Combating the Post-Wedding Blues

Being prepared for the days following your wedding is the perfect way to combat the post-wedding blues, says Dr Kieran Kennedy, a Kiwi Medical Doctor and Psychiatry Resident based in Melbourne in his chat with Canterbury Bride.

How can couples combat the blues? ‘Post-wedding blues’ are actually relatively common – as they are with any major endeavour we’ve spent a significant amount of time looking forward to, planning and working toward. Knowing this is the first step to actually helping combat it. After so much time invested in an amazing day, it’s important to know that a little bit of a mental exhale and feeling tired, or even down and a bit blue that it’s over are normal. Talking about this together before, and as it happens, can help couples move through it. Part of the post-wedding blues is likely going to be feeling mentally and physically tired after weeks and months (maybe even years!) of solid planning – take some time to rest the brain and body during this period and ramp up self-care. 

Have some plans and progress points in place for after the wedding to look forward to – it might be a trip (other than the honeymoon), a new project to tackle together, or some personal goals you are both looking forward to after the big day is over. 

Grounding yourself in gratitude for the day and what’s ahead for your life together is another powerful way to beat feelings of the best day of your lives being done and dusted – spend time going through what you’re looking forward to in years to come and what you appreciate about the relationship completely separate to the wedding. This can help reinforce the reasons for the big day in the first place and aids in moving through the sense of blues after all the fanfare is over. 

What are your top tips for a healthy mind leading up to a couple’s wedding? Logistically, financially, physically and mentally there are a whole host of different things in the works. It’s sure to be a busy time, particularly if our current Covid-normal world means last-minute changes and adjustments need to be made, so locking in our health foundations are key. 

It’s easy (and common) too to find ourselves wrapped up in all the logistics of a wedding before it goes ahead – the guest list, the flowers, Covid-friendly adjustments and whether to get a cake or a cupcake tower ... you won’t be alone if you’ve felt these things starting to take over. What’s key to keeping our health of mind in check is reminding yourself of what’s behind all the planning and of the actual meaning of the day itself. Spending some regular time reminding ourselves about what matters and that the partner, people and process is more powerful than the other aspects, can make a big difference.