Time Management Techniques for Your Wedding Planning

Have you ever looked-really looked-at the sheer quantity of "stuff" you have to do before you can say your "I do's"? Seriously? It's longer than my college Spanish Vocab list! It's terrifying! Trying to swallow that all in one gulp is going to make you choke, so learning how to apply effective time management techniques to your wedding planning process is a must if you're going to come through with your sanity intact!

First and foremost, make a list for yourself. The lists they provide in those planning books are for huge society weddings and tend to cover just about anything you could ever have, hope to have or think about having at your wedding. If that's not for you, that's fine! Make a to-do list for yourself ranging from today until the end of your honeymoon, and if it's three to five pages long don't worry about it!

Once you have the list in hand, make due dates for yourself. Most places like reservations ten months to a year in advance, so booking the location early makes sense. On the other hand, bridal shops don't do your final fitting until a week or so before the big day anyway, so you technically have until two to three weeks before the big day to find the perfect dress. (Not that you shouldn't be looking anyway, when you have time. We're just talking about crunch time here!)

With (realistic) due dates in mind make yourself a month-by-month "calendar" showing you what you need to have done when. This breaks the wedding into manageable pieces and lets you relax because you're not trying to plan a wedding in one fell swoop! With bits and pieces done each month you're guaranteed to have everything ready to go once the big day rolls around!

Wedding dress: Jewel, from Priscilla of Boston. Found at www.PriscillaofBoston.com