Zen Your Day: How to Simplify Your Wedding
Photo by Emery Co Photo
Many brides-to-be are overwhelmed at the thought of planning a wedding. This is because most of them have never had to plan such a grand affair before and there is so much to do and it seems in such little time.
However, it’s important not give in to the pressures and keep cool from the first day that the planning starts through to the honeymoon. This is a time of love and new beginnings. No one wants to start that off on a platform of anger and anxiety. Keep wedding planning simple with these tips.
The Vision
Before you start to pull out planners and call around to different venues to get price quotes, you first need to have a vision for your wedding. Sit down with your fiancé and openly discuss what kind of wedding you both want. Every decision you make from here on in will come back to this vision so it’s extremely important that you have a clear idea of what you both want. Brainstorm together about ways that you can keep your wedding simple.
The Guest List
Once you have decided on the vision, you will need to decide who is going to be there for your big day. Invite close friends and family but don’t go all out invite the girl you worked with four years ago but have rarely spoken to since. Keeping the guest list on the small side will greatly help relieve a lot of the stress that comes from wedding planning.
The Venue
Once you know how many people you are going to invite you can begin to look at venues. Keeping with the theme of simplicity, choose venues that can help you obtain this. Remember that choosing a large venue will require lots of decorating, and you could run into challenges with sound and lighting. Keep it small and you will have much fewer problems. One great way to Zen your day is to hold your wedding outside. There’s nothing more peaceful than choosing a serene setting where you can your betrothed can exchange vows.
Invitations
When it’s time to start sending out invitations, give yourself plenty of time so that you are not in a huge rush to get them out and get the RSVPs back. This will bring a calmer energy to the whole business of invitations, which can often leave brides feeling very frazzled.
Flowers
Flowers are another area of weddings that cause brides major stress. The entire process of choosing a florist, choosing your flowers, and then paying a whole lot of money for them is enough to have brides pulling out their hair. But one of the easiest ways to keep your wedding simple is through flowers. Instead of a huge bouquet in front of yourself and every bridesmaid, choose to have just one or two flowers that are tied simply with a ribbon that is the same color as the wedding colors. You can alternate ribbon colors between the bridesmaids and have the bridal bouquet consist of a few flowers that are the same color as the wedding colors, and have them tied with a white ribbon. Not only are these beautifully simple but you can also just buy the flowers and put them together yourself. This will save you a lot of stress and will allow you to save some money at the same time!
Decorations
When it comes to decorating a venue and making sure that no detail goes untouched, it can be a tricky task even for brides that have a flair for décor. The great thing about keeping things simple is that you can, and in fact should, leave things untouched. This is very easy to do if you are having your wedding in a location where you are surrounded by beauty. Holding your wedding in a garden or elsewhere outdoors will allow Mother Nature to do her fine work, leaving less for you to do.
If you are having centerpieces on the tables, skip the traditional grand flower arrangements and instead place some votive candles or tea lights that are placed in a circle around a slightly larger (but not too large) candle. Choose candles that are the same color as your wedding colors or have white candles with holders in the same shade as the wedding theme. Another great way to signify simplicity is to have water centerpieces.
Destination Weddings
Perhaps one of the best ways to have a stress-free wedding is to have a destination wedding. These weddings are becoming increasingly popular as couples are finding out that all they need to do is choose the location and there is usually a wedding coordinator that will take care of the rest after finding out what your vision is. Usually a handful of people that you know and love attend the wedding and you are already at your honeymoon destination once the ceremony is over! Simple, romantic, and fun!
