Happy 2014, ladies! If you haven't composed your resolutions yet, here are some to add to the list.
"I won't go overboard with dieting and exercise."
If you're planning on having a healthy 2014, that's awesome. (Here are seven ways to make your fitness resolutions stick!) But if your "plan" is to subsist strictly on kale salads and exercise daily until your wedding day, you're setting yourself up to fail—and you'll be massively cranky until you do. Try setting mini goals to kick off a healthier lifestyle: try to take 6,000 steps a day, to start, or incorporate one more vegetable with dinner. And if you're hungry, eat, for Pete's sake.
"I won't try to DIY my whole wedding."
Look, I love a good DIY project, and I love how even the little ones make a wedding extra special. But if you hate crafting or you're majorly pressed for time, don't commit to hand-beading sashes for your bridesmaids, or whatever. A massive project is going to take a lot of time and energy—and if you don't finish it, you're going to be majorly stressed and will have to drop even more cash to, say, buy a last-minute wedding cake when you realize baking for 300 the day of your wedding was a BAD idea. If you love to DIY, great. Just give yourself plenty of time to see every project through.
"I will make my relationship with my guy a priority."
Some brides get so wrapped up in planning the wedding that they bump the relationship to the back burner—and that sucks for both of you. Take a break from worrying about table linens and aisle runners and make a point to reconnect with your guy. Spend one night a week (or, better, one weekend day a month) doing something fun that's not related to your wedding. Bonus points if you ban wedding conversations during your "fun time" too.
"I'll also put effort into other relationships."
It's fine if your world revolves around your wedding, but remember that your friends have job woes and your mom still needs to vent about the neighbors' yappy Chihuahua and your kid sister needs to lean on you when her boyfriend's being jackass-y—and they all have GOOD things they want to share with you too. Unless you're having an official wedding meeting, or whatever, hold off on the wedding talk until someone asks, if you can manage. It's legit if you want to bitch about your flaky florist, but make an effort to keep up with everyone else's nitty-gritty too.
And for those of you who aren't planning a wedding, here's something wedding-y for you to keep in mind while your friends are.
"I will give my bride friends a break."
Do you give a damn about chicken vs. beef or other wedding minutiae? Probably not. But try to bear with your friends while they're dealing with the ups and downs of planning a wedding. It's a LOT to deal with. If all the wedding-y talk is driving you bananas, suggest friend dates that don't allow for a lot of chitchat, like an afternoon at the movies or the batting cages. (Hey, she's gotta take all that future-mother-in-law aggression out somewhere.) Give your bride friends a break if they get to be a little grating—and trust that they'll do the same for you when it's time for your trip down the aisle.
What are your New Year's resolutions? Do you have any wedding-y ones?