Ask any bride and she will tell you that the week before her wedding is a total blur. It's possible she has virtually no memory of it at all. With all the stress and things to check off the to do list, the week before your wedding is a very busy time. Try to reduce the anxiety by accomplishing whatever you can before the last week, so that you can relax and socialize as much as possible before the event.

Even the most mild of exfoliants can cause your skin to break out. If you have used a daily scrub as a part of your regular skin routine for years, then keep it up, but make sure you are extra gentle when you are rubbing it in. When it comes to spa treatments, make sure they are mild and indulgent, such as scalp and aromatherapy massages. Let the esthetician know that it is less than a week until the big day, so to avoid deep tissue rubdowns on your skin.

It doesn't matter if your maid-of-honor swears by that self-tanner, or your cousin vouches a million times over for that particular eyebrow wax. Do NOT try any beauty treatment for the first time so close to the big day. You'll find that people all around you will be giving you all sorts of beauty regimen and product recommendations. Your hairdresser will tell you that you'd look great with a few extra highlights, or your mother will pass you some of her night cream to help you get a "glowy" complexion. Thank them for their advice, but decline.

As you are no doubt learning, wedding planning takes up an inordinate amount of time. Before this, you had no idea just how many hours could be spent laboring over what "white" your dress should be. It's enough to drive a gal to insanity. But nothing will actually make you more insane than procrastinating on your DIY place cards until the day before your wedding, as you hot glue tiny clothespins to each. Don't do this to yourself. Make sure all of your DIY projects are completed as soon as possible, because (trust us) they will take at least twice as long as you are anticipating.

Just because it's positive stress doesn't mean that it can't cause you harm. If you are frustrated or emotional, express that in healthy ways. Feeling a little anxious about everything coming together? Confide in a friend or your wedding planner that you need a little reassurance over a cup of coffee (and maybe make it a decaf). Make sure that just because you have a lot to do that you don't neglect your health. You will react to unexpected tasks and circumstances more positively when you have kept up with your exercise regime, eaten well, and had plenty of sleep.

For the last 18 months you have been a binder-carrying, online checklist, app-using, wedding planning machine. So why are you now not writing down the names of gifts you are receiving with the thought that you will certainly remember it later? Good organization has gotten you this far. Keep up with whatever system you've been using through the big day. You'll thank yourself later.

Photography | Jeannine Marie Photography