Keeping Your Cool
Maybe you looked at the sample itinerary in this chapter and thought, “Oh, that would never do. We have so many things to accomplish. We'll be on the go, go, go the entire week!” And then you proceeded to fill up six single-spaced pages on your computer with activities you're planning to squeeze into one week.
If you over-plan the week leading up to your wedding, there's a good chance you're going to drive yourself a tad bit nuts. By the time the ceremony rolls around, you might feel worn out and eager to just get it over with so you can take off for your honeymoon and sleep. On the one hand, that's not such a bad thing — it means that you really packed a lot into your week with your guests. On the other hand, though, if you've lost sight of the reason for this trip in the first place (which would be the ceremony), then there's just too much going on.
E~Fact
The best way to find a balance between being busy having fun and getting things done is to plan ahead (organization saves the day again!) and have an itinerary for meeting with your vendors. Put yourself on a schedule, and the fun will fall into place.
You'll probably be on the go most of the week no matter how little you do in the way of actually planning activities. Earlier in this chapter, you read about meeting with the wedding coordinator to work out the last-minute details. If there is no wedding coordinator in the picture, you'll make those final calls yourself, recounting the terms of the contracts and solidifying arrival and delivery times. Lest this sound like an impossible task, relax — it's not. Brides who plan in-town weddings often confirm dates and times by themselves, usually without a single hitch.
However, brides who are planning weddings in their hometowns are either in their own element or are relying on someone else (such as mom) to pick up some of the slack, as would be the case for a bride who is returning to her hometown from the Big City in order to recite her marriage vows. When you hit the road and have no one but yourself to see you through to your own wedding day, at least in the way of planning, it's important not to overload yourself with too many unfamiliar things at once.
Packing an outrageous amount of sightseeing into a day when you're also supposed to touch base with the minister, the baker, the caterer, and the photographer will backfire on you in a big way, especially if something goes awry with one of your vendors.
