typicalswell@gmail.com: November 2010

Even though your wedding day is billed as your 'special day', sometimes you often can't help but feel stressed and overwhelmed by the whole affair. Following are some tips to help you reduce the stress on your wedding day:

1. Try and eat a healthy breakfast. A healthy, nutritious breakfast will provide a wonderful start to your wedding day, followed by several small meals throughout the rest of the day. Incorporate into your meals a light menu of unsweetened fresh/dried fruit, unsalted nuts, raw vegetables, low-fat yogurt, cottage cheese, and high-fiber bread. Unsweetened fruit juices also help to calm stressed-out nerves.

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2. Make sure you have some fresh bottled water with you at all times. Taking a few sips throughout the day is better than guzzling down the whole bottle in 10 minutes, unless you want to spend a lot of time running to and from the restroom. Among a host of other things, water is necessary for the body to digest and absorb vitamins and minerals. Coffee, tea, and caffeinated sodas prompt the body to lose water, so they can work against you on your wedding day.

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3. Laugh! Find every reason throughout the day to find things around you that help to make you laugh. Laughter has been found to help in decreasing stress hormones that can constrict blood vessels and suppress immune activity.

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4. Be very well organized. The more time you spend organizing everything with everybody prior to the wedding (e.g., caterer, event coordinator, photographer, disk jockey/DJ, videographer, limo driver, etc.) the less stress you will have on your wedding day. Do not leave things to the last minute, and try to have everything finalized at least one week ahead of your wedding day.

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5. If you are leaving for your honeymoon immediately after the reception, don't forget to have all your luggage (along with important items like passports, airline tickets, travelers checks, etc.,) packed and placed in a safe location you have access to.

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6. Get a good night's sleep the night before your wedding. In order to get a good night's sleep the night before, you should avoid watching TV in bed; minimize noise, light, and temperature extremes in your room, avoid any naps during the day before; not drink caffeine at least 4 hours prior to going to sleep; avoid eating, exercise or alcohol prior to going to sleep.

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7. Delegate as many tasks to as many people that are willing to help as possible. The less you have to do on your wedding day, the less stressful it will be for you.

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8. Research has shown that music has a profound effect on your body and psyche. Music can be used to bring about a more positive state of mind, which can help prevent the stress response from wreaking havoc on the body. Make sure you work with your disc jockey/DJ to incorporate all the songs that mean the most to you in your ceremony and/or reception.

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9. Understand that not everything on your wedding day is under your control. Names can get mispronounced, important participants can get lost or arrive late, nature can refuse to cooperate, vehicles can break down, and so on. Amidst all this, try and accept with grace and humility the fact that not everything is under your control.

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10. Above all, make sure you take the time to enjoy your special day, even though there will be a lot going on. Take in the elegant floral arrangements, the exquisite table settings, the smiling faces, the soothing music, and all the other special touches that have been put together just for you.

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