5 Self Care Tips for Planning Your Wedding

An outdoor wedding ceremony takes place, at the bottom of the photo is a reflective effect

As a wedding photographer in Colorado, trust me when I say that I KNOW how stressful wedding planning can be! It’s why I’ve put so many wedding planning resources on my site already!! From wedding venue recommendations, to timeline planning, there’s plenty I’ve covered already, and yet there’s seemingly always more. It just goes to show you HOW much planning actually goes into a wedding!! One area I often see overlooked in the industry though is ways to keep yourself grounded in your planning process, which is why we’re here today. Here are 5 ways that you can take care of yourself throughout planning your wedding!

A man in cowboy hat embraces a woman in a bronze dress while they stand in a field of Colorado in the fall during their engagement session

1. Set Your Boundaries

Our first tip is really one that comes in handy in ALL aspects of life, and that is setting boundaries! That could be an entire blog in itself, so instead we’ll just focus on the wedding planning aspect. When planning your wedding, setting boundaries for yourself can look like a number of things. Once such boundary is to only work on wedding planning tasks during certain days of the week, or even certain times of the day. Setting boundaries that prioritize your health and mental well being are a surefire way to be at your best when planning your wedding day!

Another healthy boundary to have is between your friends and family that want to be involved in your wedding planning. Of course you shouldn’t be handling EVERYTHING yourself (something we’ll talk more about later), but it is important that you are in charge of your wedding day, or at least the areas that you want to be! Set boundaries with those you love so they know that you appreciate their help, but also that you need space to handle certain areas yourself! Boundaries like this will help you to keep your sanity and not be completely burnt out by the time your wedding day actually rolls around!!

A bride, groom, and their wedding party members pose for a photo of Upper Larimer in Denver

2. Date Nights

Speaking of keeping your sanity intact, one great way to do so throughout your wedding planning process is to keep going on date nights as a couple! There’s so much excitement and craziness that comes along with planning a wedding. You’re both SO looking forward to this next chapter, and to celebrate your love with all of your favorite people around, so much so that it can be easy to lose track of the here and now. Take some breaks throughout your planning process to go on date nights where it is just the two of you. Be present in the moment, enjoy this time with one another, and most importantly DON’T talk about the wedding! Give yourselves a true break so you’re fresh and re energized the next time you sit down to handle some planning!!

A man and woman smile at one another while holding hands as the man wraps his arm around the woman, they're walking over a bridge in Denver during their engagement session

3. Delegate!

Going back to my first point, while boundaries are crucial in the wedding planning process, so too is delegating. Everyone is different in the amount of planning they can handle themselves, and what they’re comfortable in handing off to someone else, and that is totally ok! The important part is to know these limits, and to hand off those things that you trust others to handle so that you can make your life easier!! And if you aren’t comfortable with handing things off to your friends and family you can always look into hiring a wedding planner or coordinator. I actually highly recommend wedding coordinators for a lot of my couples, see why in this article!

A man and woman in traditional Indian wedding attire smile as they walk with one another through a forest

4. Don't Overdo it With Inspiration

The beauty of weddings nowadays is that they can be ANYTHING you want them to be! No exaggeration!! Want to make pizza together right outside of your wedding venue? Go for it! How about an epic dress change to match the disco ball theme of your wedding day? You can do that too!! The possibilities are endless, and while on one hand that is amazing for creativity, on the other hand it can be incredibly overwhelming.

That’s why I recommend you try and limit the amount of inspiration you take in. Set timers for yourself on both Instagram and Pinterest so that you aren’t sucked into the endless sea of wedding inspiration. There’s nothing wrong with pulling some inspiration from posts you come across, but an endless sea of scrolling can lead you to feel overwhelmed as you try to reach some unrealistic expectations! Instead of trying to incorporate everything you see on Pinterest into your wedding day, try to make it as authentic to YOU as possible!!

A bride and groom kiss one another in the middle of a road underneath a rock archway as snow falls around them

A man and woman kiss one another while inside a building as each of them holds a glass of champagne

5. Treat Yo Self!

Any Parks and Rec fans out there? Donna and Tom know what I’m talking about here!! Yes your wedding day is going to be a blast, and one of THE best days of your life, but boy can it be stressful getting to that point. That’s why I want you to treat yo self!! Do something that you love, something that is going to bring nothing but pure joy to your life. Trust me, if you book a massage or a facial as you get closer to your wedding I swear you’ll practically feel the stress melt away from you!

A gif from the show Parks and Rec of Donna saying "treat yo self" and Tom reacting with a smile

Self care is SO important when it comes to keeping yourself grounded throughout the wedding planning process, and by now I’m sure you can understand why! It’s so important to take care of yourself alongside your wedding planning. After all you should enjoy the experience, both of planning the wedding and the actual wedding itself!! Keep an eye out on my blog for more wedding planning tips to make your life easier, and if you’re looking to book me as your photographer then be sure to head to my contact page. I’d love to hear from you so we can get the ball rolling!