{wedding wednesday: using pinterest}

I joined Pinterest over a year and a half ago, when it still required an invitation to sign up. Now, however, it’s a mainstream (and very popular) tool used by nearly every woman that I know (as well as quite a few men). I’ve been told by a few of my brides now that they use Pinterest when planning their weddings, which can be both a good and a bad thing. It’s definitely a great source of inspiration. On the other hand, however, it can be really overwhelming. This concerns me, since I don’t think wedding planning has to be stressful at all. So, I’m going to talk today about how to use Pinterest as a source of inspiration during wedding planning without getting overwhelmed.

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It’s about inspiration

I think the biggest issue I’ve heard about using Pinterest for wedding planning is that people tend to try and copy the things they see on Pinterest rather than use it as inspiration. It’s great to find pictures that you love, but don’t copy everything you see. It’s really obvious when you don’t come up with any ideas on your own, and just bring together a whole bunch of elements that really aren’t cohesive at all.

Pick who you follow carefully

Most (if not all) wedding blogs have a Pinterest account. The thing is, they pin everything on their sites. Following these blogs can be a great way to see what’s out there and discover your preferences and style. Following them on Pinterest, however, can be a disaster. You know how you feel when you see hundreds of wedding images flooding your Pinterest feed? It’s overwhelming, especially if you are trying to figure out what you want for your wedding. Following every single wedding blog means that you are inundated with every element from every type of wedding.

Instead, I would suggest following only a few wedding blogs, those with a style that you really love. Also, try to find those bloggers or pinners (like me!) who follow these blogs and curate their pins for you. That way you are exposed only to the best of the best, rather than every wedding on the internet.

Create multiple wedding boards

If you look at the Pinterest boards of those in the wedding industry, you’ll see individual boards for each piece of a wedding, like flowers, the venue, colors, and the dress. I’ve noticed with those who plan their weddings that they typically have one board dedicated to weddings.

Now, every wedding has multiple elements to it. Some of these relate to one another, but for the most part, you’ll want to separate the pieces so you don’t get overwhelmed when you see everything on one page. Once you get a basic idea as to what you want, create a single board to put your final decisions on. That way you can see the bigger, finalized picture in one place.

Find patterns

For those of you who look at all the pins on a wedding board and who still can’t figure out what you want in your wedding, try looking at the bigger picture. Look for the patterns in all of those flower pictures. What do they have in common? Are they the same color, same flower, same style? Figuring out what made you pin them in the first place can really help figure out your style and might actually get you somewhere!

Choose your theme and stick to it

Now, this is something that everyone will go through during their wedding planning, but Pinterest just makes it that much worse. Once you choose the style that is perfect for you, and yes, you will have to choose eventually, stick to it! Pin things that only fit into that theme or style, or else you’re just going to have a mess on your hands. It’s okay to love something in a different style, but realize that you’re just making things that much more difficult for yourself if you don’t stay consistent. You’ll never be able to make decisions if you continue to pin other pretty things that don’t fit into the vision that you’ve come up with.

The myth of the “pinnable” wedding

It kind of kills me when people blame Pinterest for things. We really need to take it for what it is, which is a new way to curate images. It is not an original source for content. What I mean by that is, Pinterest didn’t create the things you see on the site. It’s just a place to store it. There are plenty of really bad ideas and styles on Pinterest, you just may not see them because you follow only quality people.

That being said, I hate hearing people say that they want their wedding to be “pinnable” or “Pinterest perfect” (and yes, I’ve heard both these things). As a wedding planner, I feel the need to let you all in on a secret, and something you may not want to hear…

NO WEDDING IS PERFECT

Your wedding is not going to be perfect. Something will go wrong, or it may not turn out the way that you want it to turn out. That’s okay! I guarantee that something went wrong at every wedding featured on Style Me Pretty.Your wedding isn’t about the flowers or the hand painted invitations or the custom cocktails. It’s about a marriage. As long as you two get married, that’s all that should matter.

It’s fine if you want your wedding to get onto a blog (which I think is what people say when they want it to be “pinnable”), but that shouldn’t be your only motivation for getting married.

Trends will come and go

I admit that I fall into this trap every day. I see something on Pinterest, and I want it! But you can cut your hair or redecorate your home as many times as you want. You only get one wedding (hopefully). You don’t have a chance to redo it again if it didn’t go the way that you want the first time. Sorry, but it’s the truth.

I always tell people, and I have to tell myself this sometimes too, that weddings are a reflection of who you are, as a couple, at that point in your lives. We change as people. Our tastes change, and trends change. It’s easy to look at a wedding from the 80s and say, I would NEVER have done something like that.

Newsflash: you are. Any trend that you follow today will be dated someday. But again…that’s okay! It’s supposed to be that way!

So, if you’re married and suffer habitual wedding-redo syndrome from looking at Pinterest, just stop. Because you could do it all over again today, and will want to redo it again in five years when the next latest and greatest idea is born. It’s a never ending cycle, and Pinterest just perpetuates it.

How do you use Pinterest in your wedding planning? Have you found yourself overwhelmed because of it? What other tips do you have for using the site for your wedding planning?

Remember that this week's Wedding Wednesday link is the last one until November 14th! You'll have a chance to link up your handwriting posts on November 5th instead!