My husband and I have always been great with communication and planning from day 1 but when we started to plan our wedding together we knew we had to put our communicative and planning skills into a higher gear than normal! Every couple, whether they are engaged or approaching engagement, know that there is a lot of work that goes into planning a wedding. You have to coordinate the wedding ceremony, the reception, dinner menu or lunch menu, music, groomsmen and bridesmaids, wedding flowers and bouquets, families,travel…etc! Whew! My head started to spin there for a second. And at times the process starts to become more like a job than a happy experience.
Our neighbors, happily engaged, are getting married in May and you can already tell the wedding bell blues are chiming in their heads. Stress… stress… stress..! You can feel the tension in the room…but shouldn’t it be love that we feel instead? After all it is their engagement period…
Okay, I think we get the point! Weddings and planning weddings are a beautiful event but can be stressful (even if you have a wedding planner working for you you will experience stress…keep it real ladies!) So when your valiant prince asks for your hand in marriage and the engagement starts or you are in mid-planning here are a few ideas to keep in mind. (My husband and I used these techniques that worked like a charm…we actually had fun!)
Wedding Planning Stress-Easers
1) Purchase a wedding planner book that you can carry in your purse but has helpful details with time lines, traditions and check off lists. Click here for some good ideas!
2) Put on some fun music (not too loud) and sit down with your fiance with separate pieces of paper and pens. Create a T-chart with “Absolute Musts” and “Would be nice but not necessary” then take ten minutes or so and fill in the chart separately. Think about location, guest lists, food, music, formality, wedding party, etc.When you are both done then compare answers and figure out what is important to both of you and what could be put to the side and re-visited when budget allows the flexibility. This sets the stage for what kind of wedding you two are expecting to plan together (no surprises) and it creates a guide to keep what’s most important in mind. (Family and friends like to influence)
3) Do you have a wedding budget? After you decide what’s most important then go through the wedding budget together to see how much you really want to/can spend on your wedding day, parties, gifts and honeymoon. Try not to number crunch too much yet but remember you do need to be reasonable. Then you need to set up times with families that have offered to help and ask them how they would like to help (or how much…you know the fine line better than I do with your families and money talk…just be gentle and kind) After you have spoken with family then you can figure out the difference in cost.
3) Wedding service providers…remember that this is a competitive market and their are plenty of options out there (you are NEVER stuck). For each area that you need a provider i.e. florist, photographer, caterer etc. create a list of absolute musts, and contract questions (your planner usually has a great guideline for this). Review thoroughly over what is and is not covered. This is the biggest wedding planning stress creator of them all! Actually to protect your rights and to make sure that you do not get screwed over with a contract try this company out! For $36 a month (month to month) they can review contracts and protect your rights when dealing with companies… plus they’ll do your wills for you for free! (You and your soon to be spouse!) Click here for more details! The representative is amazing and we love the membership. Still have it! (They even help you with speeding tickets…)
Just remember to ask lots of questions before you sign the paper and then write it all down!
3) Take walks together throughout the week or set up at least one day a week where you spend time together but are NOT allowed to talk about the wedding AT ALL!!! Usually a nice date night that doesn’t involve spending money is the most relaxing and romantic! Your fiance will appreciate it!
4) Delegate! Delegate! Delegate! Yes it is your wedding and you want to make sure that everything goes as planned…you did spend many exhausting hours on this momentous occasion! But to stay sane this is the best choice for you! Not only that but everyone wants to be a part of the beautiful event! Give your moms and dads things to do, give your fiance a “to do list” and you will be in heaven!
Best of luck and stay positive! Enjoy your engagement!
Planning a wedding in Colorado or in any state becomes a little sticky and pricy when coordinating accomodations, entertainment, food, flights, transportation,etc…etc… Someone related the wedding coordination process to “herding cats” (ha ha!) which I can totally agree with, it’s so true. Not only that, but it would be nice to find coupons or group deals to save a little money for your wedding guests. Luckily Colorado reps have their ducks in a row and have put together a great website that has an interactive map that is user friendly and extremely helpful! If you click on the Find Places tab (just above the map in the middle) you can find different transportation hubs, restaurants, hotels and more. This beats going to google maps and entering all the different addresses… The other page that I love is the Colorado Hot Deals! Every bride and groom wants a hot deal and savings while planning their Colorado 
Wedding, there is enough mula going into the celebration that it wouldn’t hurt, right! So Colorado was nice enough to not only categorize the different types of deals available in the state but they also put together a city search option that allows you to type in the city or town near by and see what kind of savings are being offered in the area (just make sure you scroll down a little to find the search bar). Hopefully you can find some great deals for your wedding guests while they are in the beautiful state of Colorado, the best state for a Mountain Wedding!
