How many times have you had someone tell you “If you need anything, please let me know!” or something along those lines? How many times have you actually taken someone up on that offer?

Let me guess…Never?

Why is that?

I don’t know about you, but when I tell someone I want to help, it’s because I really want to help. I want to be apart of their lives, and do what I can to make their lives a little bit easier.

As a bride, people are always telling you that they want to help, and that delegation is the key to keeping the stress levels low. To be honest, I wanted help when I was getting married, but I just didn’t know how to ask for it. It seemed like everything had to be done by me. No one else could make our guest list. No one else could pick our venue. No one else could pick out the invitations.

And that is true to a certain extent, but here are some easy tasks to delegate, giving you time to focus on the bigger things.

1) Outsource Addresses

Brian was able to put our addresses into an excel file, and print labels for our invitations. This was a huge time saver! A lot of invitation companies can do this for you, too.

For showers, have guests write their address on a card so that you already have names and addresses done without having to spend time looking them up and copying them down!

2) Card Writing

Most brides have two or three showers prior to their wedding. That adds up to A LOT of Thank You Card writing. Grab a friend with pretty handwriting and have them help you write Thank You Cards.

3) Collect Vendor Information

Brainstorm a list of vendors that you don’t require a personal relationship with (i.e. The Bakery, The Invitation Printer, etc. You don’t want to do this with photographers, wedding coordinators, or DJ’s because you need to meet with them to get an idea of their personality and what it would add to your day.) Have a friend call to get pricing and availability.

These are just a few things to get you started, and to get the wheels turning. The biggest thing is talking! Tell friends what is going on; what you are excited about, and what you are dreading. At worst, you are sharing this important time in life with them, and getting stuff off your chest. At best, more often than not, friends can see an opportunity to help when you are candid, even if you aren’t looking for it.