As Justin Timberlake said, “it’s gonna be May”
If your reaction to this was “wut,” please educate yourself. May means we’re almost halfway through 2021 already, but it also means it’s Mental Health Month, something you guys know I’m passionate about. I’m super open about my own mental health – I was put on medication for mild-severe anxiety when I was 19. I explored other outlets of managing it while taking medication, like working out, and now here I am medication-free! Dealing with my own anxiety has taught me how important mental health is, which carries over into how I work with my couples.
Stress-Free Elopement Planning Tips
Marrying your partner can be one of the most exciting times of your life, but it can also be stressful! I want the entire elopement process to be as stress-free as possible, so in honor of Mental Health Month, here are some steps I recommend to my couples to keep a healthy mindset while planning their elopement.
- Make planning dates where you and bae sit down to talk about what you want to do so not every conversation revolves around elopement plans. When you over-focus on your plans, you can feel burned out and lose excitement for your big day.
- Understand what makes YOU TWO happy before discussing your plans with other people, then pursue those through a specific plan of action. Don’t let others take that away from you. If you and bae want to go on an epic hike and elope at the tippy top of a mountain, then do it! If your bestie can’t stand the thought of hiking that far, that’s too damn bad.
- Set small deadlines to keep yourselves on track. Your photographer (hopefully her name is Kenzie) should be booked at least a year in advance and most other vendors you’ll need should be booked at least eight months out from your date. If you know the outfit you’ll wear may need alterations, keep that in mind when thinking about when you’re going shopping. Knowing when things need to be done by will help you feel a little more organized and guarantee you have all the special details you want for the big day.
- Find a photographer who will help you plan! Sometimes figuring out the details can get overwhelming causing you to waiver in some of your decisions. Find someone who can help take some of that pressure off of your plate (hint: it’s me).
I know this is all easier said than done, but even if you don’t remember any of these tips, remember this – You have to do what makes you two happy. That’s what friends and family should want for you too. Unsupportive family and friends can be so hard to deal with while trying to focus on the best day of your life, BUT this is your day and your day only. Do you want to look back in 50 years and have regrets or be so stoked with the way your wedding happened? If friends or family are unsupportive, they can check themselves and stay in their fuckin’ lane.
"Hiring McKenzie to photograph our wedding was single-handedly the best decision we made when planning our wedding. Wedding planning and vendor research was so stressful, and once we had Kenzie, she stepped in as support and helped us with narrowing down things that were important to us and to figure out what we really wanted. wish we could get married over and over again just to recreate these and work with Kenzie again! "
Nadia + Daniel
"You will not find another wedding photographer who has the McKenzie signature style- she can capture the absolute beauty of the area and people all at once. She can shoot in a variety of settings and lightings and the photos are all gorgeous. One of the main reasons we booked McKenzie was the fact that she showcases a diverse clientele and finds beauty in all beings- something not all photographers can say.As a plus size bride who was extremely worried about looking back at my wedding pictures with dread that I wouldn't look like those gorgeous girlies on Instagram- this meant so much to me. "
Sydnie + Nathan
"When we got engaged, we searched near and far for an elopement photographer - & we met with several different photographers but none felt right until we met McKenzie. My husband, my dog and I are avid hikers - we wanted a beautiful hike and view, but it was also very important that we could be our authentic selves and intimately celebrate our 10 years together in the way we wanted. I'll be honest, I was shy about wanting to elope (ya know, family opinions and such), but McKenzie made us feel so comfortable in our decision. She wholeheartedly welcomed us being.. us! We couldn't have asked for more."
