’ll also feel hungry and grumpy the whole day, and your body will get tired faster.
Take Time To Smell The Roses...Together!
The modern wedding often resembles a stage show, so it can be easy to forget, in the excitement of the pretty clothes and new relatives, that this day is about your relationship with your partner. But many brides spend their whole wedding day dancing with cousins and mingling with in-laws, and never get to spend any real time with their new spouse.
If you decide to do a first dance, that’s great, but that shouldn’t be the extent of your interaction. Plan to have a few minutes together after the ceremony to talk and kiss and be together before you go on to pictures or the receiving line or whatever comes next on your schedule. Then, if you’re having a reception with food, make a point to sit down together as a couple and actually eat something. You’d be surprised by how many brides complain that they never got to eat a single bite of the delicious food they paid for! Make time together, and it’ll go a long way towards helping you feel good on your day.
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