Pace Yourself

Your wedding is 2 years away; you think you have plenty of time. So much can happen in 2 years - my taste and choices are a vast ocean of opportunities.

Your wedding is 1 year away; you realize there are couples even faster than you and your option list starts getting shorter. Wedding planners, venues, photographers, makeup artists are getting booked up.

Your wedding is 6 months away; you finally start getting your act together and think … maybe, just maybe you should start doing something for the wedding.

Your wedding is 4 months away, after 2 months of doing nothing you think maybe I should get a wedding planner and handover all the headache to them….

As a wedding planner, we have been getting our fair share of 4-month-planning couples that have not booked anything for their wedding. Some have gotten the venue booked; some have gotten the theme colors sorted out but most of them have not even secured the venue! As a wedding planner, I’m telling you it's not going to be a fun journey planning your wedding at such short notice. Decisions have to be made instantly and your daily conversations just become wedding-infused.

As a bride, I was happy with the progress of my own wedding plans, but then again, I booked my photographer and venue 2 years ago ☺. Ok, maybe that’s the wedding planner in me talking. But at barely 2 months to go to the big day, I’m still a little stressed out with the list of to do's still on my plate.

If you ask any of my friends in the wedding industry or not in the industry, they will tell you that I’m a bride-zilla [Eileen : I agree] and I am anal about everything which means my to-do list will not be the average bride’s to-do list.

But for couples that are planning their wedding, it’s the journey. It has always been about the journey, the experience you get when you plan your wedding together. How you got there, why you chose the venue, why you chose the flowers. It’s the decision you make as a couple that helps you bond and understand each other better.

Enjoy your planning process, don’t rush it, don’t get irritated by it, have fun with it. My fiancé and I spent last night looking thru old music cds, friends’ requests and our personal selection to get the right blend of music for the night. It wasn’t what music we choose but the laughter, the impromptu karaoke and the memories that came back. That is what wedding planning should be all about.

It was a good release from the family pressures, financial crisis and overall planning stress - just to sit down with a good cup of tea and listen to good music.

If you want to have a nice wedding planning journey, pace yourself. Plan your deadlines and to-do's (if you don’t have a wedding planner), follow your wedding planner's guidelines and deadlines (if you have a wedding planner) and you will find yourself enjoying your wedding planning experience.

Trust Me.