Whether you're newly engaged or getting closer to the big day it's always a good idea to set yourself a list for attainable goals in preparation for the big day. Why not take advantage of everybody's time of year to better themselves and turn your New Years resolutions into bridal resolutions!

1/ I'm Going To Put My Foot Down More

Henry Tieu Photography

In the neverending (and absolutely impossible) quest to please everybody you might find yourself becoming a bit of a bridal pushover. Whether you're new to the wedding planning game or are in the final stretch before the big day it's important to be able to put your foot down and demand that people take your opinion seriously! It's your wedding, after all; plan it to be perfect for you and your partner, everybody else can come second!

2/ I Won't Feel Guilty For Putting My Foot Down

If you've been planning your wedding for a while then you might come to the shocking realisation that you've become (and I put this nicely) a bit of a doormat to your family and friends. You still have time however to fix this! The issue about putting your foot down to people who've been getting their way for so long is the potential for guilt-tripping and whining. Make one of your New Years resolutions to be that you can stay strong in the face of adversity and demand what you deserve!

3/ I'm Going To Build My Budget

This Modern Romance

Depending on how far along you are in the wedding planning process, you may already have a set budget in place. The new year is a good time to re-evaluate your spending to make sure you’re still on track and change it up or reign it in if you need to. It’s all well and good to set out your budget at the start but halfway into the planning process, you may feel the need to readjust some of your figures and expectations! By giving yourself ample time you give yourself the opportunity to build on what you have and put that surplus budget at the end of the wedding to good use (A deposit on a house, a honeymoon fund or payments on necessities). If you just got engaged, the budget is one of the absolute first things you should figure out before anything else, so get to it!

4/ I'm Going To Enjoy Being Engaged

It’s important to remember that you’re not just planning and organising a wedding, you’re also engaged. Wedding planning is supposed to be fun and being engaged is definitely supposed to be fun, so don’t be counting down the days and to-do lists until all this planning and extra stress is over, live in the now. Enjoy your engagement and live in the present!

5/ I'm Going To Get Into Better Health/Shape

Shannon Skloss Photography

I don’t just mean ‘exercise more’ and ‘eat less sugary foods’.  Develop an actual plan in the new year to get you to where you want to be for your big day. Whether it’s a target weight, a dress size, or just feeling more comfortable and confident being the centre of attention, you need to figure out the best way to go about this. Developing a realistic plan to get you there for your wedding is just one step and the hard part is actually sticking to it! Involve your fiance to act as a support system, whether it's eating healthier together, going to the gym as a couple or just going for a regular walk in the park together.

6/ I'm Going To Commit To One Non-Wedding Related Project

It can be very easy to let wedding planning take over your entire life and become the only thing you think about in your free time. Planning your wedding however is not your full-time job! Give yourself a project to think about when planning gets overwhelming and a bit emotionally draining, you don't want to start dreading your wedding after all. Paint your kitchen, work on your car, go full Mari Kondo on your house! Give yourself a task to do between wedding stuff so you don't burn yourself out too fast. Then after one is complete, add another!

7/ I'm Going To Make A Solid Wedding Plan

This Modern Romance

A clear and realistic plan is the best way to get your head around what needs to get done. If you’re newly engaged, you’ll most likely need several of these, from a master list of what you need to do to get your perfect wedding to smaller lists for things like favours or paper goods. Start with your budget, figure out how big your guest list will be and then start scouting for vendors, your wedding venue should be the very first thing you organise and finalise! Once you get your head around the bare minimum you need and work your way up from there, stay on top of your wedding plans and refer back to them periodically to make sure everything lines up perfectly.

8/ I'm Going To Personally Spend Time With My Guests

Òne of the biggest stresses about planning a wedding is the guest list, you're most likely going to be expected to invite people you haven't spoken to in years or who have never met your soon to be husband/wife! If you want to proactively resolve this situation then make one of your resolutions a personal push to spend time one on one with all of the guests you're going to be inviting; not only will this help you feel more comfortable about actually including them in the wedding, but for many people making an effort to visit them and spend time with them can be a great push to further the relationship from acquaintance to a close friend! In a quest to know your guests better you might find some very meaningful friendships developing with distant family members or childhood friends of your spouse.

9/ I'm Going To Dedicate Time To My Skin And Hair

This Modern Romance

Perfect wedding beauty starts with carefully maintained hair and skin! The best thing about skin and haircare is it's stupidly easy to do, you just have to get into the habit of doing it daily. Do some research about the products and routines that best suit your skin and hair and then make it a dedicated effort to stick to doing it. You'll thank yourself on the day of the wedding!

10/ I'm Going To Take A Class With My Fiance

Similarly to resolution six, don't let the only time you interact with your fiance to be wedding planning. Pick up a class or two that you can attend together in your spare time, from pottery to cooking or dancing there are a ton of classes and hobbies you and your loved one can share! If you're doing your own flowers for the wedding then why not take a flower arranging class with your future spouse so they can be as involved as you are in the wedding decor. Just because the initial reason is for picking something is was the wedding doesn't mean it can't blossom into a shared hobby.

- Grainne