As the bride, everything you do is going to be under observation. Everyone's going to have a comment about the plans you make, the flowers you choose, the site you want, the dress you will wear.

Some of these comments will be excited praise, such as "That gown is gorgeous! You're going to look so beautiful!" And some -- made looking at the very same dress! -- might be more along the lines of, "That's a pretty dress, but don't you think it's a little too summery for your fall wedding?" The speaker may just be trying to help, or they may be trying to burst your bubble a bit. But let's forget about analyzing your friends and family for right now. The big question is...which comment are you going to focus on?

When you focus on anything, you magnify it in your mind. So are you going to magnify the compliment, really soaking it in and beaming? Yes, I am going to look beautiful! Or are you going to laser-focus on that one critique, making it bigger and bigger and bigger, so that it drags you down and you ignore all the great compliments you received from the ten people who praised your choice?

I've always said that the negative things in life are louder. And when you magnify the one critique, that makes it bigger and louder.

So promise yourself that you're not going to magnify the critiques, but you'll magnify the compliments by writing them down in a journal, repeating them to yourself, sharing those compliments with your groom...

It might take some practice, but you can minimize the critiques by magnifying even the smallest compliments so that they lift you up. That's where you'll find peace within your planning. You do have the power to choose what you'll let in and what you'll block out.