Let’s Talk About Stress-Free Weddings!
Greetings!
It’s been a minute since I sat down to write an advice and insights post, but since I just did a website redesign (I hope you like it), I figured it might be a good time to do another one of these posts.
When I was thinking about topics, the one that kept coming back to me was one that was near and dear to my heart.
I want to talk about stress-free weddings and doing the things to ensure you have one.
Why It’s Important to Have a Stress-Free Wedding
First and foremost, and I can’t emphasize this enough, no one wants to be stressed on their wedding day.
No one wants to go through what should be one of the most important and special days of their life and have to deal with all these outside factors weighing down on them, preventing them from experiencing a day full of joy, celebration, and happiness.
I think we can all agree on that, right?
Well, let’s just go ahead and say that we do.
With that in mind, it should be of the utmost importance for anyone who is planning a wedding to make sure all stress factors are completely or greatly limited from the planning process right up until the ending point of the celebration.
Stress can hinder the wedding day experience but also all the experiences leading up to the big day.
Nipping them in the bud right out of the gate is the best way to make sure your experience is not tarnished in any way, shape, or form.
Control What You Can. Deal with What You Can’t.
I think one of the biggest things that stress out couples when planning a wedding is the concept of micro-management regarding every little detail of a wedding day.
It’s perfectly natural to have an idea and concept for everything about a wedding day. Planning is great. Having a vision is fantastic.
That being said, though, sometimes things are out of our control or ability to handle.
Sometimes the weather won’t cooperate. Sometimes, you know, life just happens and deals you with something you didn’t expect or can control.
There have been many times when I”‘ve been photographing a wedding, and rain has been a factor.
One of the first weddings I ever photographed, the bottom fell out right as people were walking down the aisle. I was panicking, but the officiant taught me something I never forgot. He just said, “We’re going to cut right to the chase”. He said a prayer, the couple said their vows, and back down the aisle they went.
They were perfectly happy with it because they couldn’t control the weather. They got married. Their family and friends witnessed it. That was what was important to them.
I could tell you other weather stories, like the time a tropical storm came through St. Augustine, Florida the day I was going to shoot an elopement. It cleared up MOMENTS before we were about to start. The couple, though, were as chill as they could be. They knew they couldn’t control the weather, so they were happy with whatever we were going to be able to photograph.
That wedding is pictured right below, by the way.
One of my favorite sayings is, “If something goes wrong, no sell it. Act like it’s supposed to happen because no one else knows otherwise”.
Take a moment, relax, and don’t sweat the small stuff.
Now… what about factors that you can control?
Quiet the Noise and Eliminate the Stress
No one can control the weather or factors like that on a wedding day.
They can, however, control a lot of other things that might cause stress.
This includes, well, things that can be very touchy and messy at times. Bad family relationships, unreal personal or external expectations, and uncooperative wedding party members. The list can go on and on if you let it.
That’s the key, though. It can go on and on IF YOU LET IT.
The key to having a stress-free wedding is quieting all the noise from the stress factors that you can control.
If there is a messy family dynamic happening or really any other factor present, determine what steps are needed to properly handle it before it ruins your overall wedding experience.
It might cause strife and discomfort on the front end, but if you want a stress-free wedding day, one where you can enjoy the time with the person you love, it will be worth it.
You have to ask yourself what is most important about your wedding day and then take the steps to ensure that will happen.
Hopefully, the answer is “I just want a special day with the most special person in my life”.
All the external noise should be just that. External noise. The beauty of that is you can always silence that noise if you want.
Problems of any size will only grow and fester if you don’t handle them properly right at the beginning.
You don’t want what should have been a small problem at the beginning of the process ballooning into a giant ordeal the day of your wedding.
And, speaking of size, let’s talk about that for a minute.
Remember – the more moving parts anything has, including a wedding, the more complicated it gets.
I personally love micro-wedding celebrations because of how intimate they feel. Big wedding celebrations are great, but, again, the bigger the size, the more potential for stress.
If you’re planning a big wedding celebration, take a moment to analyze how all the extra and added elements could cause stress. Find any places where you might be able to reduce or eliminate said stress.
It’s ultimately your choice on what you want for your wedding day, but, from experience, smaller micro-celebrations really do help reduce the stress factors a great deal.
DSmithimages Photography Wants You to Have a Stress-Free Wedding
One of the many hats I wear as a wedding photographer is, well, a fire extinguisher. In fact, I go one step above that. I try to put out fires before they even happen.
What I’m saying is that I take it as a point of pride and responsibility to handle any possible stress factors I see bubbling up around one of my couples on the day of the wedding and even leading up to the wedding.
My priority is to give you great wedding pictures, and I don’t want you to have to deal with being stressed while taking those pictures.
I want you happy, relaxed, and celebrating the love you have with your special someone.
That’s why I do everything I can to make sure you have a chill and amazing wedding day experience.
If this all sounds good to you, that’s fantastic. Let’s talk because I’d love for you to visit my wedding photography pricing page to find out what else I can do for you!
