The Work-Life-Wedding Balance
Well it’s been a long time since I wrote a blog about the wedding planning process, so a LOT (I’m relieved to report) has happened over the last couple of
months that I’m excited to write about over the coming weeks. We’ve picked out plates and goblets and cake (yay cake!!) and linens and save the dates and dresses and favors and our honeymoon destination (woohoo!) and on and on and on. Whew!
Going to all of those meetings, doing research, and coordinating all of these details can turn into a full-time job on its own, even when you have a full year to plan like we’ve had. Balancing all that with working sometimes 50+ hours in a week and still finding time to just be a couple can be difficult.
Fortunately, we’ve managed to find a few things to help keep us grounded.One: Wedding- and work-free weekends! It sounds crazy because the knee-jerk reaction is to cram as much planning and meetings into the weekend as possible so you don’t have to worry about it during the week, but let’s be honest—you’re planning all week, too. It’s important to save some nights and weekends to just be yourselves, whether it’s just the two of you or a weekend with your buds. Go play! You’re allowed. Your family and friends will appreciate the topic relief, and you’ll feel incredibly refreshed when Monday comes back around.
Two: Wedding planning “dates.” Scheduling an hour to do wedding house-keeping here and there outside the house at Starbucks or someplace cozy will keep you on task and, possibly, well-fed. Planning can drag out all night if you plop down on the couch with your guest list. Your sweetie will not be able to finish the task at hand and come out happy on the other side if it takes too long…and neither will you.
Three: Pre-marital counseling. We’re about halfway through our sessions with Marie McKinney-Oates (stay tuned for a whole blog post on how awesome she is!), and I have to say—I wouldn’t trade that time in for the world. These meetings give us the gift of remembering why we’re doing what we’re doing in the first place…because we want to be married, not because we want to have a wedding. Every once in awhile, the details can get overwhelming and it’s easy to forget why you’re picking out those plates and goblets and cake (yay cake!).
There are a lot of other ways to stay sane and still have fun while throwing your celebration, but these are my three favorites so far: a little escapism, a dash of dating, and a lot of love!