Dear Brides - stop your stress now!

The last couple of weeks the Wedding Doctor has been inundated with brides' questions full of anxiety and stress about their upcoming weddings. Whether the stress has been about money, time, wedding politics or simply being generally over-whelmed - it is unwanted and quite often unneccessary.
Avoiding PWT (pre-wedding-tension) will not only help your general mental well-being, but it will also help you glow on the day and have more fun!
I am going to give you a few tips on how to avoid the big stressors in the coming months.

1. Organisation!

Notebook from Pretty & Personal Papers by Tricia 16 on Etsy

Boring I know - but if you write lists and keep ontop of them, you won't have a million ideas and jobs running around crowding your head.
You can make it fun, especially if you are a stationery nerd like me. It's a great excuse to buy yourself a special notepad and pen! Always keep it close and when an idea or something that needs to be done comes into your mind jot it down.


 2. Save money

Many of the brides' concerns were to do with money. Of course you could buy a lottery ticket and cross your fingers, if you win - problem fixed! But for the other 99.9999999% of us need to get smart about our dollars!
Here are some tips the Wedding Doctor gave one bride this morning about how to save every day leading up the your wedding:
1. No more coffee! It is amazing how much money we throw away on coffee and how quickly $3 - $4 every second day adds up.
2. Pack a lunch to take to work - buying your lunch is a big no no!
3. Take advantage of sales - in grocery shops as well as retail. ONLY buy what you really need!
4. Quit smoking and drinking - these are very expensive past times.
5. Make large meals and freeze left overs.
6. Use less makeup - give your skin a break it'll glow on the day, and you will use 50% less if you have 3-4 days off.
7. Gather goods around your house that you don't need anymore and get onto ebay to sell them. You can make hundreds on items just lying around the place collecting dust.
8. Maximise your tax - make sure you get every penny you deserve at tax time. Employ a professional's help if you need to.
9. Wash your car yourself - don't go to a drive through.
10. If you are planning a honeymoon - save money by going in off peak season.
Keep control of your budgets and quotes on the Modern Wedding planning tools.

For how to Budget for your wedding check out - Weddings on a Budget.


3. Exercise!

Photo courtesy of examiner.com http://ow.ly/3hdp9 

You may already be doing this to fit into your dress, but it is important to make exercise fun, not a chore. Go for a brisk walk or jog and enjoy the scenery around you, or try Zumba the new craze that everyone is talking about! I haven't tried it yet so I can't vouch for it - but like everyone else... I've heard it's good.
When you exercise endorphins are released and these will make you feel good - it's as simple as that. You will also feel a sense of accomplishment if you reach your exercise targets. Aim for about 40 mins a day.

4. Eat healthy

Andrew Simpson

I did a post on this back in October and took you through all the 'feel-good' foods that you should be stocking up on now, these will help you glow on the day and stay relaxed and stress-free!
Here's a quick run down of the top 5 foods:
1. Blueberries - full of antioxidents and rid your body of cramps associated with stress.
2. Oranges & Kiwi fruits - mixed with Vitamin B foods (eggs/milk) they will take away your anxiety.
3. Brocolli - Contains folic acid which fights depression.
4. Fish - Rich in vitamin B and delivers the happy brain chemical, serotonin to your brain.
5. Almonds - Chockers full of riboflavin (B2), vitamin E, magnesium and zinc. the magnesium also helps produce serotonin, vitamin E will fight toxins and zinc wards off negative effects of stress.



5. Surround yourself with happy people

Make sure you bridesmaids are your happy helpers and not people who make you work hard and depress you. You need to keep the atmosphere light, so if they can't help you with that, then you need to have some serious chats with them or find a friend who can.

6. Go to bed on time

Image from BibBon on Etsy

Every bride needs their beauty sleep! A well rested person can think more clearly, is less stressed and generally happier. So while you may be desperate to see the end of a movie at night, tape it and watch it the next night. Research has shown that the more hours of sleep you get before midnight the better, so get organised and into bed early.

Some of these points are very simple and you may think - 'well yeah... pretty obvious', but you sometimes need to see it in black and white to take notice. If you follow these simple rules for your pre-wedding life then you will see your stress levels plumit. Who doesn't need that?

If you have a secret stress reliever - don't keep it to yourself! Share with us and your fellow brides.

Have a happy and relaxed Tuesday:)

K xx


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