Taming Your Inner Bridezilla

If you are worried about taming your inner Bridezilla, you can follow some tips and tricks to slay that beast before she ruins your special day. No matter how much you want to be a relaxed and beaming bride on your wedding day, the stress and excitement of weddings is enough to turn the calmest bride into a Bridezilla. 

Plan for Bridezilla
Know in advance that from the moment you get engaged until you take off on your honeymoon that wedding planning will be stressful. Before things get too hectic, take some time to look deep inside yourself and analyze your coping skills when you've been stressed before. Do you turn inward and shut down? Do you kick and scream? It's safe to assume that stress levels are pretty high at weddings, so recognizing when those levels are rising will help you battle the Bridezilla beast.

Decide what the best way is to relieve your stress before you get to that breaking point. Many brides choose to take out their stress by spending extra time at the gym. Others know that a bubble bath with candles and soft music does the trick. Plan out in your mind what it is that helps you de-stress, and then, when you feel your inner Bridezilla start to emerge, banish her with that activity.

Finally, get into the right mindset of a bride rather than a Bridezilla. Every bride wants her wedding dreams to come true, and she wants to create the most memorable day of her life. However, it's important to keep priorities straight and focus on enjoying your wedding and marrying the man you love.

Creating the Monster
The worst Bridezilla behavior emerges from the bride who is both obsessed about the wedding details and selfish enough to believe that the entire wedding process must revolve around her every whim. A Bridezilla will lash out at anyone who offers suggestions or advice contrary to hers and refuses to consider any other feelings. While your wedding day is the day you've thought about forever, it's no excuse to be selfish, childish or downright rude.

Another typical behavior of a Bridezilla is her inability to make even simple decisions, and, once they are made, she changes her mind several times. Obsessing over small details, expecting perfection in every aspect and demanding lavish attention at everything from bridal showers to dress fittings are other hallmarks of the diva known as Bridezilla. She's more concerned about making her wedding look like a bridal show than like a celebration of matrimony.

Finally, the typical Bridezilla spends most of her day thinking, talking, planning and obsessing more about the wedding than her upcoming marriage. If choosing bridal flowers becomes more important than spending quality time with your fiancé or you're offending everyone, wedding professionals and wedding party alike, because you are micromanaging everything, you've released your inner Bridezilla. Rely on trusted friends and family members to point out when you are being unreasonable and take their warnings to heart. Don't lash out at them because they want you to enjoy your wedding, too.

Taming the Beast
The best way to go about taming your inner Bridezilla is to plan well for your wedding and then let go. Choose the top ten or fifteen things that are the most important for you and that you dreamed about as a girl. Have you always wanted pink and yellow roses? Make it happen. Did you dream about dancing with your father to a certain song? Plan for it. Seeking a dress that makes you look gorgeous? Focus on finding it. Spend your time and energy on those things that are most important and plan carefully for them. Once you are comfortable that the most important features of your dream wedding are in place, you'll be in a better frame of mind to make decisions about other matters.

Now that you've planned well, it's time to let go. Try not to get caught up in all the little wedding details. With a good checklist and helpful family and friends, you can plan for the wedding of your dreams. Does it really matter if there are more almonds than cashews in the nut cup mix at the reception? Will you never recover if the DJ accidentally plays a song from your "do not play" list? Won't it mean more to you if your bridesmaids actually love their dresses, even though they were your second choice? Find the humor in everything that isn't quite right, and you'll be remembered as the beaming bride rather than the Bridezilla.

Remember the day is all about being happy and celebrating. Let go of your tendencies to be a perfectionist, and enjoy the spontaneity that your wedding day can bring. Planning everything down to the last rose petal can rob you of some sweet and memorable moments that can emerge from this special day.

Imagination Becomes Reality
Finally, spend some time each week in mental preparation for the type of bride you want to be. Imagine yourself in radiant white, hand in hand with your handsome groom. Are you serene and calm? Funny and witty? Excited and overwhelmed with joy? When you imagine yourself as the bride you want to be, you are closer than ever to taming your inner Bridezilla and creating cherished memories of the start of your new life.