The weeks leading up to your wedding will be quite eventful, and, stressful. You’ll spend every waking moment thinking about this and that, crossing-off line items on your to-do list, trying desperately to keep-up with the running clock. So much to do in so little time is a common phenomenon that strikes most brides. While you’ll claim small victories here and there, like those delightful invites that arrived a bit early in the mail, you’ll have your share of battles, wondering if the fondant will turn out like it looks in the pictures.
Wedding Planning Rules You Can Absolutely Break
Weddings are ceremonial by definition, and, ceremonies have traditions (read: rules). If you’re stressed about some of these, you’ll be ecstatic to know that rules, as the saying goes, are made to be broken. Simply put, we live in a completely different day-and-age and that means it’s okay to break some of those traditional rules, for instance, hosting a rehearsal dinner. Okay, so we’re starting with one of the seemingly most important parts of a wedding. Rehearsal dinners were born of necessity, when the bride and groom didn’t live together and engagements lasted only a few weeks.
With mile-long to-do lists and many loose ends to tie up, the final days leading up to the wedding can leave you feeling like a hot mess of stress. There are a few things you should avoid doing during the final hours of your single life in order to keep your sanity (or what’s left of it). —Wedding Wire
You probably know each other pretty well by now, as do your families, friends, and so on. If you like the tradition, then keep it, but, if you’d rather forgo it, that’s perfectly fine. Another tradition is “assigned seating,” the groom’s guests on one side, and the bride’s guests on another. That’s fine if the number of guests balance-out, but, if his side is huge and your side is tiny, it will look and feel awkward. Leaving right after the reception for your honeymoon is yet another tradition that’s not a hard-and-fast rule. Take some time to unwind from the whirlwind you’ve just experienced and you’ll start your honeymoon relaxed rather than rushed.
5 Things You should NOT Do before Your Wedding
The biggest challenge actually isn’t what’s got to be done, it’s really what you ought to avoid. You put so much focus and ensuring every detail is right, that you might make a few mistakes. While the guests won’t notice — or even care — the flowers aren’t the ones you ordered, they will indeed notice other things. Here are five things you shouldn’t do before your wedding:
- Don’t let your hair down during the rehearsal dinner. This is another way of saying, go easy with the alcohol, don’t get snockered and sloppy. You’ve probably experienced a hangover before, but that’s nothing compared to how bad you’ll feel on your big day.
- Don’t try last minute skin treatments. While you should do what you can to look your best, last minute skin treatments are just not okay. The eyebrow waxing your cousin swears by or that cream your mother insists you try to give your skin a “glow” could be nothing but trouble. You might have a botched wax, or, an allergic reaction. It’s only smart to avoid anything that’s new to your skin.
- Don’t sunbathe, it’s just a bad idea with no upside. Unless you want to look like a burnt lobster or don’t mind awkward tan lines, laying out in the sun is a no-no. Even if you have a tan that’s fading, you shouldn’t try to darken it because it will likely be too big a contrast with your gown.
- Don’t try new foods. There’s too much that can go wrong for no good reason. Food poisoning, an upset stomach, gas, allergic reaction, you name the uncomfortable and unbearable embarrassment, it can happen. This isn’t to say you ought to starve yourself, but, eat light and try to avoid stress snacking.
- Don’t bottle-up your stress. Even “positive” stress isn’t necessarily a good thing. When you are under stress, you’ll make rash decisions, be frantic in your actions, and of course, probably sweat profusely. Find a constructive way of letting it out so it doesn’t ruin the enjoyment and beauty of your wedding day.
