Let’s be real. How many hours have you spent scrolling through Pinterest and Instagram swooning over different wedding styles? Sure, social media is an excellent source for finding inspiration. But there is definitely a fine line between getting inspiration and just getting overwhelmed by all the possibilities. It can drive you mad!
Being the busy bee that you are, I want to help you stay focused and spend your time wisely as you embark on this wedding planning journey. We’ve got some great tips for using Pinterest as a wedding planning tool, but first, you need to be crystal clear on what your wedding vision looks like.
1. Get your priorities in order
When you are figuring out how to spend your budget, it’s essential to make a list of what’s most important to you as a couple. And sure, it could be the food, the entertainment, the dress, the drinks, the photographer, the flowers, or the venue – but it’s likely that not all of those things are of the same importance.
What do I mean by get your priorities in order? Make sure to identify what your must-haves are in the game so you don’t find yourself with any regrets in the long run. When you’re dealing with a budget, it’s really like the concept of give and take. If one thing has a higher priority on your list than the other, you’re more likely to allocate more funds for something that you absolutely must have.
2. Think about what defines you as a couple and your personalities
Did you know that your and your partner’s personality would play into the wedding planning process? You already know each other very well, but this may be the first time you work together on a project this huge. Allocate some time where you can talk heart to heart and discuss your traits and confirming that you’re on the same page about how you envision the event.
3. Schedule a time with your fiancé to figure out what your vision is
Focus on determining a range of dates that’ll work for both of you and schedule a time to talk about your priorities. Book it in! Having this discussion early on your wedding planning will avoid conflicts and misunderstandings down the road.
Let’s face it, you may have very different vision for your wedding and clearly communicating this will make everything less stressful for you – and your partner! You can use this Wedding Vision & Priorities worksheet to get the conversation going.
4. Write down 3 must-haves for your big day, your fiancé too!
When you’re ready to sit down with your partner, write down your 3 wedding must-haves you and your fiancé must definitely put in the priority list. It’s a great place for you guys to start to have the discussion of where to allocate your budget. However, if one area it puts you over budget, talk it out and cut down on something that may not be as important to you both. Remember, if you take from one area, you gotta must give somewhere else.
Florals: Babylon Flowers
Invitations: Giant Invitations
5. Take your venue into consideration
The question of where the wedding will take place is often not an easy answer.Especially if you are both from different cities or counties.
There are so many things to take into consideration when choosing a venue, like the location, driving distance, traffic during certain times, special requirements your guests might have and the seasonal weather conditions to name a few. We have some great tips for helping you choose the perfect wedding venue.
6. Create a vision board – physical or digital, like Pinterest!
If you’re a visual person, creating a vision board will really bring your ideas to life. Take those magazine cut outs, paper goods and colour swatches and put them up on a vision board.
And if that’s too much work, make yourself Pinterest account! Pinterest is the perfect place to store and organise all of your wedding ideas. In fact, it is one of the best ways to find inspiration and sort them into different categories using boards.
All you have to do is to simply use the search box at the top to find what you’re looking for and then save it on your vision board. Remember, your wedding day should be uniquely you. Collect pins in your board that speaks to you and your fiancé and not just what is trendy. We’ve got some great tips on how to use Pinterest in the best way possible for your wedding planning and inspiration gathering.
7. Analyse your vision board for consistency
After you’ve got a decent amount of photographs and ideas in your vision board, look for consistency in the shots. Is there an underlying theme, style or colour that you’re seeing within these shots? If you’ve been selective about your pinning, the colours and styling that speaks to you should shine through your vision boards.
8. Get a second opinion
If you’ve already started using Pinterest, you probably know how amazing it is for discovering all these beautiful ideas. But beware, it can get a bit overwhelming sometimes. Pinterest is flooded with amazing ideas that you can easily become paralysed by the overload of inspiration.
If you’re struggling to find consistency in your boards, get a second opinion from someone who matters, like your wedding planner, Maid of Honour or Bridesmaids. It’s really good to get out of your head and get a fresh perspective on things!
9. Follow your gut instinct, not the trends
If you start going down the rabbit hole, there seems to be an endless amount of details that go into planning your wedding. So take it slow, breathe and stick to your plan!
At the end of the day, your wedding style should feel right to you and your fiancé. It’s perfectly fine to get inspiration from the latest wedding trend but it should be something that you are comfortable with. It should be something you really, really want and not something that you “think” you have to follow because it’s what everyone is talking about or what’s trending. Your gut instinct will always help you make the right decision.
Good luck x
