How to Juggle Wedding Planning with Your Career

Ensure your professional life doesn’t suffer while you’re in wedding-planning mode…

Planning a wedding is essentially a full-time job, and if you’re already a busy professional, guess what? Your workweek doubled the moment you said “yes,” and the delicate balance between your professional and personal lives is in danger of collapsing. So how can you juggle your career and your wedding without losing your sanity?

Your Daily Planner is Your Best Friend

Getting organized is the best way to avoid missteps and their accompanying headaches. Appointment books or electronic planners are literally the bottom line when it comes to organizing your work and personal life. There it is, right in front of you, a complete visualization of your day, week, or month. Use iCloud or your Google account to sync all your calendars so when you enter an appointment in your phone, it automatically shows up on your computer and tablet. You can also color code all of your entries so you can easily differentiate between work and wedding.

Stay Organized

If you have a method of organization that works at work, use it for your wedding. Take control of your all checklists with an organizational system you can stick to. Google Docs is great because you can access it from any computer, Smart Phone, of tablet, but if you aren’t a tablet toting, spreadsheet-loving bride then an old-fashioned three-ring binder will definitely work.

Divide and Conquer

Surfing the ’net for bouquet ideas while on the phone with an important client is generally a bad idea. Instead, segment your day into times when you are solely focused on work and solely focused on the wedding; letting one intrude on the other can slow you down. Designate your lunch hour for calling vendors or 30 minutes in the afternoon to look for dress ideas. If you’re taking time out of your workday, plan ahead to arrive early or stay late to make up for any lost time.

Maximize Free Time

You’ve got a lot on your plate, so what was once “free time” may now have to be used more productively. Try to swipe some items from your to-do list after hours. Instead of vegging on the couch during Grey’s Anatomy, use this time to multitask. An easy chore like addressing save-the-dates or organizing your Pinterest boards can be done in your pjs without missing any of the action on TV.

Don’t Be Afraid to Delegate

Your fiancé is your greatest untapped resource; divide wedding-planning tasks evenly between the two of you. (It’s his wedding, too, you know.) Then delegate even further. Accept help from anyone who offers, especially bridesmaids. Give small tasks to immediate family members or bridal attendants (key word is small – don’t turn former friends into resentful full-time wedding planners).

Hire a Wedding Planner

Sure, we know you can do it all on your own, but do you really want to? Lower your stress level by hiring a professional wedding planner. If you don’t want to give it all up, consider talking to a professional about how they can help with the parts that feel overwhelming. Most wedding planners offer a whole slue of services from décor design to simple day-of coordination, so you can pick and choose what services suit your needs.

Take a Break

Kicking up your heels as your task list exponentially expands may sound a tad indulgent, but allowing yourself some time to rejuvenate is essential to avoid burnout. Some downtime will even make you more efficient. Have you ever tried going for a morning run without a good night’s sleep the night before? The same applies here. What activities comprised your freetime before the career versus wedding juggling act seized your soul? Reading? Hiking? Painting? Don’t let those activities slip; take that time to yourself and enjoy the relaxation that comes with doing something that you enjoy.

Don’t Be Afraid To Ask

So you’ve organized, compartmentalized, multitasked, delegated, and rejuvenated, but you still find that there just aren’t enough hours in the day, and your work is suffering. Don’t ignore the problem and hope it goes unnoticed. Schedule a meeting with your boss to discuss your situation. Avoid blanket complaints about being too busy and unfounded requests for time off. Instead, present the problem and possible solutions. Explain the job duties that are suffering, and share with your boss ideas for how you can accomplish them more efficiently.