Are you feeling a little overwhelmed with wedding planning? Do you feel like you’ve just got too many choices to make and can’t decide exactly what it is that you want? You’re not alone but just for a second can we talk about chocolate?

Do you ever go to the shop for chocolate only to realise when you get there you can’t make a decision on what it is that will satisfy that craving?  There are rows and rows of goodies encased in creamy milk chocolate just screaming to be eaten.  Have you gone with the intention of getting 1 but come back with 3 because they all looked so tempting?

Now lets apply the same principle to your wedding planning. You’ve gone to a bridal shop and tried a number of wedding dresses, so far you’ve got 2 piles, dresses that you know you don’t want, and dresses that you love.

What if in the dresses that you love pile, there were 5 dresses, all stunning, all within your budget and you look and feel amazing in all of them? Are you going to buy all 5? I hope not – how many weddings are you planning on having?!

What normally happens in this situation is that because you feel so overwhelmed at trying to choose between too many, you don’t choose any (unless it’s chocolate then I’d say choose at least 2).

At what point do you make a decision between those 5 dresses? Did you attempt to make a decision or see if you could find something even better out there? Adding to the forever growing perfect dress pile.

One of the main problems you’ll encounter in your wedding planning is the problem of choice.  There are so many things to make decisions about and all of those things have a thousands of possibilities.

The thought of having to make a decision when you’ve got such a huge playground of choices,  leads to overwhelm and overwhelm does not lead to decision-making, it leads to procrastination and stress.

I see 3 main aspects that lead to feeling overwhelmed with wedding planning

• Having too much inspiration to draw from
• Having a belief that there is plenty of time to make the decision
• Second guessing yourself on decisions you’ve already made

The great news is that all this issues can be sorted, making it easier for you to escape that feeling and make those important decisions.

How to prevent and deal with feeling overwhelmed with wedding planning

Here are my 3 tips to get that drowning feeling under control

1 Limit your inspiration

As excited as you’re going to be about your wedding, resist the temptation to spend every waking section flicking through wedding magazines, wedding blogs and Pinterest . It gives your brain too many things to think about resulting in that feeling of being overwhelmed with the wedding planning. When you do find time to do these things instead of collecting all these pretty images which have some vague sense of what you like, be more specific,  ask yourself – what is it that I really like about this?  If you can’t answer this question then it doesn’t belong in your inspiration collection.

Inspiration should lead to some form of action and in the case of a wedding it should help you narrow down your preferences.  By asking yourself this question you’ll get a better idea of what it is that you’ll love about a certain thing.  In time you’ll have  developed a criteria to make your decisions against.

If you can’t find the perfect item that fit your criteria, then why not have one custom-made?  There’s a number of talented people out there who are more than happy to create something just for you. If you’re looking for hair accessories and jewellery then, then I’m your girl.  You can find out more about my bespoke service here: Bespoke Bridal Accessories .  Any aspect of your wedding can be custom-made, you’ll need to know what it is that you want, then find someone to create it for you.

2 The Illusion of time

Because you start planning your wedding over a year in advance you lull yourself into a false sense of security about how much time you really have.  Sure there’s a lot to do but you’ve got loads of time to do it.  Here’s a short exercise to put all that time into perspective.

Grab a calendar and find your wedding date, now mark the 6 weeks before , 3 months before, 6 months, 9 months  before on it.  Take a look at your wedding planning checklist and slot all those decisions you need to make in to the relevant time frame.  How much do you have to do in each time period?

Pick a date within those time frames when certain decisions MUST be made.  Give yourself a definite deadline.  It will keep you focused.  If you know that by next Tuesday you need to have picked your wedding dress, then you’re more likely to work on making a decision.

That feeling of being overwhelmed with the wedding planning can be due to knowing you have a huge list of things to do and not knowing where to start.

3 Stop looking for more ideas

You’ve made a decision on the dress, you’ve paid your deposit but yet you’re still spending your evening on Pinterest drooling over wedding dresses – why?  Don’t make yourself doubt your decision by constantly looking for something better.  You’ve made your choice, now stick to it.  You’ve still got lots of things to do.

Pin me

I hoping you feel more compelled to start making those decisions but I have one final tip for you if you’re struggling choosing between 2 items.  It may be 2 dresses, 2 invitations, 2 main courses.  Assign each choice head or tails and flip a coin.  No I’m not saying make your choices on the flip of a coin.  But while you flip that coin, you’ll be hoping for it to land with a particular side face up – that’s your decision.  The flip of the coin allows you to realise which out of the 2 choices that it is you really want.

Keeping this 3 tips in mind will help prevent the feeling over being overwhelmed with wedding planning and allow you to enjoy the process much more.