There’s an undeniable joy in planning your wedding … but there’s also joy in taking a break from it. Don’t get us wrong — the planning, the lists and the endless, meticulous decisions are all great, but for some, all the commotion can risk unrooting us from the exciting present we share with our special one. The secret to making the most of it? Stepping away, just for a bit, and stealing moments of something else, something lighter and something that belongs only to the two of you. So, before all the photos and cake-cutting, let life hold other things — adventure, play and discovery.
1. Take time to play games
Here’s a plan: Leave the guest list and the menu for later. A card game, board game or a puzzle — all these things exist beyond spreadsheets and timelines. Just the humble deck of cards has so much potential: Try rummy, poker or something made up on the spot with rules only the two of you understand (honestly, the best kind). Play chess but with playful side bets and over-the-top theatrics. Challenge your partner to Scrabble, with ridiculous, invented words that require persuasive definitions.
And let’s be frank: games can be romantic, too. Take, for instance, “Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes.” The stakes are so high that it’s pretty hard to get bored — one person reads instructions, while the other fumbles with fake bomb wires. As a co-op quest, it’s a pixelated world where teamwork beats wedding stress.
2. Make great escapes (or small adventures)
Love thrives on adventure. So, wander through a new part of town with no destination. Choose a street at random and follow it to the end on foot. Eat at the first place you see, no peeking at reviews, and chitchat with strangers — not just because everyone loves a social couple but also because love grows when witnessed.
If you want to make feathered friends, there’s also birdwatching: a practice in patience, in noticing and in standing still. Or embark on a quest for the oddest item in a thrift shop, then the winner can display their trophy in a place of honor at home.
Want to pound the pavement without leaving home (or your couch)? Meet geocaching, a worldwide treasure hunt with secret coordinates and hidden objects. There are even geocaching championships, so you can become a power couple in geography.
3. Get creative
Stress dissolves when the brain gets creative. Paint together, even if you’re not the best at it. The final result is less important than the act itself. Or get some clay under your fingertips as your first-ever sculpture takes form — or not. Woodworking, photography or even simple sketches in an old, forgotten notebook can bring out your creative side — something built, something captured or something that exists now where before there was nothing. There’s a world of choices.
How about activities with a higher degree of self-expression? Writing is the name of the game. Say, you pass a poem back and forth in an act of cocreating. Or maybe have a go at a story written in fragments, eventually folding into something complete (open endings allowed). Music is just as great, even if neither of you play an instrument — like a playlist curated with intention, songs chosen for memories, for meaning or for no reason at all.
But if you do care about results, nothing beats a meal prepared as a team, whether an intricate dish from a long-winded recipe or a kitchen experiment invented on the spot.
4. Learning (and growing) together
When you learn new things of your own volition, the mind just feels better. And when you learn with your loved one, it’s that much better. And of course you can have all the fun you want with it. If you learn a new language, you can have your own phrases spoken in secret, a vocabulary only the two of you share. If not, try a class, any class, be it pottery or pasta-making. Few activities are as effortlessly romantic as stargazing and planetarium visits, the two of you getting close to the vastness of space. For those on the nerdier side (and proud of it), an interesting documentary can get a fun debate going.
Even with the wedding plans going on, you need not shy away from trying a new sport — archery, badminton, rock climbing — something physical that exists only in the moment. But there’s a simpler challenge for the less inclined: a first-time attempt at karaoke (now that can get your adrenaline up).
6. Find bliss in the little things
Beyond the planning, beyond the decision-making, there’s the simplest act of all: nothing. Meditating will get you closer to your Zen, but even making sure to consciously enjoy the tea you share or the walks you take together can connect you more to the present — and to your future life partner. According to Melisa Legere, a licensed marriage and family therapist cited by StorageCafe, sharing experiences and being considerate of each other are some of the little things that can help build a strong foundation for a lasting relationship.
And while it may not be the most glamorous advice, keeping your home functional for two as you merge households is just as important. Some compromises will be necessary: Perhaps your prized sports memorabilia collection or that oversized gaming chair can stay in a storage unit while you figure out your shared space. Likewise, a dozen throw pillows or that (admittedly cute but) extensive collection of coffee mugs might need a temporary home elsewhere. Making space for each other — literally and figuratively — is key to cohabiting successfully.
A wedding remains a single moment in time. But a marriage, that’s a life built in fragments, in choices and in days filled with things that matter — and in moments of shared leisure. So, find spaces for peace in the commotion of all the wedding planning. Remember why the day exists in the first place: love, not as an obligation but as something playful, spontaneous and real. The best wedding plan, after all, is one that leaves room for play.
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