After hosting over 500 weddings at SCR, we’ve seen our fair share of overwhelmed and burned-out brides.

When Planning Gets Overwhelming…

Get excited about wedding planning again with these

FOUR TIPS FOR REMOVING WEDDING STRESS

1) START PLANNING EARLY

As time passes, the excitement and energy of being recently engaged start to fade, and the reality of the many hours of planning and making decisions starts to set in. There are 100s of decisions to be made for even the most straightforward bride. Knocking out your biggest vendors right after securing your venue is the best foundational decision to avoid stress later.

Venue booked? Catering and Bar are my next recommendations! That is not typical advice; photographers or planners are often listed after the venue. But catering is often the most expensive part of a wedding budget. Having that secured allows you to confidently choose the rest of your vendors according to the budget you feel most comfortable with.

2) GUEST LIST MANAGEMENT

Wedding planning stress revolves around the guest list and guest attendance! So often, the root of a bride’s stress is directly related to guest list management. Thankfully, there are zero reasons to be passive about your guest list. Once you have created it it’s time to start managing it! Yes! You heard me; guest lists are supposed to be managed from day one.

The last time a friend texted you “Save the date!” or you received a paper save the date or invitation, did you immediately pull out your phone and put a placeholder on that date? Or almost immediately know, “Yes! We’re free,” or “Oh no, we’re already booked!” So do 99% of your guests. Guests (ok, at least 75%) know if they are attending your wedding almost immediately after receiving their first notice of the date.

Having a spreadsheet (SCR couples have a guest list management sheet in their SCR Planning Tool) allows you to mark yes/no for guests as you get texts from friends they can’t wait to attend! Your budget revolves around guest count: linens, rentals, bar, catering, florals (tabletop), invites, napkins, etc., etc. Be proactive and aware of your guest count. This will alleviate untold amounts of stress!

3) HIT IT HARD, THEN TAKE A BREAK

Protecting your mental health during wedding planning is hard. Everyone has questions. Everyone wants updates. You will feel the pressure and receive tons of emails from your vendors (us included).

Creating a wedding-specific email is one quick and easy step early on to keep organized and to be able to “step away” virtually from your wedding details. Those emails are safe and secure in your MrsABC@gamil.com account, not your personal one! When you are ready to take a deep breath and work on wedding to-dos, you can log in and get to work, then log out and pause.

Having dedicated days in your month-to-wedding plan is also an excellent tool. Think of the countless time-blocking gurus directed at work, and remember… planning a wedding is work! On average, 200 hours go into wedding planning, and many pay for a professional coordinator or planner’s help! If you are doing it all alone (or the bulk of it), having dedicated work times set aside for planning will help you meet your goals and not feel so scattered. On the other end, if you are replying to vendors and working on orders and guest management sporadically, it will feel chaotic. This is a quick way to get burned out! I’d suggest the first and last Friday of the month for couples to sit down and wedding plan, depending on how many months you have to work with.

4) SHARE THE JOURNEY

At the top of the list is feeling like you are in this together and aren’t alone. Brides, this is for you. Make time when your groom is involved in the planning. That connection will help you feel seen and understood as the pressure builds. Creating song lists, working the drink calculator and thinking through drink orders, checking in with their friends about attendance (remember that guest management starts early!), updating friends on accommodations, and more can be great places for the groom to get his hands in the mix.

NOW SIT BACK AND TAKE IN THE JOY THAT WAS

THE DILLAR WEDDING 11.5.22

What DFW Wedding Vendors did you LOVE!?

My photographer, Alex with Astone Photography, and my videographer Avery with AW visuals! They were what we called by “dream team!” They were the BEST part of the wedding! They were so enthusiastic and fun to be around! We all had such a great time. I highly recommend both of them!

Natty Flats was perfect! They were sweet, the food was amazing, and they helped my great-grandparents make their plates since they were in a wheelchair.

Snapjoy was also amazing! The were so nice and had the BEST communication!

Choosing SCR Recommended Vendors (or your venue’s recommended vendors) is an obvious step in having a stress-free wedding day. Recommended vendors know the rules and best practices, and best of all don’t have to ask you endless questions because… they are pros at your venue!

BRIDES REVIEW:

This venue is beyond words can describe, it’s the perfect location to get married. The scenery is gorgeous, the family that owns and BUILT the barn is so sweet. Kalli answers any questions you have and provides a vendor list of recommendations, which we used a lot of. The have decor that you are welcome to use. The only thing is be prepared for not very internet, but all of the vendors on the list already know how to work around it. It was a perfect day for our wedding! 💕

Why did you choose SCR for your North Texas wedding?

The setting was perfect! Rustic barn and elegant romantic inside! And I love that everything was made from something else!! In a few words describe your theme or style for your wedding. (Ie- Boho, Glam, Rustic, Etc.)Rustic and romantic!Is there anything else you can tell us about your love story? Our relationship is very unique. We joke, poke fun, and tease each other to know end. We are sarcastic towards each other, but it's perfect. I couldn't imagine being in a relationship any other way. He makes me laugh and smile like no one else.

PROPOSAL STORY - it’s so wroth the read!

The proposal was a complete surprise!! He drilled it in my head since the very beginning that he would never propose on my birthday because it was corny. Well, my birthday came around and we did a bbq at my house. My friend and I wnt to get our nails done. While I was there my other friend started to decorate the house for my birthday. I was opening gift and Tommy gave me beautiful flowers. He said read the card out loud. It was a poem (he wrote a lot in HS). At the very end of the poem it said read the first letter of every sentence and it said "Will you marry me?" I started bawling, like Kim K ugly cry! Then my friends switched all the birthday signs to engaged signs! It was amazing!

WICHITA FALLS WEDDING VENDOR TEAM

Astone Photography

AW Visuals

Mark Waggoner - Bar

Natty Flatts BBQ

Emily Events - Coordination & Florist

Snap Joy Photo Booth

Stacked by Scratch - Cakes

Kandace Burns Beauty