Your wedding day is one of the best days of your life. Tying the knot with your partner and vowing commitment towards each other is an unforgettable feeling.
There is no doubt that the day itself can cause an overwhelming amount of emotions. So, just how happy are we on our wedding day?
After looking at tweets using hashtags such as #wedding, #silveranniversary, and #married, wedding venue supplier Cairn Collection conducted a sentiment analysis score to discover how many positive and negative words were included in the tweets. This revealed just how happy people are on their wedding day. Since the 30th August is found to be the most popular day of the year to get married, the data focused on tweets written on this day specifically.
What does the data suggest?
Back in 2012, the sentiment score for tweets related to marriage taken from the 30th August stood at a wonderfully positive value of 71.5. This was the highest score taken from this day over the last decade. On the other hand, the 30th August in 2016 scored the lowest sentiment score, equating to 66.6 – this shows that even in a difficult year, wedding days still pull through as positive memories!
You may be quick to assume that weddings taken place in 2020 scored a lower sentiment due to the events of COVID-19. However, the sentiment analysis data suggests otherwise. Increasing from a score of 66.7 on August 30th 2019 to 68.7 on this day in 2020, it seems that not even COVID-19 can dampen our love.
The secret to a happy wedding day
As previously established, our wedding is supposed to be nothing but happiness, love, and joy for a whole day. Although the sentiment analysis above reveals that weddings taken place over the years contain mostly positive words, there are still some troubles on the big day – if not, sentiment scores would all stand at a perfect 100 across the board. So, why might this be the case? Let’s take a look at some easy solutions to common wedding concerns and reveal the secret to a perfect wedding day.
Get rid of wedding anxiety
Your wedding day is a full twenty-four hours dedicated entirely to you and your partner. Although this seems like the ideal scenario, being the centre of attention can be a tough scenario for some people. Having all eyes on you as you walk down the aisle can be daunting – even if it’s in front of those you are closest to. For those who suffer social anxiety disorders, the aisle walk can be a trigger for negative emotions.
Just like with any scenario that triggers anxiety, finding ways to help control this emotion is vital. Firstly, what you do during the build up to your big day can impact your state of mind. So, make sure to have a good night’s sleep, get enough to eat, avoid caffeine-fuelled drinks, and exercise regularly.
As for the day itself, don’t be afraid to go against tradition. Who says that you must walk down the aisle at all? If you feel as though the aisle walk will affect your happiness on the day, then organise your wedding in a way where you don’t have to do it. Or, if you prefer to keep things traditional, make the most of practice wedding ceremonies so when it comes to the actual event, it’s not that big of a deal.
Mastering organisation
The organisation leading up to your big day doesn’t come stress-free as anyone who has planned a wedding will know. Plus, the day itself comes with its own organisational worries too. From ensuring everything has arrived on time to making sure the venue is organised the way you dreamed it to be, there is a lot to check in on. Then there is the whole getting ready process! From hair to makeup to dresses, it’s easy to get caught up and stress out.
But not to worry! Just like how you would organise any event that occurs in your life, creating a timetable of what needs to be done on the day will help ensure everything runs accordingly. Although organisation isn’t everyone’s preferred choice of activity, doing this can help ensure that all your wedding checklist wants and desires are met. This leaves less time for worrying and more time for celebrating.
The effects of COVID-19
As the end of 2020 approaches, those planning on hosting a wedding in December will be impacted in some way by the rules regarding COVID-19. Ensuring that everything is running smoothly on your big day is stressful enough, never mind the added pressures of conforming to all social distancing guidelines.
With this said, many venues have gone the extra lengths to help relieve some of the stress their guests have when it comes to COVID-19 effecting their ceremony. Tina O’Hara, Group Director of Sales at The Cairn Collection who provide Scottish Highland Hotels and Brighton wedding venues commented: “It’s been really difficult for the wedding industry this year. To help combat the added stress the pandemic has caused for couples we have been working with brides and grooms offering flexibility and date change options to help provide a sense of reassurance. When our guests have wanted to host smaller weddings we’ve tried to work with them to make the ceremony as creative as possible while still following the COVID-19 measures put in place”.
Voicing your vows
Just like walking down the aisle and having all eyes on you can cause feelings of anxiety, so can having to speak your vows. For those who suffer anxiety or feel nervous speaking in front of large crowds of people, the thought of having to do this could be making you feel unhappy on your big day.
Remember though, practice makes perfect. In the days leading up to your wedding, practice voicing your vows out loud – even better, do it in front of a small audience of people so you can feel more comfortable speaking in front of others.
But most importantly, remember to breathe. It’s not a race, so relax, take deep breaths, and speak at your own pace.
Your wedding is a time to focus solely on you and your partner, so finding effective ways to deal with any stresses and anxieties is vital to ensure your big day is as great as you dreamed it to be.