During your engagement season you go through many emotions and feelings as you journey. Now, every couple's journey is individual to them but… there are some emotions that you can expect as you plan your wedding.

When you’re getting started there’s excitement. You’re researching, getting ideas and you’re learning new things. You’re on a high because you’ve taken the first steps and you’re feeling great.

You’ll also feel confident. You’ve got a plan, you’re working the plan and beginning to see things happen. It feels really good.

Some other emotions you can feel through your engagement season, planning your wedding.

A sense of achievement, when you’ve booked the majority or all of your suppliers. This feels really good too and like you’re getting shit done.

There’s still some stuff to be done, but that ain’t for now.

Fantastic! Remember to celebrate!

Celebrating these milestones helps with the enjoyment of the wedding planning process.You’re creating the memories of your engagement season.

So, let’s talk about overwhelm, which can occur at the pre planning, mid planning or final stages of wedding planning. What’s considered overwhelming is different for different people.

Let’s talk about few common examples and some guidance on ways to alleviate the pressure:

In the early stages, feeling overwhelmed about where to begin is common. Especially if your diy wedding planning, how to decipher all of the information out there can create overwhelm and make you feel stuck and unsure how to move forward.

The budget; You can get hit with the reality of the difference between your estimated costs vs the actual cost, dealing with the big ticket elements and making sure you’ve got everything covered may mean that you need to figure out where to adjust the budget.

This can become a source of overwhelm.

Pro Tip: Look at your prioritised list remind yourself of your top 3-5 elements that are really important to you. Adjust your budget accordingly. If you’re not sure of your wedding must haves, download your FREE guide here and get clarity.

Another aspect of overwhelm could be the number of people asking you questions about the wedding or wedding planning from suppliers to work colleagues. It can all become a bit too much.

Guidance if you’re feeling overwhelmed:

It’s helpful to step away from everything and get grounded in the first instance. Go for a walk, exercise, journal, bake, cook a nice meal, knit, read a book.

Do something that you enjoy.

When you feel centred, time to figure out what’s making you feel overwhelmed.

What about wedding planning right now overwhelms you? Be specific and honest.
Write down each item that is making you feel overwhelmed.

Is it someone in particular? Is it your budget?
Is it not knowing who to hire? Is it not knowing how to come up with ideas?
Is it not knowing how to cut your guest list?
Is it not knowing where to buy something specific?
Is it not having enough time?

Next, look at the first item on your list and write down why that item makes you feel overwhelmed. Then ask yourself again, why? Do this a few times to each answer you write down.

For example, if it’s your friend/sister/mum/MIL to be, maybe you feel overwhelmed because they’re constantly messaging you with ideas.

And the reason this makes you feel overwhelmed is because they send you all different kinds of stuff all the time.

And the reason this makes you feel overwhelmed is because it reminds you of all the things you need to do.

What would make that feeling go away, now that you have this information?

Then take action and do that thing!

Decision fatigue is a real thing. This can happen due to the number of questions that you get asked from friends and family to your suppliers wanting information. There are ways to handle the questions from friends and family like placing info on your wedding website and directing them there. When it comes to suppliers, you just need to keep on keeping on until you can hand it over to your wedding day manager!

In the final stages of wedding planning there’s a lot of little details to handle now, final guest numbers, seating charts, final checks etc This information is generally all needed within a short period of time, you may feel like you have a scattered mind because you just don’t wanna forget anything.

Wedding day. Nothing else matters except being present and connecting with your partner.

This feels fab!

newlyweds on wedding day. Husband kissing the forehead of his wife.

So it's a mixed bag of emotions; the highs and lows are a part of the process. Expect to feel these and other emotions as you plan for your wedding. Remember; be gentle with yourself.

You’ve never planned a wedding before! So don’t expect to know and be able to handle everything? Even your professional planners go through these highs and lows.

When the dips happen, observe your self-talk. Is it negative, with the shoulda, coulda, woulda? Or Are you being kind to yourself?

Share what you’re feeling with your partner.
Share them with your planner.

This is not a reflection of who you are, it’s a moment. What are you learning about yourself in the process?

When I partner with my couples I feel these emotions with them as they journey through this season. I can do a lot when partnering with you, but I can’t prevent these feelings from happening at all.

After all, we’re meant to feel our feelings.

What I can do is offer to hold space to listen, to offer guidance for your best interests and help you navigate towards a solution that feels right for you.

Embrace the dips just as you embrace the highs. They are all part of the journey.