Pinterest Pressure

You’re in good company if you’re feeling the Pinterest pressure!  The wedding industry is SO INTENSE!!!  Social media has made wedding planning harder than ever.  The endless supply of wedding inspo that you’ll never be able to afford;  the never-ending timelines and checklists reminding you how much there is to do; the ever-changing wedding trends and etiquettes - it’s enough to make the most organized, grounded person lose sight of what really matters.  

THEN, there’s the wedding industry itself.  Confusing contracts, fine print, and so many decisions.  Upcharges on everything, simply because it’s for a wedding.  Weird vibes from vendors that make you think every “Yippee you’re engaged eek!” email is just wanting to squeeze every last dollar from you.

Recommendations for You:

  • Take some quiet time to contemplate the following:

    • “What feelings or thoughts do I have when I engage with social media wedding content?”  Label them.  

    • “If I could shut out all the noise from social media and vendors, and envision a wedding that truly represents my fiancé and I, what does that look like?” Let yourself fantasize and tune into your heart and imagination.

    • “What feelings am I expecting to feel if I do all the things the blogs, the pins, the vendors, the magazines are telling me to do?”  

  • Schedule some time for a heart-to-heart with your fiancé to discuss what your shared goals and values are for your wedding day.  What’s included, and what’s not?  How can you support one another to execute on that vision, and resist drowning in the deep sea of wedding content?

  • Let us support you! With offerings that range from individual counseling to our Brides-to-be Community Program, we have lots of ways to support you through this mind-boggling time.  Read about our services here!

Tools for You:

The Mindful Nearlywed | An Emotional Resilience Guide + Workbook

The Mindful Nearlywed is a free 20-page resource that will guide you through four common struggles during the engagement journey, with actionable journal prompts for self-reflection and emotional resiliency.

The Mindful Nearlywed explores:

  • Common myths about getting engaged and planning a wedding

  • Confusing emotions that arise during the engagement and wedding process

  • Why family members are having a difficult time or acting out

  • How wedding planning can strengthen your relationship with your partner

  • How family boundaries realign during this period

Get your free copy here!

 

The search for the perfect wedding dress

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Are you looking for the feeling of "I've found the one!" when searching for a wedding dress? Well, don't.⁠ ⁠ As women and femmes, we've been conditioned our whole lives to find "the one" wedding dress and pay loads of cash for it. "It's just one day, I want it to be picture perfect!" "I'll never forgive myself if I know I skimped out on a dress!" These are just a few things we tell ourselves to justify spending money on an extravagant dress, and is exactly what the capitalistic nature of the wedding industry wants us to think.⁠ ⁠ I talk to so many folks who have the idea that, if they haven't had the feeling of finding "the one," they are doing something wrong. That, if they don't have that feeling, there is some mystical perfect dress out there that will cause these euphoric feelings, and if they settle for anything less, they are losing out. I talk to people who feel despair and panic over this pressure, and who are tortured by the search for this enviable feeling.⁠ ⁠ Well, I have news for you. This is a total fantasy. Yes, many people do absolutely have the experience of finding the dress that is just perfect and "the one." And, just as many don't. And, there is nothing wrong with either situation. Sometimes, the fantasy that is in our minds, which has been placed there by decades of conditioning around what this experience "should" be like, is simply not real. Sometimes the fantasy makes the reality disappointing, and it can be hard to tune in to what is even real. ⁠ ⁠ If you are wedding dress shopping and have not had the experience of feeling that you've found "the one," know that you are a normal human. Know that the search for the feeling is a fantasy that's been sold to us and is not necessarily real (and it makes other people loooots of $$$). Know that you can feel like a total gorgeous badass babe in a dress that you love, but never felt THAT feeling about. ⁠ ⁠ #weddingdressshopping #isaidyes #engagedaf #weddingplanningproblems #letsgetmarried #therapistsofinstagram #themindfulnearlywed #2021bride #weddingdressgoals

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