They are supposed to be blushing, glowing, ecstatic.

But for many brides-to-be, the stress of planning a wedding — let alone a married life — is enough to turn a slight blush into a red-faced meltdown.

"They go into it quite innocently thinking this is going to be wonderful, this is going to be fun," said the Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway, who helps run a Bridal Survival Club in New York. "It doesn't really take long for them to get stressed out. They get into this mode of people-pleasing and creating this 'perfect' wedding."

The details alone can be overwhelming: There's the guest list, the save-the-date cards, the invitations, the registry, the flowers, the dress, the cake, the centerpieces, the music, the bridesmaids' gifts, the favors. There's picking the location, finding an officiant, planning the honeymoon.

Add to that budget worries (the average American wedding costs $26,327, according to the Fairchild Bridal Group).

"We sort of think of engagement as boot camp for marriage because so many things come up during the engagement that you'll have to deal with in your marriage," said Millie Martini Bratten, editor-in-chief of Bride's magazine.

So how to keep the happy occasion from turning into a nightmare?

Brides, wedding experts and therapists who specialize in pre-wedding jitters have a few tips to keep anxiety in check.

The most important: Delegate, especially to your fiance. Men are getting more involved in wedding planning — there is even isolated talk of "groomzillas" — but for most couples, weddings are still women's work.

"Women are conditioned in this culture to dream and plan and think about our wedding. It's not unusual for us to start thinking about it on the third date," says Brockway, author of "Wedding Goddess: A Divine Guide to Transforming Wedding Stress into Wedding Bliss."

But giving some control to your fiance — who is going to be your life partner, after all — can be liberating.

"When you tap into other people's strengths and let them help you with your direction, you'll end up with something even better than you hoped for," said Liza Elkind, a television writer and producer in New York who got married in October.

Another smart way to delegate is to hire a wedding planner or coordinator. But be sure to find a reliable one. When Brenda Moody had a rehearsal for her 250-guest wedding, the coordinator was a no-show, and Moody was besieged with questions she didn't know how to answer.

"I understand why people become 'bridezilla'," said Moody, 40, of Fontana, Calif. She excused herself to take a moment to calm down.

"My godson asked if I was OK because he heard me screaming in the bathroom," she said. "He said he heard some really bad words."

Another way to keep anxiety in check is to keep the wedding small and accept that you will never be Charles and Di. When Brockway heard about runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks, she wasn't a bit surprised.

"The stress related to that kind of wedding is just phenomenal," she said.

"How could you ever please 600 people and 28 members of the bridal party?"

Her advice: Focus on what you want, not what you think your future mother-in-law might think.

Allison Moir-Smith, who specializes in counseling brides, said anxieties often mask something deeper.

"It's a lot easier to stress out about favors and flowers and seating arrangements and to focus on that than to do this really pretty heavy lifting of dealing with a change in your sense of who you are," said Moir-Smith, who is publishing a book next year, "Emotionally Engaged: A Bride's Guide To Surviving the 'Happiest' Time of Her Life."

New brides are losing their identities as single women, their sense of being daddy's little girl, even their dating life with their husbands-to-be. Understanding the reasons for that stress can help deal with it.

"For most brides, this deeper stuff is going on within them, privately, alone. They don't share it with anybody. It can be a very painful and very lonely time of life," Moir-Smith said.

Sometimes obsessing over the details masks fears about whether to get married at all.

"The e-mail I get most frequently says, 'I'm engaged and I don't want to marry him, but I have the hall,'" said Rachel Safier, who wrote "There Goes the Bride: Making Up Your Mind, Calling It Off & Moving On."

"It's not a flip concern. Few people feel 100 percent sure that this isn't cold feet — and my God, do I really want to stick my parents with a $5,000 or $10,000 bill if I just have cold feet?"

Several people interviewed for this story agreed that the wedding industry profits handsomely from pre-wedding jitters and the perfectionism it inspires. But most agreed that those they knew in the industry simply wanted to help couples fulfill their dreams.

"It's easy to be bitter at the wedding industry when you're 10K in the hole, but to me that's like blaming McDonald's for obesity. Honey, you don't have to eat there. No one is forcing you into Vera Wang," Safier said.

Five tips for keeping wedding stress in check:<B>• </B><B> Delegate</B> — While you don't want to torment your loyal bridesmaids, do put them to work. You'll return the favor someday. And don't forget your fiance. No, he won't care about the bridesmaids' dresses, but there are plenty of tasks he can handle, such as creating the guest list, printing invitations or finding a DJ and picking dance music.<B>• </B><B>Keep it small</B> — You've pictured the big cathedral wedding since you were 5. But is that really what you want when you're 35?<B>• </B><B>Take care of yourself</B> — Eating right — or eating at all — might not be on your busy agenda, especially if you're stressing about fitting into your gown. But don't neglect your health. You'll need your strength. Exercise, eat well, laugh and keep things in perspective.<B>• </B><B>Don't worry about pleasing everybody</B> — This is your wedding, not your mother's or mother-in-law's. And beware — your bridesmaids may not be much comfort if they're jealous of your happiness.<B>• </B><B>Check the temperature of your feet</B> — Most people getting married get cold feet at one time or another. But how to tell if yours are normal? Listen hard to your heart and your gut, and be honest with yourself and others.