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Let's face it, fitting in wedding planning at the office is inevitable. There's so many calls to make, so many errands to run (so much to think about!), that you're bound to squeeze in wedding details into your workday. Of course, everything in moderation; and your boss is unlikely to mind the occasional need to sneak off to answer a call from a vendor, but we know that weddings can have a way to snowball into big time zappers during the workday. Here's how to keep things in balance:
Use your lunch hour wisely: Yes, it's only an hour, but you might be surprised at how much wedding planning work you can squeeze into your lunch break. At the office, make this hour your time to get wedding tasks done, rather than spread them out throughout the day. Brown bag it so you won't have to waste time stopping at the restaurant for a bite and can instead make phone calls, drive across town for a cake-tasting, or spend the hour perusing bridesmaid dresses online.
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Don't vent to every co-worker who will listen about wedding stress: When the girl from finance peeks in your doorway and asks how the wedding planning is coming, it might be tempting to sigh and proceed to vent about how the reception venue just tried to charge you an extra $5 a plate for changing the menu from chicken to salmon, but in short of a quick update, don't be tempted to spend a lot of time talking about your wedding joys and fiascos at work. While some co-workers may be genuinely interested, others (including your boss) may take it as a sign that your gabbing about the wedding means you're less focused on your work—an impression you don't want to give off in the months leading up to the alter.
Schedule meetings for the 5:00 hour: While it can be tempting to sneak off for a mid-day meetings to interview florists, this type of work doesn't happen to fall within the confines of nine to five. In fact, most wedding vendors will make themselves available for after-hour or weekend meetings. In the end, you'll feel better (and less stressed) about scheduling something at 5:30 when your workday is over, than sneaking off during the workday when you know you should be getting that project done for your boss.
Don't keep your wedding binder out in full view: If you have a portfolio or binder where you keep all of your planning details, keep it tucked away in your bag, or in your office drawer. When people come into your office, they won't immediately notice and you'll also keep your eye on the ball at work (instead of wandering back to wedding details every half hour).