Wedding season will be upon us before we know it, and it can be a very stressful time for future brides.

Many brides will often associate weddings with stress, as it can be a lot of work to get those last minute details in place.

There are a lot of thoughts that can go through a woman’s mind leading up to the big day. What will my future husband think as I walk down the aisle?

Will my guests enjoy the food? There can be lots of those stress factors, but it’s supposed to be one of the best days of your life, so why not make it stress-free?

As you plan that special day, it’s important to plan, but it’s also important to stop and smell the roses as the saying goes.

It’s important to recognize that this is your big day, the moment you get to marry your soul mate, the love of your life and most importantly, your best friend. It should be a time where you take your time in the planning process and just live in the moment.

Go out and taste the wines and cakes together, hit the stores with your best girlfriends or your soon-to-be in-laws for some fun dress shopping and maybe, just maybe, that stress will leave you and it will feel less like a wedding plan and more like another wonderful chapter of life’s greatest adventures.

It is, after all, the journey that gets us to the destination, and the journey can sometimes be a struggle, but it can also be a life lesson or a fun adventure.

Something future brides can also take advantage of, especially in Red Deer, is the With This Ring Bridal Gala coming up Feb. 4th at Westerner Park.

It gives brides-to-be a chance to visit a wide variety of exhibitors to help in planning that special day. It’s also a good opportunity to go out and have some fun while planning your day, as you have the help of professionals, who’s sole job it is to help you out, relieving those lingering stresses.

So while finding that special dress, the perfect flower arrangements and ideal location can be stressful, it’s important to not associate that with stress, and think of it as a journey, a journey to a new beginning, a joyous occasion and a time of love that opens up many adventures.

Weddings can be stressful, but just like many other things in life, they are a magical moment in time.

They, like a lot of other projects, take planning, they take work, but once that work is done, it’s exciting to look at that finished product.

If you take the time and not leave crucial details to the last minute, if you stop and actually smell those roses, if you live in the now and try to enjoy the planning processes, those stresses will just fly away.

I don’t think anybody on their wedding day wants to look back and think ‘that was stressful.’ We get one life to live, and this is one of those times, those moments, where we shouldn’t stress out, as it’s a happy and memorable occasion

To all those future brides out there, rather than being bogged down by the minuscule details of a wedding, it’s important to think of that moment when you are at the altar looking at your husband-to-be, it’s those moments that are so important in life that can sometimes, although not meant to, be forgotten during the planning process.

So here’s to a fun, stress-free planning process. Happy planning!