Let's talk WEDDING STRESS – and how to avoid it.

There’s NOTHING more exciting than planning a wedding, am I right? Er, WRONG.

Over time we have come to recognize three main stress factors affecting bridal couples:

1. The creative stress factor:

Pinterest is an amazing source of inspiration but can also become very overwhelming, if you don’t set boundaries for yourself. Our advice is that you don’t start a mood board until at least 6 months before the wedding. Trends change, and new ideas come up – as your designers, it’s very difficult to go through 600 images on your board and work out which ones are relevant, and which are not. Keep your ideas simple, and leave it up to OHD to expand on those in a way that best reflects you as a couple.

2. The budget stress factor:

Budget constraints and not knowing how much things cost can be a massive source of stress and anxiety. The ‘budget’ conversation can sometimes be an awkward one to have with your planner right at the beginning of your working relationship, but it’s the most important chat to have. A good wedding planner will be able to advise you about ’how much things cost’ from the beginning, so you know what to expect when you book your vendors.

3. The guest list stress factor:

This one’s a killer! You and your fiancé sit down one night over a good bottle of red and decide to compile the guest list for your wedding. It’s going to be so much fun! …………half an hour later, he’s sleeping in the spare room and you’ve taken the rest of the red to bed with you. Guys, compiling a guest list for your wedding is gnarly. I feel like it needs a blog post all on its own. For now, my advice to you is: work out the cost of your venue, add it to the cost of your catering, as well as the cost of any special chairs/ cutlery/ glassware/ napery/ stationery/ DJ costs/ lighting cost/ décor and floral cost you may have set aside. Once you’ve added all the ‘big costs’ together, divide it by the number of guests you’re wanting to invite. This is the general rule of thumb when working out exactly how much it’s going to cost to have that random cousin at your wedding (that you haven’t seen or spoken to in six years).  These sums can be a motivating factor in deciding who you really want at your wedding, and who you can leave off.

Planning a wedding should be a fun, stress free experience. We help you prioritize your vendors, formulate your budget, provide qualified vendor referrals, accompany you to vendor meetings (if required), negotiate on your behalf, and save you money. Creatively, we help you with your colour palette and mood board design and set up your mock ups for you – leaving nothing to chance. In the final month prior to your wedding, Oh Happy Day will confirm your vendors, create a production schedule and compile a timeline and be there to make sure that you, your family, and friends enjoy a beautiful, stress-free wedding.