How to deal with wedding nerves

Nerves, we all get ‘em right? This doesn’t mean you have to suck it up. There are some tips below that help me when I’m feeling a bit nervous before my or someone else’s BIG DAY!

1/ Get prepared to feel prepared.

Want to read through your script with your celebrant so you know what to expect? Practice your vows?

2/ Visualise the day

Walking up the alise and seeing the faces of your love, Perhaps you are imagining how slick your groomsmen will look in their suits? Imagining these things that will make you feel happy will make you feel settled and less nervous

3/ Tell yourself its excitement and not nerves

This is one I use ALL THE TIME. Audition? “I’m so excited to be here” Job interview? “I’m excited at the idea of this role”

The brain and body can’t differentiate between the two; Sweaty palms, shortness of breath, heart beating that little bit faster. It’s excitement, right?

4/ Have a rehearsal

Not a lot of couples have rehearsals, I think this is because they don’t want to overly practice their vows or how the day will be. Some opinions on that include “We wanted it to be the first time and only time for it to be truly authentic”. Rehearsals are fantastic if you are feeling nervous as these only usually include the bridal parties and your Wedding Celebrant.

5/ Eat well and stay hydrated

We’ve all seen the memes of Brides/ Bridesmaids / Grooms / Priests / Wedding guests fainting! A lot of the time it’s down to lack of food, heat, and dehydration. This is due to nerves on a Wedding day. Plan out what you are going to eat and the morning drink before your wedding before the day itself and stick to it. We are humans that need energy. Discuss with your celebrant to have water to hand for you and your partner during the ceremony. If you’ve eaten well and managed to stay hydrated it means you can continue the party until the wee hours…am I right?

What’s the difference between a Humanist Wedding Celebrant and a Celebrant?

Firstly, I’d like to note that this is written by someone who is a fully accredited Humanist Wedding Celebrant. I will state opinions on this one.

To become a Wedding Celebrant you need a bloody good platform to start; Excellent marketing and a lot of self belief.

When you become a Humanist wedding celebrant you sign up to a course to become accredited by Humanists UK and Humanist Ceremonies, you pass or fail several modules, you have course work and workshops to learn all about what it’s like to work with a couple and plan the biggest day of celebration. The training is intense, expensive but majorly worthwhile.

Humanists don’t believe in religion and to book a Humanist Wedding Celebrant most will ask you to perhaps take a quiz to see if your beliefs are aligned with that of humanism.

All Celebrants work independently, and they have choice regarding what they feel is appropriate to include in a couple’s ceremony. However, the main difference is that humanism is a belief and a way of life that people adhere to.

Humanist Celebrants won’t include any religion in their ceremonies (although this is possible in readings from others – This is based on the personal beliefs of that Celebrant)