Did you know that every experience I provide through The Dazzling Details is blanketed in gratitude?
Your experience Dazzles with an extra dose of good karma because I cover them in gratitude before I serve.
Practicing gratitude increases positive emotions, the ability to savor experiences, deal with adversity and build strong relationships, to mention a few.
Rolling your wedding experience all up in a gratitude burrito is my jam.
Wondering how you can actively practice wedding day gratitude? I’ve got some ideas.
1. Be mindfully present on wedding day.
Shift worries by being thankful for what surrounds you at every moment – family and friends showering you with love, a stylist enhancing your natural features to make you oh. so. drop. dead. gorgeous. Delight in the bubbles of the champagne you sip. Record in your heart the sound of laughter around you.
Take a moment to be alone. Be in the moment; notice the little things. Wedding day gratitude will flow.
2. Give back to the community where you say “I Do.”
Participate with your family or wedding party in a local charity for a few hours on a day leading up to the wedding. Ask each of your guests to bring a piece of clothing to donate to a local orphanage or a children’s book in English to donate to the local library.
Simple acts of kindness strengthen a feeling of connectedness and belonging which is incredibly powerful cross-culture.
3. Say “Thank You” for the little things your loved ones do.
Your head will be spinning with your extended tribe all in one place, and people will kindly dote on you. Someone will offer to run to your room for that item you’ve forgotten. Someone else will make sure you have your coffee in hand in the morning and your favorite cocktail ready as you slide up to the bar in the afternoon.
The list of small kindnesses that will help you get through wedding week is infinite. Stop the spinning long enough to offer a genuine smile and “thank you” to everyone who is keeping you sane and smiling.
4. Think of any challenges as an opportunities to grow yourself and your relationship.
That one groomsman shows up at the airport with his suit and tie (whew!) but without a valid passport. It happens. Take a deep breath.
Rain is falling at your destination and your planner wants to talk tenting and alternate plans. Take a deep breath.
Are these setbacks to your original vision? Absolutely. Its ok for your heart to take a dive when you check the passport expiration date or see the rain clouds floating in.
Feel it, mourn the shift of your vision, but also know that its impossible to get wrapped up in the negative when you focus on what you feel grateful for.
Cry it out, then look around at the other three groomsmen who DO have passports and be thankful that they’ll stand by you on wedding day. Cry it out, then look away from the clouds at the beautiful group of people who gathered, despite rain, to shower you with love.
5. Start your wedding day with meditation and movement.
Both exercise and meditation raise your vibration creating space for you to be present and positive as you walk into an incredibly momentous day.
Take a few quiet moments to meditate on your intentions for the day, then enlist a group of friends to get active with you and break a wedding-day sweat!
6. Smile and set the tone.
Your guests will follow your lead. When a couple is stressed, everyone else nervously scurries around feeling completely on edge.
Its simple to grin when everything goes according to plan, but a genuine smile when things go awry makes you the ultimate trendsetter for your guests. They’ll have an incredible time because they know YOU are having an incredible time.
No nervous scurrying needed here. We’ve got wedding day gratitude.
7. Begin wedding day with a gratitude circle.
Invite your wedding party and/or closest family to participate in a beautiful ritual of sharing thankfulness. Say what you feel grateful for and listen to each other’s blessings; create a collective positivity that will carry you throughout the day.
8. Write thank you notes to your guests.
I can’t think of anything more personal and beautiful than a hand-written note. When was the last time you received one?
Jot a note to each of your guests on his/her place card sharing why you are thankful to have them in your lives. The effort won’t go unnoticed.
9. Show thanks to the people who made it possible.
Extend your thanks to the vendors who participate in your wedding. Couples often generously tip certain wedding vendors while others go unnoticed. I would assert that every person involved in your wedding is an important part of creating a beautiful and cohesive experience.
Cover them all in your thankfulness. They work long hours on weekends to ensure that your celebration is Dazzling. Divide your gratuity investment between all the vendors.
If budget is tight, a genuine thank you note with a Starbucks card for a single coffee goes a long way as a gesture. Or simply look them in the eye and say THANK YOU before they leave your event.
10. Take your guest book to the next level by adding gratitude.
On the morning of your wedding, write down 5-10 things you are each grateful for on the first page of your guest book. Then during the event, ask guests to write a note and include something they are grateful for. What a beautiful tribute to your wedding day reading everyone’s well wishes that include gratitude!
What other ideas do you have to feel extra grateful on wedding day?
Beautiful post with so many wonderful, practical ideas to keep the gratitude flowing! Love the image pairings, too!!
Thanks Andrea! There’s never TOO MUCH gratitude! Hope some of the ideas can be incorporated into your weddings too! Hugs!