Wedding Week Survival Tips
/EMILY LOGIN
As I write this, I am sitting in an AirBnb the week of my brothers’ wedding. This beautiful but chaotic week of family festivities and last minute preparations brings me back to my own wedding week.
I remember excitedly and anxiously anticipating the week of my own wedding, but when it finally arrived it was a whirlwind and I found myself wishing that I had another week before the big day.
PHOTOGRAPHY: KATZIE AND BEN PHOTOGRAPHY LLC
At the end of the week though, all of the chaos ceased and the grace of the Holy Spirit flooded over my restless soul and at the end of the day, I was married to my beloved.
Wedding week can bring a hurricane of emotions, family reunions, and last minute worries. If you find yourself in the midst of this chaos, here are a few practical tips for surviving the final days before your wedding:
Lean on your bridesmaids
When you chose your wedding party, you chose women that hold significant places in your life: Women that you want to witness your sacrament of Matrimony and, ideally, help hold you accountable to the vows you will make before God and your loved ones.
You chose these girls for a reason! They want to support you, love you, and walk with you especially in this week - lean on them when things feel a little too heavy for you to carry alone.
I remember the night before my wedding, we had a little disaster with the flowers that kept me up way too late. Around midnight, my wonderful maid of honor finally pulled me aside and lovingly but firmly told me that I had to go to sleep. She said that she was going to take care of everything and that I had nothing to worry about, and she was right! After a full night’s sleep, life seemed simpler and my dear friends really had taken care of everything.
Stick close to life-giving family members
Weddings offer an opportunity for a family reunion with long-lost cousins, aunts, and uncles. And while often exciting, this kind of reunion might also feel very painful depending on the individual wounds and memories associated with certain family members.
Remember that while each and every member of your family has a right to kindness and charity, you do not have to spend copious amounts of time with any one particular family member. Don’t let a painful family memory overshadow the joy of the sacrament. Let your family members spend time together, whether that is with or without you.
Delegate!
Regardless of the amount of meticulous planning that you may have done in advance, you will still find small last-minute decisions and details to take care of in the days leading up to the wedding. Something will probably not quite go according to plan and something unexpected will pop up.
This is where it is extremely important to look towards those family and friends who may ask “What can I do to help?” Instead of giving some sort of faked cordial polite answer, be honest!
Ask them to help play with a younger cousin, go on a walk with grandma, call the caterer or set up the seating chart. Asking for help can be a humbling and vulnerable experience, but in the long run, you will not regret asking for help and allowing your loved ones to love you!
Embrace the Awkward
At the end of the day, remember that the week of the wedding is just one week of the rest of your lives. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Something will probably go wrong. Some sort of crisis will happen.
At the time it may seem like the end of the world; however, in years to come, hopefully, you will look back on the small crises as a fond and funny memory.
Lean on our Lord, our Lady, our patron saints, the grace of the sacrament and the love of our beloved to carry us through the week of the wedding!
About the Author: Emily Login is a wife and mother of one living in Maryland. She is a special education teacher at a Catholic school and runs a small online used bookstore called Lazarus Catholic Books.