Wedding Stress 101: Part 1 of 3 For Royal Wedding Week
Weddings are celebrations of joy, love and commitment. What could be better, right?
In reality, the months, weeks and days leading up to the wedding day often leave brides and grooms feeling worn out, frazzled, and on-edge. Wedding stress is the culprit.
Wedding stress is our imagined or real failure to live up to the mental, emotional, or physical demands of preparing for the big day. Whether a big or small ceremony, getting ready for a wedding and a new life together is an experience that brings about major life changes.
So you might ask, why do people get stressed when preparing for a wedding? Let me count the ways. In no particular order…
- Managing seemingly hundreds of small details;
- Relatives;
- Expectations that run amuck;
- Money;
- Social Pressure;
- Body image and weight loss goals;
- Lack of support;
- Need for perfection;
- A sense that EVERYONE is watching;
- Poor time management skills;
- Nagging belief that one small mistake will ruin your wedding.
These factors and more create the perfect conditions for feeling overwhelmed and as though you’re trying to juggle way too many things. In other words, wedding stress is practically inevitable.
If you’re in the midst of preparing for a wedding, you’re in good company. I can guarantee that virtually everyone else who is preparing for their big day is feeling the same mixture of excitement and stress that you are.
Knowing the signs and symptoms of wedding stress is half the battle, and finding effective techniques for coping with stress is the other half.
Watch for upcoming posts on these additional topics, and be sure to share this with the soon-to-be-weds in your life.
Until next time,
Gregory Jones, Psy.D.
PS Watch my CNN Interview on Avoiding Wedding Stress, and read the CNN story too.
