Raise your hand if you can hardly believe it’s the middle of November and the holidays are right around the corner! I come from a long line of women who believe hospitality is the best way to express your love, so of course Thanksgiving and Christmas are two of my absolute favorite days of the year. Spencer and I got engaged the week before Thanksgiving in 2014, so not only were we in the early stages of planning a wedding but we also wanted to share our exciting news with all our friends and family. Looking back, I definitely learned a few survival tips on finding the perfect balance between planning your wedding AND enjoying the holidays that I want to share with you today.

Photo by Susie Vreeland Photography

Review Your Checklist

Wether you are early in the planning process or if your wedding is quickly approaching, evaluating your checklist is the best place to start. Determine what tasks are urgent and need immediate attention and which tasks can afford to be put on the back burner for a few weeks. Time sensitive tasks can quickly seem overwhelming, so don’t be afraid to cut down that list to the items that are absolutely necessary. Next try and determine if any errands can be delegated off to your fiance or friends to help lighten your load.

Schedule Meetings Now

After you have decided which tasks are urgent or can wait, go ahead and schedule all of the appropriate meetings you’ll need. This goes for any that need to happen in November and December, as well as any that can wait until January. If the meeting is scheduled then you can mark it off your list and push it out of your brain until after the holidays! For the meetings that do need to happen sooner rather than later, try and be conscious of your vendor’s time as well. In the wedding industry, the winter is our much needed recovery time from the rush of fall weddings as well as our time with our families. Although you may be traveling into St. Louis on Christmas Eve, don’t be surprised if your vendors are unavailable for a meeting.

Be Present

Now is not the time for those 2 hour Pinterest binge sessions where you go down the rabbit hole searching for the perfect robes for your bridesmaids! Block off specific time chunks for wedding planning and really commit to tackling the items on your to-do list during that time. No social media distractions, just wedding planning. If you’ve already evaluated your planning checklist this should be a breeze!

Photo by Susie Vreeland Photography

Have Canned Responses

If this is your first holiday together as an engaged couple I can promise you it’s going to be different than any holiday you’ve spent together. Friends and family will be so incredibly excited for you and want to hear all about your upcoming event. For Spencer and I this was a little overwhelming as we had only been engaged for a few short weeks, and only a few details were set in stone. Looking back I wish I had the foresight to prepare a few concrete answers like “we both really care about the experience our guests have at our reception, so we’ve already started listening to bands for the party” or “we toured a really great venue that had all the items on our checklist.” Well-meaning family just want a little bit of info to pass on to their friends, so it’s helpful to have something in the back of your mind when the questions arise.

I also want to encourage you to include a non-wedding detail in response to these inquiries. When you get asked about your wedding so many times in a row it can start to drag you down and feel a little degrading. Your life is more interesting and complex than just this one event, so be sure to also share a few notes about your new apartment or a restaurant you recently tried!

I hope you find these tips helpful and they can help you find balance in planning your wedding AND enjoying the upcoming holidays!