Brides & grooms, we get that wedding planning can be both fun & stressful all at the same time. Being engaged is such a short & unique phase in life already, and it adds on a lot of extra decisions you need to make and responsibilities you probably didn’t even realize you’d have. Everyone will have opinions too. Some may be welcomed & end up helping you out tremendously, but what do you do when they’re just plain wrong or annoying?
We hear from a lot of couples that they find themselves agreeing to make decisions they didn’t want to or taking on too much. The main reason for this is because they just don’t know how to say the magic word, “no.” Maybe its because you know the people trying to help mean well, or you’re just so close you don’t want to hurt their feelings… Whatever the reasoning might be it can bog you down and bring you unwanted anxiety. Learning to say no can help free you up from stress, keep drama to a minimum, and allow you to really plan the wedding of your dreams!
So how can you say no without hurting the people you love? We’ve got a few tried-and-true tips today to help you simply say “no” and take your wedding planning back into your own hands.
Hire a wedding planner
Seriously, please do yourself a favor and hire a wedding planner. During your wedding planning process they’ll be able to take the fall for a lot of “no” saying and provide professional reasons why! It will keep it from becoming too personal and allow you to delegate responsibility for you. Not to mention the 7,000 other amazing things they will do to keep wedding planning fun, simple & stress free!
Feed it forward
This is a simple management idea that definitely applies to saying “no.” Feeding it forward is the idea that you let someone know beforehand that you’re about to say something they won’t like, setting their expectations. I.E. “I really appreciate all your help, and I know what I am about to say might seem mean, but…” or, “This might seem a little harsh, but…” This simple trick can simply get your loved ones in the right mindset to hear the truth from you and keep them from getting upset.
Delegate. Delegate. Delegate.
You’ve got friends & family who love you and want to help. Delegate certain items to them and let them handle some of the stress. Sometimes they can say “no” for you to the smaller items & save you heartache! Plus, this will take some things off your plate so you can focus more on what really matters… getting married!!!
The main point of all this is to help you take on only what you need to. There is no need for you to try to do it all or to feel pressured into decisions that don’t fit your needs. Your wedding planning doesn’t have to be stressful. We promise! So best of luck and we hope that this helps you summon the courage to say “no” to the things you need to.
Blessings,
Katie & Alec
