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You’ve all heard about the importance of achieving a proper work-life balance in life, right? Where people strive to prioritize career ambitions on one hand and family, health, and other of life’s little pleasures on the other.
Image by Michael Fitzjames / Via Babble.com
Well, I have been trying to achieve proper wedding-life balance as we continue along this wedding planning journey.
On one hand, I have an overwhelming desire to make every single aspect of our wedding perfect. I want to incorporate all the unique things I see on blogs. I want to be prepared for every possible scenario that could arise. And I want to do everything myself.
On the other hand, I want to enjoy my friends and family, my summer, my life. This is the only time in my life that I will be a bride-to-be. These are the last few months I will be a resident of Illinois (at least for the foreseeable future). The last time I will anxiously wait in line at midnight for the newest Harry Potter movie. The only time to celebrate with the many family and friends also getting married this summer. I want to enjoy these things while I can.
I want to spend a weekend with friends without feeling like I should be preparing something for our wedding as soon as I get home. I want to Skype with Mr. Pony without bringing up a list of things to do. I want to stop worrying about every aspect of my appearance. I want to spend an entire night watching TV mindlessly. I want to have a social life without feeling guilty about it.
And I want wedding planning to stop feeling like a chore.
Most of this post (rant? vent?) is a result of being in the middle of invitation hell right now (why does no one tell you how horrible these lovely pieces are paper are?! Or, more likely, why did I not listen to the warnings?), when I would rather spend time with friends and loved ones during the fun summer months.
I don’t want to sacrifice my wedding or my life, but I also have to sleep. I know prioritizing is the name of the game in these last few months, and I’m working on saying no to things that I just don’t have time for, but it’s a work in progress everyday.
Anyone else struggle with maintaining life while planning a wedding? How do you prioritize?
I’m struggling maintaining a life post-wedding! Work has taken over and we’ve barely been able to enjoy our newlywed status, let alone think about resuming blogging. The invitation phase is one of the tougher phases - hang in there!
YES to what PaC said. i’m starting to worry that my stress is not wedding-life balance but, like, “figuring out how to be an adult and only being so-so at it.”
The invites were definitely a time where I wanted to throw my hands up (and probably did once or twice), but I think you’ll be so happy once they’re done!
I started mine waaaay early so I didn’t feel too stressed but now it is RSVP time and getting everyone to respond while making seating charts and escort cards has been very time consuming and stressful. People are so picky about who they want to sit with! Shouldn’t everyone be dancing anyway? 
great post, Pony! I think work-life balance itself is hard to achieve, let alone work-life-wedding balance! I typically think I’m great at prioritizing, but I just cant seem to get my head around it with all the wedding stuff. too many intertwining things and too much. just trying my best to get it all done!
Right now Mr. D and I are in an LDR and I agree that our conversations almost always have to-do lists thrown in there. I try to balance my time by setting dates on my schedule aside of for certain things to be done. Like by Monday I will have all of our STD’s addressed and ready to be sent out. Next Wednesday I will sit down and finish the website. Etc., etc. Then again you are talking to the organization queen. LOL!
Our wedding is two weeks away and I am at the point where every single moment is wedding focused… Now I just try to spend some time thinking about the honeymoon and that keeps me somewhat sane lol
I just remember setting weekly wedding goals for myself to keep my sanity. Once I finished the goals for the week, I was free to play, veg, etc. By making this kind of a schedule, I was also able to finish everything and enjoy the week of the wedding without any sort of “to-do” list. This part is hard, but I know you’ll be fine! Go Pony! 
I’m in the same boat and most of the time it feels like it’s sinking 
But now I’m setting goals for projects and once they are met, then I get to play.
Invitations are the absolute worst but I’m thinking of it like this….it is just a piece of paper. Yes, it does give your guests the first glimpse into your big day and the labor of love you’ve been putting into making it perfect but it really simply is just a piece of paper!
Take a deep breath. You’ll make it 
Definitely take some time for yourself if the planning is starting to feel like a chore! I always felt guilty *not* doing something wedding-related because it seemed like there was so much that had to be done. The projects can wait, but your sanity cannot. <3 Hang in there!
Oh no! I’m reading your post as I’m procrastinating my own invitation hell, hee hee! You are getting so close, be sure to give yourself some non-wedding ‘me time’. Maybe go shopping for some new fun socks that have nothing to do with your big day I feel guilty that my free time should be spent working on the wedding, but when I feel that burnout coming on, I gotta put myself in timeout. Hang in there!
You should make a daily schedule. That way you determine how much time you’ll spend doing wedding stuff and that’s that for the day. Then you have to make sure you don’t let yourself think about it.
I totally was terrible at the wedding-life balance! I was entirely engrossed in the wedding and projects for our entire engagement. I did make time for “life”, but…probably not in the same way I would have if I hadn’t been wedding planning. All that being said - I am not sure I would have changed anything. Even with the frustrations along the way, I had the wedding I wanted and I absolutely loved all my little details, even if they took a long time to put together!
Oh Pony, you know I feel your pain - you saw my own struggle with balancing!! I spent four hours last night making paper flowers and ribbon belly bands and cutting cardstock into tiny squares for our wedding website label. I keep telling myself that it’s all worth it, it’s all my choice, and I can choose not to do any of this stuff at any point (except the invites… those really need to go out). I am, however, totally stressing out about the tiniest things with the invites right now.
One thing I did was make myself a schedule in Excel and outline everything I want to get done, and when. That way, I can see at a glance (since I’ve color coded based on not started, in progress, and finished) what’s still left, feel good about my progress - and flip out about my schedule the month before the wedding!
Hang in there! Things will balance soon enough.
Ahem sister. I can not even think of anything not wedding related. It is making me very sad that I am missing the whole summer but there is so much to do I need to step away from the computer. Making a to do list gives me mini panic attacks so I have stopped doing it! Problem solved.
I feel terrible when I break dates. I feel so terrible that I just don’t do it. So I schedule time with my friends and family. And even if I’m busy (or in need of sleep), I drag my butt out and go live my life. Perhaps I don’t get all the invitations addressed Saturday afternoon, it doesn’t get finished until Monday morning, but it gets done and I got to go to a lovely picnic with my girls and our S.O.s. That’s my solution.
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Mrs. Pony, Bloomington, IL Age and Occupation: 25, Attorney Fiance's Age and Occupation: 34, Attorney Engagement Date: March 22, 2010 Wedding Date: September 2011 Venue: Mackinaw Valley Vineyard; Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts About Me: I found my Southern counterpart in law school and since he popped the question last March, we have been busy graduating, job searching, bar taking, and wedding planning. My loves include must see TV, magnets, quotes, anything green, my car, fun socks, the Cubs, and my Mr. Together we love wine, playing outside, and exploring the world together. Stay tuned to see our Midwest wedding full of Southern charm, vintage flair, lots of DIY details, and a whole lot o’ wine.
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