Wedding Planning – Part 5
Alright ladies (I assume that you are lovely ladies because most men agree with their fiancés anyway), we’re now up to Chapter Five of our Wedding planning process. If you’re new to this experience, let me reiterate why Ultimate Party Central write this fantastic blog that will give you some insight about what it takes to plan a wedding. Ultimately, planning your wedding should be filled with excitement and joy, however the reality is that it can be extremely stressful and time consuming – so why not give you some help. As industry professionals, we can tell you all of the experience we’ve endured as vendors and as family – yes, UPC is owned by a married couple that have lasted over 10 years without killing each other! So, rest assured, know that what you’re reading is totally unbiased and has been created for your benefit and not our own.
Now, let’s look at what you’ve accomplished, or should have accomplished, thus far.
- You said ‘Yes’
- You chose your date
- You got help from family and friends
- You’ve created a budget.
- You picked out your bridal party.
- You’ve spoken to Vendors.
Seems like a lot already, doesn’t it? Well, hold on to the bouquets ladies, because there is a lot more to discuss! Today’s topic: MANAGING YOUR TIME.
TIME: (n) the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole. (v) plan, schedule, or arrange when (something) should happen or be done.
Time; my favorite topic. During your process, have you or someone who is working with you say something related to the following,
“Don’t worry, we/you have plenty of time to get it done.”
WARNING: You don’t have to much longer. The unfortunate thing about time is that it never stops, no matter what else is going on around you. I’m sure you wish that there was a giant pause button that you can press to help deal with all of the activities surrounding you. Your Wedding, Job, Fiancé bonding time, family events, financing, and the overall day to day routines all became on your “to-do” lists – and time still doesn’t stop.
But rest your head easy tonight, because UPC is here to help put TIME in perspective for you! So let’s get started
Stalling vs Doing:
Ok, let’s face it – we all procrastinate. It’s a Sunday afternoon, you’re in your PJs, TV is on with your favorite bridal show while you’re snacking with your laptop next to you. You say to yourself, “time to get stuff done,” and two hours later, you haven’t pulled the trigger on the event you were supposed to do.
It’s ok. Like I said, we ALL DO IT. But let’s look at why you do it. You made the decision of what you want, but the funny thing is most people operate with the inclination that if you made your decision already, the action of your decision can be done at a later time. When you really thing about it, it seems completely irrational – you made the decision, but the decision can wait. So let’s get you in the right mind! Remember, time doesn’t stop and you are already working against a compressed timeline! If you have X amount of days with Y amount of objectives you need to reach Z amount of accomplishments. For example; you may have found the perfect invitation place, but your wedding isn’t until 2018 – assuming that your finances are in order at that time, book the service! A business changes every day and that includes prices. What they guarantee you in the month of November of 2016 will not be the same price in May of 2017. If you have found a product/service that you are interested in and it feels right to you and your fiancé – GET IT DONE. Believe me, the more you get done, the better you will feel. When time winds down and that ‘Y’ becomes bigger, your stress level will reach new heights.
You vs Someone Else:
You remember the expression, ‘Sometimes, if you want to do something right, you have to do it yourself.” Today, this expression will shed some light in your eyes. Now before I go further, please don’t mistake that you have to became the sole proprietor to every task on your list, however you should be monitoring everything very closely. You can only determine your own schedule. A bridesmaid, groomsman, parent, sibling, or whoever else does not have your exact schedule and sometimes that can be disastrous to your planning. You need things done at a certain time, therefore you should be the one monitoring and taking care of the situation. Obviously, there are exceptions, especially if it’s a very simple task – but you’ll see that most of the time those tasks are small and are not on your high priority list. So how does this add up? Let’s see if we have another example! (Of course we do!)
You decided that you want to use Mason Jars to put messages in as giveaways. You found the jars, but you can’t pick them up. A task that you may have a friend do is pick them up for you so you may get started on the making the messages for the jars! If your friend doesn’t get the jars in time, your time now becomes extremely condensed, causing you to redo your scheduling and possibly causing more stress which in turn will turn you into a so called “bride-zilla.” Sometimes, the most simplest task can cause the most anxiety when not finished. Confide in yourself to get your visions done first before you put the responsibility in someone else’s hands.
Feeling Unbalanced?
No, you’re not sick. You may be slightly drunk, but that depends on how much wine you’ve consumed during this planning process. You’re probably just tired of running operations on a constant basis. The feeling of being run down may begin to seep in with everything going on around you. Emotions will break, but they always pass and you will be ok! The best way to cure this issue is to have a set goal every week. Sometimes, starting with just one operation on your list to get done is the easiest way to start this process. Obviously, as you go along, things will get easier to manage. It’s like training a muscle – the more repetitions you do, the stronger that muscle becomes. Treat every task as if it had the same importance as the others, this will also help you put into perspective how quickly you want to get it done! Never assume or plan for something to be easy because that is how you put it off to the side, be sure to make it a priority that you cannot miss!
In conclusion, time is something that you should own. You’re on YOUR time, just don’t think that because you’re running on your own schedule permits time to stop moving. Be proactive, progressive and overall be motivated! This is your wedding day, the most important day of your life and you should be excited to plan every detail! Every second that counts down to you “I-DO” moment should be cherished, no matter how difficult or time consuming it may be. One day you’ll look back and be happy about everything that you did to make your planning that much easier!
