Don’t Let “Identity Theft” Ruin Your Wedding Planning

Identity theft usually refers to the criminal act of stealing another person’s identifying information for financial gain. However, in wedding-speak, identity theft means something entirely different. Here, identity theft is what happens when a bride or groom becomes completely consumed by wedding planning, losing all trace of their former selves. They get so sucked into planning every minute detail that they forget who they were before they got engaged! This can be maddening for the people around them, and it’s not good for the person doing the planning either. Don’t become a victim of wedding identity theft. Here’s how you can protect yourself:

• If you’ve got a hobby, nurture it. It’s all too easy to spend all your waking hours browsing the internet for this year’s wedding colors or DIY bridal party gifts, but try to resist the urge. Devote at least a little bit of your time to something you enjoy doing that isn’t related to your wedding. Working out, knitting, painting…whatever it is, keep doing it. Trust us, it’ll help preserve your sanity.
• Don’t use your SO, mom, friends, or anyone else as your only sounding board. When you’re feeling stressed, it’s so simple to unload all your frustrations on someone you’re close to. This is fine once in awhile, but be careful not to designate one person as the one your turn to for all your rant sessions. Spread the love, or better yet, journal your thoughts. Sometimes it’s best to get it all out on paper.
• Designate at least one date night per week or month as “wedding-free.” You probably used to talk about everything from current events to who’s gossiping about who at work, but now all your conversations are focused on the wedding. While this obviously needs to happen to a certain degree – you’ve got to plan, after all – it shouldn’t be the only thing you and your fiancé have to talk about. Make sure at least one of your date nights for the week or month (depending on how often you go out) are totally free of wedding talk so that you can focus on and maintain other aspects of your lives.