How I Curate Ideas for Weddings
There’s a lot of work that goes into a cohesive, interesting wedding design. I talk about design constantly on my Instagram. It seems to be the piece my couples and I spend the most time on and for good reason! It’s one of the most intimidating aspects of planning a wedding. “Will I regret it if I incorporate color?” “What if what the design I love now isn’t timeless enough?” “Will I even care about all this stuff after it’s all over?” These are some examples of questions I hear day in and day out. I completely understand the hesitation and pressure these questions can cause! The amount of inspiration out there is overwhelming, and the options are endless.
I collect and gather inspiration in several different ways, but I ask my clients to follow a very different system. I love Pinterest and I’m sure you do too! It’s a super helpful platform when it comes to DIY projects, recipes, and inspiration for pretty much anything. However, it can be a lot to take in when browsing wedding designs. According to a study Pinterest conducted, 40 million users turn to the platform when looking seeking inspiration for their big day. Imagine how many photos, blog posts, and videos flood onto Pinterest to keep those 40 million users satisfied! I tell my couples to use Pinterest as sparingly as possible. I advise pinning about 10-15 photos maximum per category (ceremony flowers, reception flowers, bouquets, bouts, overall reception look, venue, invitations, dress, beauty, etc.) Your vendor team doesn’t need any more than that anyway. Why not make sure you are only showing them the best of the best and the most accurate inspiration you can find!
After my client’s collect their top tier inspo photos, I begin building their design deck. I’ll build a color palette and design based on themes and patterns I see throughout their favorite photos. I’ll lay out everything I believe they’ll need from paper goods, reception details, to lounge set up. I take to Pinterest to find images they may haven’t seen yet to fill any gaps I’m seeing in their design. A design deck can take anywhere from 3-6 hours. After it’s complete, I present the deck to my couple and get their feedback.
During our design deck meeting, I’ll collect any feedback, answer any questions, and take notes to make the proper tweaks. Once the design deck is perfect, I take it and start to create a list of rental needs. I ask my clients to help me fill out a floral needs list which lays out to their florist exactly how many bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, reception tables, etc. they are planning on having. It’s important to note these rental and floral needs are simply estimates and they can be tweaked as we begin finalizing the guest count.
It’s always so much fun to curate the perfect rental or floral order with the best Charleston wedding vendors. I take the couples needs list and their design deck to these vendors to ensure availability and receive a quote. We’ve hand selected the best wedding vendors in the area who serve our clients well. They always have the best ideas for weddings and thoughts about how they can best be of service to our couples.
I love creating a mockup for my clients. Especially those who have trouble envisioning how everything is going to come together. We can head to our rental provider and create a mockup of the rentals we’ve chosen including linens, flatware, glassware, plates, and more. We can even bring in your florist so you know what you’ll be getting (or close to it) on your wedding day. I can bring in samples from your stationer so we can see what menus and/or place cards would look like with the design too!
Creating a wedding design is a marathon, not a sprint. I always encourage my couples to take time with this process to make sure each selection is carefully thought about. We want you to be confident in your all your decisions throughout the planning process. The system we’ve built will help you understand what you’re choosing and how it will look on the wedding day. If you like what you hear, we’d love to create your perfect wedding design with you! Hit the button below to inquire and learn more about our services!