Work It - For the Wedding

Helpful tips to maintain a balance between wedding planning, exercise, your job and the rest of your daily life! Planning your wedding can be a monumental task. In fact, it can be overwhelming. Balancing this with the rest of your daily life can be very challenging. Don’t panic! SHAPE can help you reduce stress, manage time, and get everything done while still being able to enjoy yourself. SHAPE Tips for Stress-Free Wedding Planning: 1. HAVE A PLAN: Decide what you and your fiancé generally want and expect from your wedding Estimate of how many guests you will be inviting Develop a realistic budget Once the big decisions are made, pressure is reduced and it can be fun and leisurely to fill in the small details 2. REALISTIC LONG AND SHORT TERM GOALS Allow for enough time between the engagement and the wedding “You could have the best time management skills in the world and still have a hell of a time planning a wedding with 300 guests in 2 months.” - Lindsey, bride-to-be The time leading up to the big day is an ideal time to start a fitness and nutrition program for many reasons, including: You can avoid crash diets and exercise routines that you can’t possibly maintain for more than a few weeks. It is most effective to make a healthy LIFESTYLE change that happens gradually. You have time to figure out what works and doesn’t, what you like and what you don’t, all with professional supervision and guidance. You can make small changes, avoiding drastic changes and creating confidence to stick with the program. Most brides that train with us at SHAPE start working out anywhere from 3 - 6 months before their wedding. With adequate lead time, you likely won’t get discouraged if you can’t meet an unrealistic goal (eg. 10 lbs. in 1 month). 3. TIME MANAGEMENT SKILLS Now that you know what you are doing and when it needs to be done, “buy yourself an agenda and a pencil, and schedule your appointments in pencil so you can erase!” says Daniela, a newlywed who trains at SHAPE. This is a good habit in general, so even if you are recently engaged and not planning the wedding for a while, mastering this skill can make a huge difference. Once major decisions are made, sit down with your fiancé on a regular basis, (weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly) to discuss smaller details as they arise. This can greatly reduce stress for both of you. Laura, a SHAPE client and bride-to-be, suggests that you actually write things down, no matter how small. “I book everything in my agenda to make sure I don’t let wedding appointments get in the way, like going to the gym or my scheduled appointments with my trainer.” Laura explains. “In retrospect, I should have booked treadmill time as well!” Be weary of “block booking” your appointments too tightly though, meaning just because you finish work at 5:00 pm does not necessarily mean that you can be at the florist by 5:15. Spreading yourself too thin and thinking you can do the impossible will only cause aggravation when it doesn’t happen according to plan. The SHAPE team recommends limiting the number of wedding appointments allowed per day/week, focusing only on the most pressing short term tasks. 4. COMMUNICATION Communicating with all the important people in the wedding (fiancé, bridal party, parents) is crucial. Remember to share your thoughts with your wedding or event planner, hall manager, limo driver, photographer and caterer. SHAPE’s Work it for the Wedding bride/groom-to-be program will be tailored to your specific health and body shaping goals as we will review a series of questions about all of your specific wedding plans and health goals prior to developing your personalized wedding transformation. 5. REALIZING WHAT IS IMPORTANT The wedding day is meant to be a celebration of your love for each other; you should have fun and savor every moment! It may seem like a big deal that all the napkins are folded exactly the same way and you have shed that last pound to fit into your dress or tux just so. However, when you walk down the aisle and see your family and close friends shedding tears of joy for you, those insignificant details will melt away. This is not to say you should rely on love to buy your dress and rent the hall, but when you feel overwhelmed and frustrated with your caterer, look into your fiancé’s eyes and remember why you said yes in the first place.

 

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