There's no doubt about it: getting married is a huge source of good and bad stress. But with so many details, responsibilities and arrangements, it's easy for anyone planning their nuptials to lose track of the joys of the big day and get caught up in the worries.

Pre-wedding stress can arise from many sources, but the main culprits are usually financial concerns, organizational challenges, too-high expectations and trying to please others. On top of it all, you still have all of the stresses of your regular life.

Say "I do" to stress management

If you can keep your stress in check, you'll make this time more enjoyable for your future spouse, your family and friends—and yourself! The key is to find ways to manage the logistics of wedding planning, while incorporating some basic stress management techniques.

• Get organized. Begin planning as soon as you can. Collect notes, brochures and articles in a binder or a series of folders. It's easier to stay calm when you can find things. Set aside a few hours each week for wedding planning and tasks.
• Set a budget. The options for planning a wedding are limitless—as is the amount it's possible to spend. To avoid starting married life burdened with wedding-day debt, set a budget based on what you can both afford, including any parental contributions. Don't think of the budget as a restriction; think of it as a guide that guides your decision making on how to spend your money.
• Know what you want. Visualization can help you plan your wedding. Carve out some alone time to get in touch with your true wishes about what you want your wedding to be like by daydreaming, watching movies or looking through magazines. Then, replay a successful day in your mind often.
• Get help. Hiring a wedding planner could cost a little, but it's a smart investment that can save you money, time and aggravation. You can also enlist the help of willing friends and family members. Try not to overload any one person with too many responsibilities or you'll simply displace your stress onto someone else.
• Set expectations. You don't want to let people down, but you do want the wedding to reflect who you are. Have conversations early in the process with parents and in-laws, especially if they are paying for the event, so that you can work through any disagreements and find compromises.
• Communicate. Keep in contact with all the key people, including attendants, parents and out-of-town guests, with updates as plans take shape or change. Check in with your future spouse to ensure that you're both satisfied with how things are going. Make time to talk and to be each other's reality check.
• Look after yourself. Get plenty of sleep and exercise and eat nutritiously—not only will this help keep stress at bay, it will also help ensure you fit into your wedding dress! When you feel overwhelmed, try relaxation techniques like deep breathing, meditation or treat yourself to a massage. Be sure to take "time off" from the job of planning your wedding by taking frequent breaks to do something completely unrelated.
• Accept limitations. Nothing in life is perfect; so don't expect every minute of your wedding day to be perfect. It may rain on your wedding day. Someone could get sick. The photographs might not turn out. And that's okay. Try to foresee possible disruptions and make contingency plans, but do accept that you can't always be in control and things may not turn out as planned.

Above all, remember that your wedding day is just that—a day. What really matters is that the two of you love each other and are committing to spending the rest of your lives together—come rain or shine.