Bridezilla: how the bride morphs into a giant lizard…
Yep. I called out that bad behavior. But I have to say bridezillas are actually possibly less common than mom-zillas or even worse coordinator-zillas. Throughout the years I’ve seen all manner of the giant green beings, even once a groom-zilla. In other words, not everyone handles the stress of a wedding well. Kids don’t get nap times, sometimes it’s hot, or cold, or too early in the morning. There are a few helpful hints on how to avoid this undesirable, even scary, transformation. So here goes nothin!
Eat. Don’t snack and don’t eat heavy, but eat something substantial at least once before the ceremony. Especially if any drinking is to take place. You really don’t want to be sick due to lack of food, whether that means throwing up or passing out or jus plain Hangry. It’s a great plan to have a meal delivered at a time during the getting ready process. Make sure it’s before you get dressed so you don’t dribble on wedding attire.
Get some down time. Whether this is a nap, some sleep the night before or just sitting in a chair for a few minutes, just escape. Don’t answer or look at your phone, just sit and breathe in and out for several minutes to clear the mind and reset any anxiety that may have started to worm its way in.
Hire professionals. Trust your gut. If there is something you know you and your family aren’t good at, like maybe cleanup, find a person to hire to do that for you. Take that worry off your list. Mine is makeup. I can’t put on makeup without looking like the clown in IT so that’s what I need help with. A day of coordinator may be money very well spent. This person is on site the day of the wedding to make sure vendors are set up and ready with all things necessary to make the day smooth. This is also the person who will keep things on schedule according to your timeline.
Timeline. Let’s be real on this one, people as a group cannot stick to a timeline. They either show up early, on time or late. No whole group does it all the same. In other words, plan for things to be starting a tad later than it’s printed on the invitation and on your timeline. If you tell people the ceremony starts at 5:30pm, guests will be arriving at 5:35 slamming their car doors and hitting their car alarm button as you walk down the aisle. For a less stressful entrance, wait until 5:45pm to walk down the aisle.
Ignore “rules”. First of all, nobody knows what the rules are. And second, if they do know and try to correct you (my mother would do that) do you really want to be friends with those people? Traditions on weddings date back hundreds of years. Some of the reasons behind the traditions may make you really re-think incorporating them. So DON’T worry about it! It’s your day, do what you want! If all you want to do is say I DO and eat cake do it!
Make this day about you and your groom. Don’t stress about trying to please everyone else because you can’t. Have fun and make the best of the things that don’t go exactly according to plan, because life isn’t fun without a few unexpected hiccups.
