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SEVEN PRE-WEDDING SELF-CARE TIPS

From the Archives: The Art of Prioritizing You

Moment captured by Luminessence Photography

You’re getting married in a week and you can’t help but panic. This happens to all of us, and just hearing the words “don’t worry about it” or “calm down” do the opposite of their intended purpose. Self-care is often overlooked in general (it often ends up in the same category of neglected importance as mental health in our day-to-day lives), and I personally feel like wedding planners don’t encourage it as much as we should. Yes, you’ll hear whispers of sitting down and enjoying a glass of wine or going to bed early, but that’s the tip of the iceberg (and in this particular case, is sitting down with a glass of wine really self-care?).

As a planner I find my couples come to me with their week-of stress (as they should!) and instead of telling them to calm down, or worse, not worry about it, I like to ask what I can do to help. But I can’t be at everyone’s wedding and you might not have someone to depend on to help you out with your stress – aside from your SO, who doesn’t count because they’ll be just as stressed as you! So here I am, in spirit, to help you take care of you!

Regardless of your budget, you can afford to do everything below, and while a lot of these things are important to your everyday life, please take extra care leading up to your wedding to think about yourself and your soon-to-be spouse!

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This delicious spread was made by the Diamond Alumni Centre and captured by Meghan Andrews Photography

1. Eat Well!

A lot of us forget to eat three times a day or are guilty of skipping a food group… or four… Plan meals if this is what you need to do, ask friends to help you out with dinner, carry around healthy snacks; whatever’s necessary to make sure that eating enough and eating properly is a priority!

2. Go For a Walk!

Find a nice park near by or take a stroll down your street; fresh air is GREAT for you. Bonus points if you can do this without taking your phone! EXTRA bonus points if you do this hand in hand with someone you love, like your mom, your kid, or your future spouse.

Moment captured by Sara Rogers Photography

3. Drink LOTS of Water!

Is this starting to sound like a healthcare ad? Good! Because it is – a self-care healthcare ad! It takes a special kind of discipline to actually drink, what is it, eight glasses of water a day? I know I will be all over doing this then a few days later I forget all about it. While I know you don’t need to have an extra thing to remember this particularly crazy week, carry a water bottle with you, stay hydrated, and ask your bridal party to keep an eye on your liquid consumption the day of the wedding. If you can’t bring yourself to be drinking water, or just not that much water, substitute it for a juice or Gatorade or SOMETHING! Anything (non-alcoholic of course) is better than nothing. The last thing you need on a wedding day is a bride or groom who has fainted from dehydration paired with stress!

4. Get Good Rest!

The week of the wedding try to get yourself into a sleep schedule of going to bed early and getting the FULL eight hours. The night before your wedding all that stress and those nerves get to you. And if you have the luxury, take an hour long nap here and there if you feel like you can! Rest is not to be overrated, especially THIS week.

Moment captured by Joanna Moss Photography

5. Massage!

Yesssss! ALL THE WAY! You may not have the cash to spring for a professional, but why not take an hour or two with your future Mr. or Mrs. and trade massages – rub each other’s feet, shoulders, wherever feels nice or needs it. There’s something to be said about even a small thing like a hand massage. While you’re exchanging these services, try to have a conversation about something easy – not your wedding and definitely not politics.

6. Date Night!

You might not have the opportunity with all the friends and family focusing in on you to have a night to yourselves, but try to make sure that before the crazy gets TOO crazy to enjoy one last date night before you’re an old married couple, and celebrate! Tell your waiter that you’re getting married in a week, spring for a little something extra if you can, enjoy each other’s presence. Tell them how much you love them and why you can’t wait to call them your husband or your wife. (Note: Don’t stop doing this. Always be careful to tell them WHY you love them and HOW MUCH you love them.)

7. Water Therapy

whether you go for a swim or have a candlelit bath, there’s something seriously therapeutic about being in water. If this isn’t true for you, think about what activities help you to de-stress or what makes you feel happy and comfortable. A big part of self-care is doing things you enjoy!

Moment captured by Jennifer Picard Photography

You need to remember why this self-care is important too – stress takes a toll on our bodies and we never know how we’ll react; some of us will have total meltdowns and be a crying wreck (which is OKAY!) and for some of us, we’ll get sick or break out in the worst acne. When we take that extra effort for self-care it can relieve some of that pressure that stress adds. And while I may not be a health care professional, I’m sure we can all agree on the importance of taking care of you.

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