I’m going to start this post with some honesty, I had a ‘Wedding‘ Board way before I got engaged, under the guise of ‘Romance’ and I’m not alone in this confession, but I just want to ask ‘Is Pinterest Ruining our Vision Of Weddings’?
The answer is not that simple, it’s yes and no
I’ll start with Wedding Dresses, I fell down a rabbit hole of pinning a whole array of stunning and intricate dresses in my mission to find the ‘dream‘ dress. I completely forgot that these are all professionally photographed in idyllic locations, worn by models and carefully edited. Can you imagine my disappointment when I stepped out of the dressing room in my local boutique and I didn’t look like a bohemium princess?
There’s always a bright side; the positive to my hours of pinning meant I feel a lot confident about the look I want to achieve on our wedding day.
The whole concept of Pinterest is to source ideas from beautiful imagery, a search engine of pictures so to speak. On that note, when I started looking into Wedding Decor I fell head over heels with entirely unattainable goals.
I’ll start with the elements you need to keep in mind:
*What does YOUR wedding venue look like? Not the Rustic barn in the picture or the fairytale garden layout which was set up in a country where the temperature never drops below 18degrees.
*What is the realistic budget for decor? Some venues will offer decoration as part of a package and/or suggest companies that can work with you to create the vision you have in mind for your big day. However, if DIY is the order of the day then you need to set a realistic budget for this. Sadly, I’ve learnt the hard way that looking at pictures of wedding decor on Pinterest and then making this happen myself, are two very different things altogether. Try not to forget that these layouts are often created by professionals with huge budgets, don’t lose hope – There’s always another way.
*If you’re creating your own favours, centrepieces or decor – have a trial run! It’s easy to look a tutorial and think ‘that’s so easy, I’ll have no problem with that‘. Idea’s and reality are two very different things. Just because Gabby from the USA tells you it’s super easy and her 5 year old could do it with her eyes closed, that doesn’t mean I’ll be the same for you. On my wedding decor journey, there have been a few projects when I’ve had to go for second time lucky. Whilst I’m learning along the way, I’d recommend completing the DIY a few months in advance.
*Photos lie, sadly. How many times have you fallen in love with a dress online, only to order it and feel massively disappointed when it arrives and looks completely different? Keep this in mind for Pinterest Wedding inspiration and any bits and pieces you buy for your wedding online.
*The place places for Pinterest style Wedding Decor are – Hobby Craft, eBay, Amazon, Dunelm Mill (For faux flowers) and Home Sense.
Weddings look different around the world, there’s no one size fits all.
Rather than pinning images from places you’ll never visit, it’s worth asking your venue if they have a Pinterest Board with different layouts from previous events.
This is a great way to 1) get an idea of how the venue space works 2) use as a reference for your wedding planning 3) make sure that your venue fits the vision you have for your wedding.
Most venues will have recommended suppliers, it’s worth taking the time to visit and look at the decor and prop options in person, pictures can be hugely deceptive and this avoids any disappointment on the big day. The flipside is that you can use images from Pinterest to build a visual catalogue of what you love and take elements from there to build the event of your dreams. I took little idea’s I loved, tweaked them to work with our budget and what I could access here in the UK and I’m delighted by the end result. For example, I’ve made these stunning ‘Floral Crates‘ which only take around 20 minutes to put together and cost £10.00 each, the upside is that I can use them again after the wedding.
Are you looking to save money on your wedding day? Read my tips from real brides.
Katie
x
