How To Avoid Overwhelm On Your Wedding Day

If you’ve ever been to Walt Disney World – you know just how overwhelming it can be.
In fact, I think the best advice I ever heard a cast member at Disney give to a guest (while I was working there) was to simply accept that you cannot do everything.

If you walk into a day at Magic Kingdom with the expectation that you will ride every ride, watch every show, eat all the specialty food, and watch every parade – you are going to walk away from your day not only disappointed, but frustrated.
It is literally impossible to do everything Magic Kingdom has to offer in one day.

In fact: I lived and worked there for 8 months – I was in the parks every single day and I still didn’t do everything!

Your wedding day is the same.

If you walk into your wedding day hoping and planning to do all the things, you will end up disappointed, frustrated, and sad.
Even if you wake up at 4am and party until after midnight (please please please don’t attempt this) you still won’t be able to do everything you could do on a wedding day.

Think about it:

As we plan for our wedding days, we scour the internet, scroll Pinterest endlessly, and are constantly looking for inspiration.
Even if you aren’t looking for ideas or ways you can make your day unique and different, you will be presented with these opportunities! Google will realize that you’re looking at a lot of wedding-websites and will present you with targeted ads and sponsored posts. Your Mom (or friends) will send you inspiration and cool things they find online. (Which is great! And can be fun & helpful! But can also be very overwhelming.)

And, if you aren’t careful, it’s quite easy to quickly build up an order that’s a bit too tall for your wedding day.

Let’s just think about the opportunities at the beginning of your wedding day:

Besides all of the “normal” things that have to happen (hair & makeup, getting into your wedding dress, putting on jewelry, shoes, etc.) we have these (really fantastic & fun) ideas:
Creating TikTok videos (I mean, those fun transitions from matching robes to bridal attire can only happen on one day!)
Special moments with Mom
First look with Dad
First look with Bridesmaids
First look with Groomsmen (this is one of the newer “things”)
First look with the Groom or an “invisible” first look
Gift exchanges – with Mom, Dad, and Bridesmaids
Gift exchange with the Groom
Exchanging & reading letters with the Groom

And the list goes on and on and on.

What about at the reception?

You have your “main events”:
Introductions
Toasts
The blessing
Dinner
Cake Cutting
First Dance
Father/Daughter Dance & Mother/Son Dance

But what about all of the “other” things you could do?
An anniversary Dance
The Dollar Dance
Bouquet & Garter Toss
Going table-to-table to visit your guests
Dancing and having fun on the dance floor
Sitting down & actually eating your wedding dessert
A late night snack bar
A grand exit: sparklers, fireworks, bubbles, etc.

The lists of possibilities just go on and on.

Here’s the thing:
If you attempt to squeeze in absolutely EVERYTHING, you will end up feeling stressed out and anxious, constantly worrying about the timeline of the day and what needs to happen next, instead of feeling happy and relaxed and actually enjoying your day.

Wedding days take a huge emotional and mental toll. They are exhausting. And the more things you try to pack into them, the more exhausting they become.

So, my best advice is this:
A. Realize that you cannot do everything
B. Choose the things that are most important to YOU
C. Leave the rest behind.

Sit down with your fiance and talk over some of the ideas you’ve seen (either online or at weddings you’ve attended) and decide together what the best course of action for your day would be.
Write those “non-negotiables” down, and plan your day from there.

Know that, leading up to your wedding day, you’ll see more shiney, new ideas on Pinterest & Instagram – you DO NOT have to incorporate them into your day! (Unless you really want to!)
It’s completely fine for someone else to plan certain things into their wedding day and for you not to. You don’t have to do it all.

And I promise, your day will be happier and more relaxed because you aren’t actively trying to do everything.