How to be more ‘Bride’ and less ‘Zilla’

Randy and I have been blessed to have avoided the scariest monster of them all: the Bridezilla.  I’ve seen TV shows about them, I’ve heard about them from industry friends, and I’ve certainly been warned about them … but we’ve avoided them thus far.

Some might call this luck. Others might say its inevitable. Me? I think it’s about educating the “Zilla” right out of the bride!

How are Bridezillas made?

Stress is what makes a Bridezilla come out of hiding, and rear her ugly head. Things not going as planned. And forgetting that at the end of the day it’s not about the cake, the flowers or the shoes: it’s about the person standing next to you up at the altar.

Here are 6 tips to be more of a BRIDE and less of a ZILLA!

1.) Hire a trusted wedding planner/day-of-coordinator. Let go of the reigns for your big day, and let someone else handle all the behind-the-scenes stuff that tends to stress brides and grooms out.

2.) Sit down with your vendors and create a timeline. Every wedding I’ve gone to that didn’t have a good timeline in place has ran late, or they skipped over things to move on to the next item on the agenda. Randy and I work closely with our brides and grooms to create padded timelines before the wedding, and then during the wedding we will work with the wedding planner to make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible.

3.) Set a realistic budget and stick to it. Money problems are the leading cause of stress, so create a good, realistic budget for your wedding that you can actually afford. Remember how when Sookie and Jackson were planning their wedding, and Sookie got sucked into “Emilyland” on Gilmore Girls? You don’t need dancing mushrooms at your wedding, unless you can afford dancing mushrooms at your wedding.

3.) Focus on the two of you, for everything. Don’t feel obligated to do anything you don’t want to do, because someone else said you should.

4.) Realize that things don’t always go as planned. Hair and makeup can run over, people might arrive late to the ceremony (shoot, some people might not even bother to show up at all even after RSVP’ing), the wrong song can be played for your first dance … there are so many variables that inevitably, something might not go as planned. While that’s stressful, don’t let it ruin your day.

5.) Enlist the people of your mom or best friend to keep you in check. If they see you’re heading down the dark path of the Bridezilla, it’ll be their job to sit you down and get your focus back on the happiest day of your life and NOT on whatever is stressing you out.

Bonus tip?

Remember: weddings are a ONE DAY celebration of a LIFETIME choice.

Always treat your spouse with respect, even when you’re stressed. Lean on them for support, and involve them as much in the process as possible so you can share this journey together. At the end of the day, you will be married to your best friend and that is what’s most important.

Until next week! xoxo