Here's some advice on taking control and reducing stress from the book "Where to Seat Aunt Edna and 500 Other Great Wedding Tips" (Hundreds of Heads Books, www.hundredsofheads.com, $13.95), straight from people who've done it.
“Our wedding was certainly the wedding my parents never got to have, and they took over as much as we’d allow. Our attitude: at least we’re not paying. We tried to be relaxed about the details and just picked a few things we cared about: clothes, cakes and the band. The dinner was something we would never have chosen, for example, but we just let it slide!”
—Julie, Austin, Texas, number of wedding guests: 315
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“To make the task easier, I would concentrate on one thing per week, because you can’t do everything all at once. One week I would call the florists and make appointments to see them. The next week I might go on those appointments and start looking at bakeries for the cake. I had a year, so I spaced it out and organized it. This way, I never got too stressed out, and I got to relax in the last month knowing that everything was taken care of.
—Wendy, Allentown, Pa., number of wedding guests: 140
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“During my wedding planning I decreased stress by letting others take care of the things that did not really matter to me. My mom kept asking, ‘What about this? What about that?’ I would reply to her, ‘If you want me to have a cake, then you can order one and bring it. If you want me to have engraved napkins, then you can buy some and bring them.’ I really did not care about these details so I just let others handle it.”
—Tiffany, Oklahoma City, number of wedding guests: 40-50
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“Find something you can do with your fiancé during the planning process that gives you dedicated time together. We signed up for ballroom dancing lessons: In addition to having a whole dance made up for us, we had 10 guaranteed dates during a very stressful, busy time of wedding planning. It was a lot of fun for both of us.”
—Marcelle Hendricks, Westminster, Colo., number of wedding guests: 200
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“Find time to stop thinking about your wedding. There are so many details, your head will spin. I’d go out and exercise. Ironically, that’s when I thought of the best ideas for my wedding.”
— Amy Jeffery Bridgton, Maine, number of wedding guests: 100
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© 2006, Hundreds of Heads Books, Inc.