Crystal Hohenthaner

For many the idea of planning a wedding is not in the near future. For others, it’s just around the corner. Regardless, as a person who has served as a maid of honor, bridesmaid, cake-cutter and personal attendant many a time, I have a few tips on how to avoid some stress on the magical day in question.

Dealing with children: Don’t have a flower girl or a ring bearer. Believe me, crying 2-year-old is the last thing you want to deal with on your special day. I have asked multiple brides-to-be why they have children in the ceremony and I am often told, “because it’s cute.”

It is a lot less cute when the flower girl throws the flowers at a guest or the ring bearer pees his pants. If one must employ this pointless tradition, have one of the bridesmaids or groomsmen carry the children or choose children old enough to handle the responsibility. Unfortunately, by the time a child is old enough to deal with it, the child is usually no longer very cute.

Setting: A lot of people dream of an outdoor wedding. Therefore this next statement may offend many: Don’t have an outdoor wedding! The fastest way to stress out a wedding is to add to the day worries about weather.

Example: One of my friends was wed outdoors on a lovely August day. It was 110 degrees outside and she fainted three times! There is always the fear of rain or a freak snowstorm as well. Save yourselves the agony and just book a church.

Dress: My same darling friend who fainted at her August gala made the mistake of picking a winter dress for the summer occasion. If she hadn’t been wearing fifty pounds of tulle and satin she might have only fainted once!

Furthermore, pick one that fits your body type. Some dresses will make you look fatter than you are.

Also, try on as many dresses as you can, even if you dislike it on the hanger. That dress may be the dress of your dreams.

Give yourself time: Often, people want to get married immediately after getting engaged. This is unrealistic and will cause everyone more stress. Planning a wedding is hard and expensive enough with six months to a year to get it done.

Give yourself time and save a little money. If the point is to spend the rest of your life with someone, a few extra months isn’t that long to wait.

Take care of the big stuff first: People often worry so much about the little things that they forget the big things, like booking the church. Some churches are booked up to a year and a half in advance.

Don’t wait for the last minute to invite guests, or ask your cousin to be your groomsman. Deciding which napkins to use can wait. Finding a place for the reception cannot!

Over schedule: The week of the wedding, schedule twice as much time as you need to do everything. The addition of extra people into plans, like family and the wedding party, cause every little thing to take twice as long as it would otherwise. If it normally takes two hours to go get your hair done, schedule four.

Delegate, delegate, delegate: Don’t let the mother of the groom do anything. It is your wedding, not hers.

Instead, have personal attendants and give then responsibilities up to a month ahead of time.

Don’t be afraid that you will come off as bossy — just delegate those responsibilities.