ALT-4 How to Protect yourself from the Bridezilla Syndrome
Bridezillas... yes we love the show on MTV and wonder how on earth a person can become so completely consumed with their wedding... that is, until we plan our own!
The Bridezilla syndrome is becoming increasingly common with the amount of pressure placed on planning the perfect wedding these days. A wedding is meant to be one of the best days of your life, so its up to you to plan it accordingly. This pressure only makes us panic because we are worrying so much about it being perfect, we completely lose the ability to see the purpose for the wedding in the first place... and that is to unite with the person we love!
Firs things first, before you get carried away in a mad rush of planning, panicked because there is only a year left to plan the perfect wedding, be sure to rationalise. Why are you getting married? It's because you love your partner. It is because you want to take your bond to the next level. It isn't about perfect parties and fantastic food. That stuff certainly does help, but your happiness is no. 1 through all this. Yes, things can go wrong, but doesn't that make your wedding more memorable? You want a special day that you can look back at and laugh. Not look back at and cringe at the amount of stress you put yourself through and realise you had no time to enjoy your own wedding because you were too busy making sure everything went to plan. So remember why you are getting married.
Delegate tasks. Obviously you will need to choose a select few people that you trust, and give them the type of tasks that you know they will do exactly how you want. These people would be your mother, your sisters, your best friends and bridesmaids and any other individual that you know can help take some of the pressure off you. They will help by doing the smaller things and giving you less to worry about, so that you can focus on the more important issues, like choosing a venue, flowers and the dress. Your helpers can even help with the research, perhaps coming up with suggestions for catering and venues if you find yourself uncertain where to begin. But you have to make sure these are people who know your tastes so that you will not get angry at them for trying to help and picking something horrible.
Get your fiance involved. Sounds obvious but most brides to all the picking and choosing themselves, and simply ask their partner for an opinion. His opinion will usually consist of something along the lines of 'Whatever you want is fine dear', or 'Yes, thats great' to anything you suggest. Not very helpful. Instead, set him some tasks that you know he will be capable of doing right. Have him directly participate in any of the major steps in securing your plans, such as booking venues, trialling caters and writing up a guest list. He can even be in charge of putting the stamps on all the invitations and mailing them if you think he's up for the job!
Try not to panic when it seems to be going pear-shaped. Its likely that you'll only be having a temporary glitch in the planning process and it could work in your favour. Learn to sleep on it and to explore your options. For example, the venue you want is booked out for the date of your wedding. That's okay... it gives you a chance to find something else you had never considered, which may in fact be far more ideal than the original option anyway. Do not see these changes as set backs. Nothing will ever be exactly as you plan it, so enjoy these little changes because they will add an element of surprise to your big day.
So when the time comes for you to plan your wedding, be sure to stop and think before you get caught up in the excitement. Your wedding is about you and your husband. Not about what your guests will think of your planning, or accounting for every possible situation that can go wrong. Weddings are there to be enjoyed, so if you take the fear of failure out of your wedding, and just look forward to the magic of the day, you are definitely on the right track to avoiding Bridezilla syndrome!
