Post-wedding blues are common after the thrill of planning a wedding is over, and if you worry that you may be left feeling a bit down or disappointed after your big day, then you want to make sure you are aware of what you can do to prevent this!

Here are some tips to help you avoid or mitigate post-wedding blues: 

1.Plan for something after the wedding

Plan something that you are excited to look forward to, such as a honeymoon, vacation, fun date night, moving forward with some other milestones in your life (i.e. buying a house, moving cities, advancing in your career or family planning) or maybe planning how you will relax for a bit. When you have something to shift your focus to, it can be helpful in avoiding post-wedding blues. 

2. Stay connected with friends and family

Your wedding day and events leading up to your wedding day often involve more communication and time spent with close loved ones. For some couples, this comes to a screeching halt after the big day. This can be relaxing for a bit but can sometimes lead to a sense of feeling lonely. This is a normal response. Something you can do is to continue to find ways to spend time with friends and family after your big day and connect with them on things that may be happening in their life.

3. Keep busy and make time for self-care

Many couples in the midst of wedding planning express that they do not have any time to focus on their hobbies or to engage in self-care. Although it is very much needed to do this while wedding planning in order to prevent burnout, there just seems to not be enough time in the day. Well guess what, after the big day, you now have some breathing room to focus on yourself, your hobbies, and opportunities to comfortably engage in self-care activities. 

4. Continue to plan for your marriage

If you and your partner wanted to do premarital counseling but found that there was little time or financial resources to do so before your big day, you can still do this even after your wedding day! Just because you got married does not mean that you cannot spend some time in continuing to plan for your marriage and the years to come. Online premarital counseling is the best way to develop healthy foundational skills.

5. Reflect on the positive memories from your wedding day. 

Taking the time to think about the positive memories from your big day can be helpful in focusing on gratitude. For some newlyweds who focus on the details that did not go according to plan or who focus on what went wrong, may experience post-wedding blues. When you take the time to focus on what you are grateful for, you are likely to experience acceptance and appreciation and can possibly avoid post-wedding blues. 

Practicing gratitude and appreciation is also a great practice in general to help manage stress and mitigate anxiety and depressive symptoms.

6. Set new goals with your partner

Similar to having something to look forward to that was previously mentioned, setting some long term goals with your partner can be helpful in continuing to feel like a team working towards something. For some couples, they miss the time they spent with their partner talking about how they can tackle tasks together, so being able to transition this to another goal can be helpful. Some examples can be saving for a house, remodeling your home, or learning a new skill together. 

7. Seek out a mental health professional

Experiencing a sense of loss after your wedding is natural and situational. However, if you experience this feeling to continue for more than 6 months, it is best to seek out professional help to process if there are any other factors contributing to your sadness.

Remember that post-wedding blues are normal, and it’s okay to feel a little down after such a big event. However, by taking care of yourself and staying connected with loved ones and things that excite you, you can help ease the transition back to everyday life.

By Priscilla Rodriguez, M.S., LMFT, Owner of Modern Wellness Counseling

Priscilla specializes in working with engaged couples and helps them learn the strategic tools needed so that they can be on the same page throughout every chapter of their lives.