If you’re lucky enough to have been proposed to, you know that unique and beautiful rush of elation that comes with seeing your ring glimmer for the first time. You likely also understand the feeling of quiet unease that comes with knowing that you have the endurance marathon of wedding planning to look forward to. Your married friends and family will likely come out of the woodwork with lots of perfectly well meaning advice that only compounds your befuddlement, and is probably better off ignored. You’ll probably feel that you don’t know where to begin in terms of planning and worry that over the coming months, the stress anxiety and inevitable expense will turn you into a terrifying bridezilla, foaming at the mouth with cake frosting while tearing dress fabric samples to shreds between her razor sharp talons. But don’t worry. Wedding planning isn’t as nightmarish as you’d been led to believe, and once you know a few of these little spoken truths, you’ll likely breathe a sigh of relief…

You can get a surprising amount of wedding stuff under one roof

The wedding planning business is a huge industry worth billions. This means that couples are afforded more options than ever to make their dream wedding a reality, even if their budget is severely limited. The rise of places like The Wedding Gallery, which is essentially a big department store exclusively geared towards weddings can take a whole lot of the legwork out of shopping for all the different elements of the wedding. Getting all of your solutions under one roof not only makes your life logistically easier, but can also help you to get the best value for money, too! 

You’d be astonished at how helpful your friends can be

There’s no denying that wedding planning involves spinning a number of logistical plates. Nonetheless, it’s vital that you realise that you are not alone. Your friends, bridesmaids, groomsmen, best man and all who will be invited will be more than willing to chip in to make the day a little easier for you. There was a time when wedding planning was expected to be paid for in full by the parents of the bride. For obvious reasons, that just isn’t workable today. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t lean on the help of your friends and family. If you have photographers within your circle of friends they’ll likely be more than happy to help out by taking a few snaps. If you know someone who runs a catering firm, they’ll likely give you a great rate. 

Something will probably go wrong… Roll with it!

Brides can work themselves into a frenzy of stress and anxiety if they try and exert total control over every single aspect of the wedding. Of course, perfectionism is perfectly understandable (it’s your big day, after all), but sometimes happiness lies not in exerting control but in letting go. Accept that things can (and probably will go wrong). Accept that not every single aspect of the wedding will go exactly as you had planned it in your head. But also know that you will laugh about it in time, as you and your significant other look back over a lifetime of memories together.