I know, I know. It’s Thursday. I’m supposed to post the new blog on Wednesday. Yesterday I gasped in horror as I realized (near the end of the day) that it was, in fact, Wednesday and that I had not, in fact, posted a blog. Immediately a productive thought popped to mind – this would be a great object lesson. Ready? Ready? Sometimes things are not going to go quite as planned or as scheduled. Now, I’m right up there with the best of you in detail oriented control fabulousness. (I prefer the term “control fabulous” to “control freak”.) However, I’ve learned… and I’m still learning that no matter how precisely and meticulously you plan every last detail some things are just not going to happen exactly when and how you want them to. I’d like to say I’ve always met such schedule misfires with grace and poise. However, that would be a complete lie. Like I said, I’m still learning.
What helps me personally when something goes awry is to first to start thinking about a solution. If you’ve overbooked or you underestimated the amount of time a certain task or appointment would take don’t start with beating yourself up over the mistake. Instead, think about rebooking or adjusting the timeline to compensate. Usually if one task takes longer than you thought another will take less time and it’ll all even out in the end. Another tip is to try and keep your perspective. Ask yourself, “What’s the worst thing that could happen and could I handle it?” If missing an appointment with your florist means that you won’t have any flowers for the wedding you’re obviously going to want to react pretty swiftly to remedy that situation. However, if you’re running 10 minutes late for a 1 hour appointment it’ll just mean that you now have 50 minutes instead of 60 to communicate your vision. Also, if I have a task on my list that I know I’ll have a tendency to procrastinate about, I’ll do that first. Whether it’s an unpleasant or tedious task, or just something I know I’ll tend to put off to the last minute, getting it out of the way gives a great sense of accomplishment.
Getting as much off your list as early as possible in the wedding planning process will help you free up time when you’ll need it most as the wedding approaches. Prioritizing and planning are definitely key words in the realm of weddings but flexibility is another important concept. It also helps to be understanding when others have a time crunch. Your vendors and wedding party can use your understanding when they’re running a few minutes behind just like you appreciate theirs. Hopefully with proper planning everything runs like clockwork, but when it doesn’t just take a deep breath and know that scheduling mishaps happen to the very best of us.
