Trusting Your Intuition When Planning Your Wedding
“Trust Your Gut” You’ve been told this before right? But what does it actually mean?
In short, it’s about making a choice that feels right for you.
Inside all of us is an inner GPS. You may call it intuition, your highest self or inner wisdom.
Have you ever been thinking of someone and then your phone rings and it's the person you were thinking of or maybe you get the feeling that someone is watching you, you turn around and someone is. These are common examples of intuition.
I wasn't in the practice of trusting my gut, but in 2011 I had an experience and made the decision to learn to listen to and trust my intuition, after being almost two hours late for a bridal fitting with a client. I was mortified as I pride myself on my time management.
I didn’t listen to the nudges that I was getting, for my journey to the bridal shop.
On the day of the fitting, I left home with plenty of time. It was a nice spring day and I was travelling by public transport. As I was sitting waiting for the bus I kept getting a nudge, like a little whisper “get the train”. I was seeing train adverts on the side of buses, I got a notification on my phone for train times, notifications I don’t remember setting up; weird right?
I ignored all of that and continued with the bus to the tube station. When I got there the trains were running on a limited service and weren't stopping where I needed to go. Needless to say I was late and I had to make two tube changes and another bus ride. By the time I got there I was a hot mess, physically and mentally. I wasn’t myself, with my client or the shop owner because I felt really unprofessional. I’ve never forgotten that lesson.
During your engagement season there are many decisions that need to be made and decision fatigue is one of the reasons for engaged couples feeling overwhelmed. Our intuition can guide us to make decisions. By cultivating this practice of tuning into it, it can help to make your wedding planning experience more easeful.
One way you can use it in wedding planning is when you’re choosing your suppliers.
You’ve found a photographer. You’re loving their vibe, their style is exactly what you want, they are within budget and your date is available. It all feels right. But… you don’t book them. Why?
Because you’ve got three other photographers booked in to see, just in case or you feel obligated to stick to those appointments.
You’ve found a photographer that ticks all your boxes, but because of what you think you may be missing with the others or because you don’t want to write that email that says “thanks but, no thanks.” What you do is, keep on looking and create for yourself a situation where you’ll end up overthinking, that can lead to overwhelm.
When you find your people, someone you trust, get them locked in, it’s going to make wedding planning stress free, and significantly more efficient too. Trust what you feel.
So if you’re talking with a wedding supplier and the vibe feels off , trust that! Don’t be swayed by money, special offers or discounts etc. Listen and trust your gut.
Your intuition can be a ‘knowing’, a gentle nudge that something is off or a big yes, or needs your attention. You know the feeling. It is easy to miss it because it doesn’t fight for your attention.
So tuning into your intuition is important, especially if you’re in a situation that is causing you to overthink and question “what should I do?” repeatedly.
You need to step away from what you’re doing and create the space to listen. You can take yourself out for a walk, bake, paint, meditate, journal or have a cup of coffee/tea. Whatever calms you and/or you love to do. Be honest with yourself and acknowledge the feelings. They are there to support and guide you. Give yourself some time, 24-72 hours.
The feeling you’re aiming for is calm, peaceful and centred.
Intuition is reliable and never guides us in the wrong direction. When it comes down to it the right choice is the one that feels right for you.
So, listen in.
Edna x