We know wedding planning can be a bit overwhelming, to say the least. One of the most important aspects of wedding planning is organization. Without organization, wedding planning can grow into a seemingly impossible and super stressful task. To keep the fun in planning your big day (and to help keep you sane in the process), here are our best tips for staying organized throughout your wedding planning experience.

Create a Wedding-Only Email Address

Even the most organized personal inboxes can become overwhelmed with promotional emails, spam and other unwanted messages. When you throw wedding planning related emails into the mix it can get quite overwhelming. To avoid this, create a wedding only email address (Ex. your name + fiancé's name + wedding@____.com) to streamline all wedding related communications. Not only will it keep you organized, but it will also help you to manage your time, as you can check this email when you want, as opposed to being consistently inundated while at work, out of town, etc. Share the password with your future husband to keep him in the loop, and you're sure to be organized, at least on the email front.

Google Drive

In addition to the wedding-only email address, we recommend creating budget spreadsheets, guest list and address inventories, guest responses and more through Google Drive. By creating these living documents, you'll be able to access them in real time, rather than having to have computer access to open and save a saved document. GoogleDocs and GoogleSheets also have apps that can be easily opened, edited and saved on most devices, enabling you to plan on the go.

Commit to One Calendar and One Planner

If you're a digital bride, awesome. Prefer pen and paper? We totally get it. But for wedding planning purposes, pick an organization strategy and stick to it. If you want to rely on digital calendars, to-do lists and reminders, make sure you only use those to keep tabs on your tasks and responsibilities. Have a planner, calendar or notebook you rely on to keep yourself organized, utilize that and only that throughout planning. By trying to double store info and appointments, or referring to paper based tools at some times and digital at another, tasks, reminders, appointments and more can get lost in the flip-flopping of resources. Our best advice is to commit to one device, or one organizer where everything is stored, safe and accurate.

Designate a Specific Spot

To stay organized and keep balance within your daily living space, designate a specific spot to store all wedding-related information, paperwork, contracts, etc. We also recommend keeping stamps, envelopes, a pen and some paperclips nearby to stay extra organized and productive while planning your wedding. Whether it's a file box kept under your bed, a folder in a desk drawer, your entire home office or other area of your home, you can easily avoid clutter, increase productivity and avoid misplacing important artifacts by sticking to one spot.

One Task at a Time

It's so easy to get overwhelmed with things to do while planning a wedding, but to avoid becoming disorganized (and super stressed) it's best to focus on one task at a time. Even the best multi-taskers will admit that it doesn't always work out in their favor, so why take a chance? By channeling your focus into single tasks, you're sure to be more productive, organized and relaxed.

This article was written by Erin Celletti for Brides.com.
Photo: Kristin Vanzant Photography